Taking centre stage on the Limagrain stand at Cereals 2014 will be Limagrain UK’s oilseed rape variety Amalie, the only OSR variety which has single gene resistance to Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYV). The variety has completed NL trials and will be considered for RL trials in 2014-15, which will be the first year without neonicotinoid seed treatments, so is a real solution to growers and agronomists in the fight against aphid-borne TuYV.

At the event growers will be able to find out more about growing the variety and the benefits of its TuYV resistance in the battle against this yield robbing disease.

New and existing wheat varieties will be exhibited at Cereals. Visitors will be able to see recently recommended wheat varieties, the highest yielding hard Group 4 Evolution, soft Group 4 Panacea and Group 3 Zulu. “This is a great opportunity for growers to find out more about growing and marketing these exciting varieties,” notes Ron Granger of Limagrain.

Also on the Limagrain stand are three wheats that are up for recommendation in 2014: soft feed wheat Jorvik and two biscuit wheats Britannia and Energise.

Jorvik has a high yield potential showing similar yields to feed wheat leaders KWS Santiago and yields 2% above JB Diego. Jorvik also has good grain quality attributes, offering  good specific weight  and Hagberg Falling Number and suitability for several market outlets.

It is a tall strawed variety with good lodging resistance and has one of the highest ratings for septoria tritici (7) and yellow rust (9). The variety is also resistant to WOBM.

Limagrain has a reputation of providing growers with good biscuit making varieties such as Invicta and Zulu, and this success goes from strength to strength with the breeding of two new varieties in this category, Energise and Britannia.

Energise offers high yield potential, performing particularly well in the north (108), with the added combination of good agronomic traits that are desirable in this harsher environment.

As a short strawed variety with good lodging resistance and the combination of high tillering, a prostrate growth habit and later ear development in the spring we would suggest the variety may be a possible candidate for the early drilling sector.

Britannia is also a high yielding Group 3 (103). Similar in height to Invicta and JB Diego, the variety is moderately stiff strawed, and is similar in ripening maturity to Scout. Britannia also offers a very good disease resistance profile, with a 9 for yellow rust resistance and a rating of 7 for septoria combined with good grain quality attributes.

Also exhibited on the stand will be four new candidate ‘non-GN’ spring barley varieties that are currently in recommended list trials – Deveron, Olympus, Octavia and Sienna. Limagrain are also pleased to be exhibiting  the new high yielding winter bean Tundra,  a new recommendation in 2014.

Visitors to Limagrain at Cereals will have the chance to enter the ’ Evolution’ competition to win an all-expenses paid trip to Denmark. “This is a great opportunity for three farmers and their agronomists to visit Denmark and see how wheat breeding and growing is carried out under a lower input system typical of that used in Denmark, and how it may be applied to UK production systems,” says Ron Granger of Limagrain.

Breeders from across the arable portfolio and Limagrain representatives will be on hand to provide information on all Limagrain varieties.

Meanwhile for anyone who has missed breakfast, the first 750 visitors to the Limagrain stand on both days of Cereals will be invited to sample or take away biscuits milled from Zulu wheat  either for themselves, or dog biscuits for their pets back home.

Plant breeder Limagrain UK has launched a new range of grass seed mixtures which have been scientifically formulated to deliver high levels of energy and give an enhanced level of animal performance. The mixtures contain grass varieties selected not only for their high sugar content, but also for their good digestibility and overall high energy levels. The superior nutritional quality of these new mixtures qualifies them for LGAN (Limagrain Animal Nutrition) status.

Limagrain’s Ian Misselbrook explains: “The grass varieties included in a ley mixture need to have good agronomic characteristics, such as Dry Matter yield and disease resistance, plus good quality characteristics. These include: D-Value, digestible fibre (measured as DNDF – Digestible Neutral Detergent Fibre), sugars (WSC – Water Soluble Concentrates), and protein.

