England's Defra planning guidance offers an optional planning tool. Use the Scottish or Welsh route for those nations and the relevant programme's requirements.
For an NFU IPM plan, choose the arable, grassland or horticultural version from the NFU planning page.
Integrated pest management plan: describe the holding and prevent recurring problems
Treat these three steps as an IPM plan example for a holding: describe the holding, monitor before choosing an intervention, then review effectiveness and resistance.
Map the crop and field units included in the assessment. Distinguish pests already observed from those posing a future risk. Bring previous treatment outcomes, potential resistance and the planned rotation into the review.
Evaluate rotation, resistant varieties, cultivation, hygiene, natural predators and trap crops for each problem. Include physical barriers and mechanical or hand weeding where they fit the crop.
Monitor before selecting an intervention
Inspect crops, identify the organism and use relevant forecasts or early diagnosis. Compare physical, biological and chemical controls against that evidence.
For a pesticide intervention, retrieve the named preparation's crop or situation, dose, timing, operator protection and environmental requirements.
Review effectiveness and resistance
Evaluate outcomes regularly and review the plan annually. Compare completed actions with pest numbers, damage and treatment effectiveness. Use the results to revise prevention and controls for the next season.
Black-grass identification: inspect the leaf junction and stem
Identification and resistance are separate questions. Test weed seeds or plants for resistance and tailor black-grass control to each field. Identifying the species does not determine which herbicide group will still control a particular population.
Alopecurus myosuroides is an annual grass with an erect habit. Its compact, narrow, pointed flower spike may be purple-tinted, and its seedling sheath is often purple. The blade is short, flat and bluish-green, with a well-defined keel. It is hairless, rolled in the shoot, has no auricles and has a blunt ligule.
Grass seedlings begin with one initial leaf; broad-leaved weeds begin with two. The first leaf's shape, length and twist, blade hairiness, ribs, tramlines and tip help identify the species, as do whether leaves are folded or rolled and whether there are underground rhizomes. An auricle is claw-like, whereas the ligule is a membranous extension.
Leaf and sheath features separate black-grass from annual meadow-grass, barren brome, common couch, Italian rye-grass, wild-oat and cereal volunteers.
Keep your spray records in one place. Free to start.
Autumn emergence and field history
Black-grass is associated with heavy, poorly drained land and wetter areas of lighter fields. Most seed germinates in autumn, but dormancy and weather can delay emergence. Intensive winter cropping favours serious infestations, while the bulk of seed survives in the soil for only two years.
The control programme depends on the field's crop history, the proportion of autumn-sown crops and its resistance results.
Precision herbicide application and spot spraying
Image-based spot spraying detects weeds and directs specialised nozzles at the detected plants.
For black-grass, use field-specific control and resistance testing of seeds or plants: a detection system does not show whether the population is susceptible to the herbicide.
Spot spraying changes where liquid is delivered; the product's conditions still govern the intended use.
For spot spraying with 2,4-D, the full product name and MAPP reference identify the preparation and its crop conditions.
Precision application, dose records and resistance
Precision application still needs separate dose and treated-area evidence. Check maximum individual application rate and maximum area or quantity treated separately on the label. NI application records include product name, time, dose, treated area and crop.
On 29 September 2026, WRAG and HRAC Europe issued a joint technical note on precision herbicide application and resistance. Application efficacy and the number of surviving weeds are key resistance drivers.
UK grass weeds have both target-site and non-target-site resistance mechanisms. Resistance has also been identified in wild-oat, Italian rye-grass and brome, with different importance between species and populations.
After a precision application, count the surviving weeds and review the application efficacy.
Cabbage pest control: feeding, contamination and crop covers
Cabbage caterpillars cause feeding damage and can contaminate the harvested crop. Cabbage whitefly scales attach to foliage and are important as contaminants.
Species-specific pheromone traps catch adult male moths. Feeding caterpillars are found by inspecting the crop.
Crop covers need to go on before the pest enters, with a mesh size appropriate to the pest.
Cabbage worm spray: choosing controls for cabbage caterpillars
An insecticide for cabbage worms depends on the caterpillar species and stage; adult trap catches, feeding larvae and contamination of the harvested produce are separate observations, and the effect on natural enemies counts too. Crop-specific options for the best insecticide for cabbage are on the product labels.
Next step
See the crop-specific product documents and the vegetable pest guide.