Rotational thinking is key to managing take-all riskĀ
This article originally appeared in Arable Farming, August 2026
As more growers integrate Sustainable Farming Incentive actions into their arable rotations, there is increasingly a need to carefully consider some of the unintended agronomic consequences. Farmers Guardian finds out more.Ā
Rotations have long been the foundation of managing weeds, pests and diseases such as take-all, the ubiquitous fungus that affects UK arable land. However, some Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options could complicate that picture.Ā
While designed to deliver environmental benefits alongside productive farming, certain actions in both existing agreements and the proposed SFI scheme for this year might inadvertently create a ‘green bridge’, allowing the dangerous take-all fungus to survive between cereal crops.Ā
Take-all survives and spreads through the living roots of wheat, barley, volunteer cereals and grass-weeds, but particularly ryegrass and bromes.Ā
Where host species are included in SFI seed mixes, the fungus can persist and build up in the soil, even in the absence of a wheat crop.Ā
ProfitabilityĀ
The result is that a crop intended to be a first wheat after SFI may not behave like one in agronomic terms, with greater disease pressure reducing yield potential and profitability, according to Jonathan Lacey, senior consultant and agronomist at Laurence Gould.Ā
āA first wheat following an SFI option may not always be a true first wheat,ā he says.Ā
While the take-all risk may not be as great as with second or third wheats, it can be enough to reduce the yield potential of the following crop, he adds.Ā
Take-all risk can be significantly reduced through good cultural management (see panel), and the seed treatment silthiofam (as in Latitude) can also add a final layer of protection where the take-all risk is high.Ā
However, it should be viewed as part of an integrated agronomy approach rather than the first line of defence, Mr Lacey says.Ā
Agronomy firm Hutchinsons’ cover crop and environmental specialist Alice Watson says there is room for better decision-making around SFI mixtures, but acknowledges there is still a lot of learning to be done.Ā
āSFI can work if we are prepared to spend time thinking more carefully about the mixes we are using,ā she says.Ā
She adds poorly designed mixes that are still compliant with SFI actions can create green bridges that allow weeds, pests and diseases, including take-all, to carry over between crops. In contrast, more carefully designed seed mixes can significantly reduce these risks.Ā
She points out, however, that a well-designed mix comes at an increased cost at the outset.Ā
āThis initial additional cost is of value if you avoid key diseases such as take-all in your following crops,ā she says.Ā
Ms Watson prefers to use a diverse mix of broad-leaved species for SFI actions such as winter bird food or legume fallows that are being used over whole fields and are part of an arable rotation.Ā
There is no requirement to use grasses in such mixes, but nine times out of 10 it will make them cheaper, she says. For example, a cheaper mix for the SFI wild bird food action (known as CAHL2), containing wheat, barley, triticale and perhaps some sorghum, millet or linseed, could contain up to 70% cereals.Ā
Where this is managed as a static action over a full field, the subsequent cereal crop would effectively be a fourth cereal in the rotation and have increased take-all risk and possible significant yield loss, if not managed correctly, she says.Ā
SuccessĀ
Flexibility is key to success when it comes to making SFI work financially, agronomically and environmentally, adds Ms Watson.Ā
She says: āBe aware that oats might need to play a bigger part of your rotation, so that you break the take-all cycle; be prepared to invest in a better agronomic mix so you can manage the potential risks.āĀ
Where a mix with a high cereal content has been used, and so the SFI action is likely to contribute to an increased risk of take-all, following it with a true break might ultimately be the best option, adds Ms Watson.Ā
āThat would be your safest bet, especially if you are heading into a third year of take-all build-up, which is when the biggest yield penalties tend to occur,ā she says.Ā
āIf you look at gross margins, winter wheat is what makes us money. In many cases, we are putting SFI mixes in to set up a good first wheat, but if we have not got that mix right, we may not get the first wheat we were expecting.Ā
āSaving Ā£20-Ā£40/hectare on your SFI mix may cost you 5-20% on average of winter wheat yield; your cheaper SFI mix choice is not as cheap as you think.āĀ
Take-all: cultural control measuresĀ
- Destroy the green bridge early by removing cereal volunteers and susceptible grass-weeds.Ā
- Cultivate ground promptly after rotational Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options to create a sufficient break before wheat is drilled.Ā
- Plan rotations carefully, recognising that a wheat crop following some SFI options may behave more like a second wheat than a true first wheat.Ā