“In fact, there’s more to maximising animal performance from grass than just selecting varieties from a Recommended List. Energy in grass comes from the sugars, and also the digestible fibre – so D-Value and DNDF are important considerations. Ruminants also need to have the right balance of energy and protein. If protein is lacking, then the full energy potential of a silage, grazed ley, or TMR ration, cannot be realised.”

“Limagrain’s new mixtures have been formulated taking into account all the factors which impact on quality, as well as yield.”

The scientific formulation of the new LGAN mixtures has been made possible by the advent of NIRS technology – this enables quality characteristics to be more easily measured in the field. This has been a key evaluation tool in a large pan-European trials programme where quality data from a large number of individual grass varieties at different sites and over different seasons, has been collated and analysed.

A database of over 5,000 measurements now exists, and from this, the five new LGAN mixtures for the UK have been formulated. The range includes two silage mixtures: one is a short-term ley designed to produce maximum yields of high energy silage, whilst the other contains red and white clovers and is formulated to produce high protein silage. The other mixtures are for intensive grazing and extended grazing systems, and a dual purpose mixture for highly nutritious grazing and silage from the same field.

The excellent nutritional quality of these new grass mixtures qualifies them for LGAN status (LG Animal Nutrition). This is an accreditation which recognises the superior nutritional value of a forage variety or mixture. It is already used to differentiate Limagrain’s highest energy maize varieties.

Mr Misselbrook explains: “Now farmers can benefit from the LGAN concept for grass mixtures too: it helps guide them to selecting grass mixtures which have the best potential to boost animal performance.”

The new LGAN mixtures can be obtained through any recognised seed merchant, so farmers should contact their regular supplier or one of Limagrain’s distributors.

For further information, farmers can visit www.limagrain.co.uk or call Limagrain on 01472 371471.

What began more than 60 years ago with one acre of land is now a thriving operation covering eight holdings and about 1,800 ha (4,500 acres). Bill Legge joined his father farming at Southery, near Downham Market in 1965 and has successfully expanded operations from the 100 ha farmed at that time to its present day 1,820 ha, partly through acquisition, but principally by taking on more land under various contract farming arrangements.

“In 1948 – the year I was born – my father was farming just one acre of land rented from the church, while being employed as a horseman on a local farm. In 1949 after buying a bean drill – widely used for sowing sugar beet and vegetable crops in the Fen – he was on his way to establishing his own enterprise. The business we have today, run jointly with my son Pete, owes a great deal to my father’s ambition and determination to farm in his own right.”

Today the farm grows around 330 ha of sugar beet to meet a contract tonnage entitlement of more than 20,000 tonnes. Other crops include about 400 ha of potatoes, mainly on land rented in as needed, winter wheat and oilseed rape across a geographical area spanning 40 miles and several soil types. 

The business also runs three lorries, which during the beet processing campaign run seven days a week and haul some 60,000 tonnes for a beet group consisting mainly of beet grown by their own business and a another near-by  group of contract farms.  The rest of the year the lorries are kept busy by moving other crops grown on the farm.

“The logistical challenges of farming across such a large area makes managing the farm a challenge at times, but we seek to keep things straightforward through block-cropping and a simple rotation,” Mr Legge says.

Sugar beet is a mainstay of the business and this year he will plant five varieties with newly recommended BCN resistant variety Pamina his largest single variety at roughly one third of the cropped area.  Other varieties include Cayman, SY Muse, Hayden and Springbok and Mr Legge was pleased his seed delivery was as he ordered and without variety substitution.

Outlining his priorities when selecting varieties, Mr Legge highlighted three factors which determine his final choice. Most sugar beet is grown in a rotation of one-in-four, but there are cases where, for various reasons, this falls to one-in-three.

“Yield is the principle driver of variety choice. Our soils at 20% plus organic matter tend to produce crops with low sugar levels so we also look for a variety with above-average sugar content. Bolters is another crucial consideration and is one of the reasons why we have steered away from earlier BCN varieties just as we did with the earlier Rhizomania resistant varieties,” he says.

