FARMERS will be able to see research in action at ADAS Rosemaund's open day at Preston Wynne, near Hereford, on June 3.

On display at the popular annual arable and livestock event is a wide range of HGCA and commercially-funded work and a number of ADAS national experts will be on hand to answer questions.

From an arable perspective, the day will feature a wide range of work on crop physiology, crop protection and nutrition over a range of combinable crops.

Bill Clark will concentrate on cereal disease. Recent testing of Septoria isolates over the winter of 2003 and spring 2004 has shown resistance levels have remained very high - with an average of about 80% resistance. At the open day there will be a demonstration on how to achieve effective control of Septoria.

Peter Gladders will be referring to a challenging year for making decisions on fungicide applications on oilseed rape and getting them applied to the crop. The timing of fungicides and yield loss prediction are issues under investigation in HGCA and LINK-funded work.

Wet weather and delayed potato plantings have led to a far from ideal start to the season for many growers. Nick Bradshaw, potato pathologist, will be telling growers about blight and that the key is to control blight innoculum. Volunteers on potato dumps are one of the main sources, he said.

Also available to answer a wide range of questions will be Pete Berry, Antony Wade, John Spink, Lynn Collings and Jon Oakley.

For further information on the open day, which is being staged from noon until 6pm, contact Isabel McShane at ADAS Rosemaund on 01432 820444.