- Delay drilling, particularly for second wheats, until after mid-October where possible. Take-all develops most rapidly in warm soils above about 10-12Ā°C, so later drilling reduces infection.Ā
- Consolidate seedbeds after drilling, helping to reduce the fungus’ movement through the soil.Ā
- Pay particular attention on light, sandy and chalk soils, where drought stress and root damage can make take-all more damaging.Ā
Understanding take-all build-upĀ
Head of technical development at ProCam Rob Adamson says Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions could trip up growers when it comes to take-all build-up.Ā
He says: āTake-all survives and multiplies on host roots. The longer a susceptible host is present, the greater the build-up of inoculum, which is why second and third wheats carry the greatest risk of take-all.āĀ
Once those roots disappear and crop debris starts to decay, inoculum naturally declines, Mr Adamson says.Ā
āThe problem is that this decline is interrupted whenever another host becomes available.Ā
āCereal volunteers, spring cereals, cereal-based cover crops and some grass species commonly included in SFI mixtures, can all act as hosts, allowing take-all to survive and build before the next wheat crop.āĀ
This means land coming out of some SFI actions may not always represent the clean break that growers expect.Ā
Even relatively short periods of cereal or grass hosts can increase inoculum levels and delay natural take-all decline, leaving a higher disease burden for the following wheat crop.Ā
VolunteersĀ
The same principle applies where host plant volunteers are allowed to persist, effectively providing a green bridge for the pathogen.Ā
āWe need to think about take-all a little bit more widely than what we are doing, particularly as land that has been down to alternative uses through SFI comes back into production,ā says Mr Adamson.Ā
āWe know from set-aside that bringing land back into production is not straightforward, and we are literally going through the same cycle again.Ā
āWe are going to have weed burdens, pest issues – and take-all – to consider because these mixtures have the potential to harbour or even build populations of all three.āĀ
Understanding species within SFI mixtures, managing green bridges and adapting rotational strategies can help growers capture the environmental benefits of SFI without increasing the risk of costly take-all in their wheat crops.
Subscribe to Arable Farming here: https://www.farmersguardian.com/arable-farmer
Rotational thinking is key to managing take-all riskĀ
This article originally appeared in Arable Farming, August 2026
As more growers integrate Sustainable Farming Incentive actions into their arable rotations, there is increasingly a need to carefully consider some of the unintended agronomic consequences. Farmers Guardian finds out more.Ā
Rotations have long been the foundation of managing weeds, pests and diseases such as take-all, the ubiquitous fungus that affects UK arable land. However, some Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options could complicate that picture.Ā
While designed to deliver environmental benefits alongside productive farming, certain actions in both existing agreements and the proposed SFI scheme for this year might inadvertently create a ‘green bridge’, allowing the dangerous take-all fungus to survive between cereal crops.Ā
Take-all survives and spreads through the living roots of wheat, barley, volunteer cereals and grass-weeds, but particularly ryegrass and bromes.Ā
Where host species are included in SFI seed mixes, the fungus can persist and build up in the soil, even in the absence of a wheat crop.Ā
ProfitabilityĀ
The result is that a crop intended to be a first wheat after SFI may not behave like one in agronomic terms, with greater disease pressure reducing yield potential and profitability, according to Jonathan Lacey, senior consultant and agronomist at Laurence Gould.Ā
āA first wheat following an SFI option may not always be a true first wheat,ā he says.Ā
While the take-all risk may not be as great as with second or third wheats, it can be enough to reduce the yield potential of the following crop, he adds.Ā
Take-all risk can be significantly reduced through good cultural management (see panel), and the seed treatment silthiofam (as in Latitude) can also add a final layer of protection where the take-all risk is high.Ā
However, it should be viewed as part of an integrated agronomy approach rather than the first line of defence, Mr Lacey says.Ā
Agronomy firm Hutchinsons’ cover crop and environmental specialist Alice Watson says there is room for better decision-making around SFI mixtures, but acknowledges there is still a lot of learning to be done.Ā
āSFI can work if we are prepared to spend time thinking more carefully about the mixes we are using,ā she says.Ā
She adds poorly designed mixes that are still compliant with SFI actions can create green bridges that allow weeds, pests and diseases, including take-all, to carry over between crops. In contrast, more carefully designed seed mixes can significantly reduce these risks.Ā