On a pocket of land near Southery, just a short drive from British Sugar’s Wissington factory, Mr Legge reckons the crop has been grown there since the factory opened in 1925. Fortunately the effects of BCN is less dramatic on the rich black fen soils which have a high level water table, than on sandy soils farmed elsewhere.

“Breeding improvements in this area have been considerable and we pay more attention to bolter levels than we did thirty years ago. This has been crucial to maintaining performance of the crop.  This is not to say we can’t tolerate a little bit of bolting at the early drilling time, but it has to be reasonable at the normal drilling time,” he adds.

Although his sugar beet crop receives a fungicide irrespective of variety, Mr Legge believes it is important the Recommended List continues to score each variety’s disease resistance and to encourage breeders to exploit genetic resistance where possible.

“The industry has lost a significant number of herbicides and insecticides and we may well see the withdrawal of more so it is important that we maintain genetic resistance as a backstop.”

Soil sampling has revealed that BCN populations are not at extreme levels, but nor can it afford to be ignored.  Where it is an issue its impact on performance is noticeable.

“Our infestation levels vary from minimal to 8 grams per ml of soil, depending on the soil type. Although tests indicate our levels are low, BCN is a constant source of frustration to efforts to improve crop performance. We have been waiting for a BCN resistant variety with respectable yield potential, above average sugar content and reasonable tolerance to bolting for a long time and in Pamina I believe we have found one,” Mr Legge says. 

Although BCN resistant varieties have been available for several years, Mr Legge has been reluctant to drill them on all but the worst affected land because of the yield penalty compared with the best-performing conventional varieties.

“Until the introduction of better performing resistant varieties we had little choice but to extend the rotation and live with the impact on enterprise performance. This is not always practical and there is often an economic cost to the business. Hopefully, the introduction of better performing resistant types will change this,” he says.

2013-14 performance

Like many growers, Mr Legge’s crop is lifted by contractor, and it is an arrangement that has served him well over the years. “We seek to lift over about five months during which time there can be a lot happening on the farm.  Using a contractor enables us to keep up with other tasks and avoids having a large sum of capital unnecessarily tied up in a machine that would most likely be under used.”

Lifting of the 2013-14 crop was completed on 9th March with the mild winter proving to be a welcome blessing with yields boosted and lifting made easier. This year his crop has averaged around 70t/ha which, given the start to the season he regards as “quite remarkable”.

“Undoubtedly, the mild winter has helped to rescue the season. We finished lifting on 9th March, yet even in these late-lifted crops we were still recording sugar concentrations of around 18.5%. Even the beet loaded out of clamp in early March that was lifted in the first week of December still had a sugar content of 17.5-18%.”

While the mild weather is likely to have played a part in helping to keep crops growing for longer, Mr Legge believes the fact that the beet going into clamp was cleaner than in 2012-13 may also have helped to maintain sugar levels.

The mild weather however, has not helped prepare seedbeds for this season. “We haven’t recorded a single frost this winter which is why we have cloddy seedbeds, particularly on the heavier fen soils. We have had to drill a little deeper to find good tilth, but at least there is little risk of a wind blow to crops.” 

Most seasons his beet drilling team is a two-man operation, with one man working down a seedbed ahead of the 12-row drill. This year however, on the typical fen soils a third driver is needed to operate a power harrow to at “least try the smash up the clods up bit”.

With the 2014-15 crop drilled between 10th March and 2nd April, into dry and cloddy seedbeds. One or two good, well-timed rains are needed if we are to achieve good plant populations.

One note of disappointment is that he is unable to use GMO technology.  In the fens where blowing is often severe the use of cover crops is essential most seasons.  Herbicide resistance beet would he believes, be more environmentally friendly and potentially cheaper than having to remove a cover crop as well as volunteer potatoes and broadleaf and grass weeds individually. He looks forward to the day when Europe finally decides to accept GM technology. 

Amongst the new ley mixtures is Intensive Grazing which consists of 100% tetraploid perennial ryegrasses plus a white clover blend: it promises to deliver good palatability, a high yield of energy, and a good balance of protein and digestible fibre, all of which add up to maximise animal performance at grass.

Limagrain’s Ian Misselbrook explains: “The ryegrass varieties of this new LGAN mixture have been selected not only for their high sugar content, but also for their good digestibility and overall high energy levels.

“The formulations of the LGAN mixtures also take into account factors which impact on quality. Amongst these is palatability – this is fundamental to enhancing voluntary feed intakes at grass. Trials have demonstrated tetraploid ryegrasses are preferentially grazed over diploid ryegrasses and hence the 100% tetraploid selection used in Intensive Grazing. The inclusion of white clover further encourages intakes as well as supplying protein and trace elements.

“The agronomic characteristics of individual grass varieties which make up a ley – e.g. disease resistance, persistency – also have an impact on animal performance. When compared to the mean average of all the varieties on the Recommended Grass and Clover List, Intensive Grazing has a higher resistance to crown rust and Deschslera, and better winter hardiness.”

“Intensive Grazing seed has also been treated with Headstart Gold – a new biostimulant which aids establishment.”

The superior nutritional quality and all round good agronomic performance qualifies Intensive Grazing for LGAN (LG Animal Nutrition) status.

Mr Misselbrook explains: “The LGAN accreditation is already used to differentiate Limagrain’s highest energy maize varieties. Now farmers can benefit from the LGAN concept for grass: it helps guide them to selecting ley mixtures which have the best potential to boost animal performance.”

The other four mixtures in the new LGAN range are: Quality Silage – a short-term ley designed to produce maximum yields of high energy silage; Protein Silage – which contains red and white clovers and is formulated to produce high protein silage; Silage and Grazing – a dual purpose mixture; and Extended Grazing – which has a longer growing season thanks to the inclusion of Matrix Enhanced Ryegrass.

For further information, farmers can visit www.limagrain.co.uk or call Limagrain on 01472 371471.

At the Grassland and Muck Event, Limagrain can be found on stand no: 446 in the static trade area.

Plant breeders Limagrain UK have produced a new Growing Oilseed Rape Guide for the post neo nicotinoid ban era which takes a step by step approach looking at various ways in which growers can adjust their agronomy or variety choice to mitigate some of the challenges ahead.

 “As breeders Limagrain recognises the challenges that the UK’s favourite break crop faces without the seed treatments we have come to rely on. Good crops will still be grown but we will have to rethink some of our husbandry techniques and pay even closer attention to varietal choice if we are to succeed, “says Les Daubney, oilseeds product manager for Limagrain.

“Cultivations will become more important than ever when establishing OSR not only to conserve moisture but to encourage the crop out of the ground as quickly as possible to avoid flea beetle damage, so it may be a good time to review cultivation techniques.”

“Early crops are also more at risk from flea beetle as well as having the potential to be lush and attract aphids so it may be worthwhile reviewing drilling dates balanced against the consequences of later drilling into colder soils.”

Choosing the right variety will be critical to a successful crop emphasises Mr Daubney.

“Not all varieties develop at the same speed nor do hybrids necessarily develop faster than conventional varieties. For example two of our conventional varieties Anastasia and Pendulum are fast developers, more so than many of the hybrids.”

“There are cost implications to consider when deciding on hybrids or conventionals; seed for seed hybrids can be twice as expensive as conventionals. Consider using cheaper, conventional varieties in outlying or challenging areas. Older conventional varieties such as Rascal will fit well in this slot.”

The majority Myzus persicae in the UK are resistant to pyrethroids and this presents one of the biggest challenges to growing oilseed rape, with the loss of the neonicontinoid seed treatments. At present Plenum is approved for a single autumn control option- but this leaves a wide window for later infections.

However varietal resistance has a critical role to play in this battle against TuYV, with the introduction of Amalie, a conventional OSR variety which has single gene resistance to TuYV.