She points out, however, that a well-designed mix comes at an increased cost at the outset.Ā
āThis initial additional cost is of value if you avoid key diseases such as take-all in your following crops,ā she says.Ā
Ms Watson prefers to use a diverse mix of broad-leaved species for SFI actions such as winter bird food or legume fallows that are being used over whole fields and are part of an arable rotation.Ā
There is no requirement to use grasses in such mixes, but nine times out of 10 it will make them cheaper, she says. For example, a cheaper mix for the SFI wild bird food action (known as CAHL2), containing wheat, barley, triticale and perhaps some sorghum, millet or linseed, could contain up to 70% cereals.Ā
Where this is managed as a static action over a full field, the subsequent cereal crop would effectively be a fourth cereal in the rotation and have increased take-all risk and possible significant yield loss, if not managed correctly, she says.Ā
SuccessĀ
Flexibility is key to success when it comes to making SFI work financially, agronomically and environmentally, adds Ms Watson.Ā
She says: āBe aware that oats might need to play a bigger part of your rotation, so that you break the take-all cycle; be prepared to invest in a better agronomic mix so you can manage the potential risks.āĀ
Where a mix with a high cereal content has been used, and so the SFI action is likely to contribute to an increased risk of take-all, following it with a true break might ultimately be the best option, adds Ms Watson.Ā
āThat would be your safest bet, especially if you are heading into a third year of take-all build-up, which is when the biggest yield penalties tend to occur,ā she says.Ā
āIf you look at gross margins, winter wheat is what makes us money. In many cases, we are putting SFI mixes in to set up a good first wheat, but if we have not got that mix right, we may not get the first wheat we were expecting.Ā
āSaving Ā£20-Ā£40/hectare on your SFI mix may cost you 5-20% on average of winter wheat yield; your cheaper SFI mix choice is not as cheap as you think.āĀ
Take-all: cultural control measuresĀ
- Destroy the green bridge early by removing cereal volunteers and susceptible grass-weeds.Ā
- Cultivate ground promptly after rotational Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) options to create a sufficient break before wheat is drilled.Ā
- Plan rotations carefully, recognising that a wheat crop following some SFI options may behave more like a second wheat than a true first wheat.Ā
- Delay drilling, particularly for second wheats, until after mid-October where possible. Take-all develops most rapidly in warm soils above about 10-12Ā°C, so later drilling reduces infection.Ā
- Consolidate seedbeds after drilling, helping to reduce the fungus’ movement through the soil.Ā
- Pay particular attention on light, sandy and chalk soils, where drought stress and root damage can make take-all more damaging.Ā
Understanding take-all build-upĀ
Head of technical development at ProCam Rob Adamson says Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) actions could trip up growers when it comes to take-all build-up.Ā
He says: āTake-all survives and multiplies on host roots. The longer a susceptible host is present, the greater the build-up of inoculum, which is why second and third wheats carry the greatest risk of take-all.āĀ
Once those roots disappear and crop debris starts to decay, inoculum naturally declines, Mr Adamson says.Ā
āThe problem is that this decline is interrupted whenever another host becomes available.Ā
āCereal volunteers, spring cereals, cereal-based cover crops and some grass species commonly included in SFI mixtures, can all act as hosts, allowing take-all to survive and build before the next wheat crop.āĀ
This means land coming out of some SFI actions may not always represent the clean break that growers expect.Ā
Even relatively short periods of cereal or grass hosts can increase inoculum levels and delay natural take-all decline, leaving a higher disease burden for the following wheat crop.Ā
VolunteersĀ
The same principle applies where host plant volunteers are allowed to persist, effectively providing a green bridge for the pathogen.Ā
āWe need to think about take-all a little bit more widely than what we are doing, particularly as land that has been down to alternative uses through SFI comes back into production,ā says Mr Adamson.Ā
āWe know from set-aside that bringing land back into production is not straightforward, and we are literally going through the same cycle again.Ā
āWe are going to have weed burdens, pest issues – and take-all – to consider because these mixtures have the potential to harbour or even build populations of all three.āĀ
Understanding species within SFI mixtures, managing green bridges and adapting rotational strategies can help growers capture the environmental benefits of SFI without increasing the risk of costly take-all in their wheat crops.
Subscribe to Arable Farming here: https://www.farmersguardian.com/arable-farmer