“As far as we can tell it is completely resistant to TuYV. The variety has completed NL trials and will be considered for RL trials in 2014-15 which will be the first year without seed treatments so is a real solution to growers and agronomists in the fight against aphid-borne TuYV,” says Mr Daubney.

This Limagrain guide intends to make the process of selecting the right variety for a particular location in as simple and straightforward as possible, and is centred around a comprehensive table that illustrates the yield comparisons, agronomic characteristics, seed quality and disease resistance of Limagrain’s key winter and spring oilseed rape varieties.

Available free to growers the guides can be ordered as paper copies from Laura Davey on 01472 370151 or downloaded from the group’s website (www.limagrain.co.uk).

However in spite of this, there are over 10 varieties on the recent HGCA Recommended List –so how do growers make the most of these choices and what is it that millers are looking for?

Mark Isaacson, commercial director with milling and coating business Bowmans, points out that there is an ever-increasing requirement for good quality biscuit-type wheats for a range of products across the UK and Europe such as food coatings, and cake flour in the form of heat-treated flour.

“We are supplying increasing volumes of heat treated flour every year, and it’s now one of the main areas of our business. UK soft wheats are still a favourite so the demand is undoubtedly there.”

“Reliability and consistency of quality is of paramount importance, it’s crucial that a variety can deliver this when we take it on. We are happy to accept any Group 3 soft wheat as long as it is on the HGCA Recommended List.”

“Our criteria for selection is based on a bold grain as this is easier to process, so variety choice is important. A good specific weight is more important than Haber Falling Number (HFN) and it’s crucial that the variety has a decent resistance to fusarium mycotoxins,” says Jeremy Pickering, technical director for the company.

James Walgate, based on the Lincolnshire Wolds, has turned to growing soft milling Group 3’s for the second season, having previously grown predominantly all hard wheats.

“We have generally grown feed wheats because of our location – that bit further north as it means that harvest is always slightly later, so we have not always been able to achieve the quality. “

“Although, to be honest we don’t make the decision to grow a variety based on if its soft or hard; the premium is just a bonus. Our driver is all about maximising first wheats with some decent break crops, and this means choosing a variety that I can grow best.”

“We make our variety choices in July through various field trials assessments and consultation with our advisor.  We like to get first wheats drilled early, we aim to be done by the first week of October, so we need slow developing varieties that have good disease resistance and strong straw. For the second wheats this is even more crucial.

“Last year was the first year that we broke away from the hard feed wheats and we grew some of the Group 3 soft wheat, Zulu. We were really pleased with how it performed with yields reaching 10.2t/ha – which is comparable with what we got from the Group 4’s – so suddenly we have found ourselves with a variety that has done well on farm and also has good marketing opportunities.”

Pleased with the performance of the variety, this season Mr Walgate has 25ha in the ground, and so far this season he is pleased with how it has looked, despite some serious disease challenges.

“It’s been a tough spring for disease, and it has really separated out the varieties that have better disease resistance. “We have adopted a very robust spray regime throughout and we have managed to keep on top of the rust and septoria- we never want to be in a position where we are chasing disease.”

“Both Zulu and the Group 4 Revelation have stood out as their disease resistance has proved robust and very valuable.”

Zulu, bred by Limagrain UK, was added to the RL in 2014, and is classified as a uks soft wheat with a medium rating for distilling. “Limagrain has a history of breeding good soft Group 3’s such as Claire and Invicta and Claire is still a firm favourite with many growers due to its reliability and consistency despite having been added to the recommended list as far back as 1999– Zulu offers very much the same – but with a step up in yield,” says Lee Robinson, sales and marketing director with Limagrain.

Zulu offers a very good agronomic package, combining good straw characteristics with robust disease resistance and WOBM resistance whilst also offering good grain specifications for several end market opportunities points out Ron Granger, arable technical manager with Limagrain.

“Bred from Njinsky, with the parentage of Claire and Consort in its background with the addition of Robigus, Myriad has a very strong pedigree,” says Ron Granger, arable technical manager for Limagrain UK.

The variety has consistently produced high yields both in trials and on farm across all rotational positions and a range of soil types, producing similar yields to Leeds and Viscount he notes but most significantly Myriad has been particularly successful in the north where it has shown an ability to yield despite some more difficult growing conditions.

“Myriad is a taller-strawed variety with a rating of 7 for standing power – similar to both Claire and Alchemy. Myriad also has resistance to Orange Wheat Blossom Midge thanks to having Robigus in its ancestry.”

“Its genetic make-up has also given Myriad good disease resistance ratings, with a rating of 8 for yellow rust , 6 for eyespot and a better mildew rating (6) than Leeds.”

“In the severe Fusarium pressure of 2012, it was quite clear that the variety had good Fusarium ear blight resistance (7). Initial Limagrain data and limited HGCA data would also suggest that Myriad has very good sprouting resistance. These are both desirable traits, particularly for growers in the north.”

Disease resistance ratings for Group 4 soft wheats

“Myriad is a slightly later maturity variety (+2 days), but it is by no means the latest maturing variety to be placed on the Recommended List,” adds Mr Granger.

However, he is keen to point out that the benefit of later maturing varieties is their ability to hang on and maximise yield potential.

Mr Granger recommends that the variety is not placed in the very early drilling slot on farm but sown in the mid-September to late drilling season window. “The variety is very similar to Robigus regarding its plant development – Myriad sits prostrate and produces high tiller numbers in the winter but takes off at a similar rate to Robigus with its ear development and stem elongation in the spring. Myriad is a taller variety however than Robigus hence my concern if it is drilled too early!”

“The variety has done well in the later sowing slot, competing with the high yielding hard feed wheat’s in this situation, which would suggest that it would suit the regimes of potato and sugar beet growers.”

Refer to * for Myriad Late Sown Yield Graph

This is the second year that Andrew Smales of Jack and Andrew Smales of Manor Farm, Burton Pidsea near Hull, has grown the variety based on its good performance last year.

“As the farm is situated in Holderness, East Yorkshire, on heavy clay loam soils, good crop vigour and tillering ability are two important attributes for any variety when being later drilled after potatoes,” he says.

“Last year the 10ha of Myriad was drilled late as we had to wait to lift potatoes. Despite this the crop did well and we achieved average yields of over 9t/ha.”

This year Mr Smales is increasing the area of Myriad to 48ha, drilling after peas into heavy land at a rate of 175kg/ha. “The crop emerged well and the competitive vegetative growth of the variety has meant that black-grass control in a field with a moderate black-grass history has been straight forward with no follow-up spring application of Atlantis needed to support the autumn residual herbicide.”

Agronomist Alastair Moore adds that good disease resistance is a key attribute of the variety. “The crop management has been simple and straight forward due to the flexibility and strong agronomic features of the variety. Being able to get on at the right timings has meant that we have been able to manage with a robust mix of triazoles in what has been a tough disease year- and it has been disease-free throughout.”

“With good weather forecasted over the next few weeks; there’s no reason to think that this crop will not yield 10t/ha,” he adds.

“We went on to drill three fields in mid- October, two following potatoes and another following grass. The crop came through nicely by the end of November and although many areas suffered with the very wet winter these lighter soils held up well and being higher up they dry off more quickly with the winds.”

The Myriad has had a fairly standard nutrition and spray programme and is looking like a good crop for us so far, free of disease and standing well. We have grown Robigus in the past but the Myriad seems to be suit our lighter soils better, we now wait to see how it does at harvest but I am fairly confident it will do well for us.”

Speaking at a recent meeting with the seed trade, Lee Robinson, sales and marketing director for Limagrain underlined the importance of supplying non-glycosidic nitrile (GN) varieties to the market that could meet the needs of both distilling and brewing.

“The malting barley market is effectively split in two, distilling and brewing. The distilling and real ale markets are showing good growth, but brewing is in decline across Europe. Growers have reacted to this and are looking for high yielding and agronomically sound non-GN varieties which also offer a security in marketing options.”

“At Limagrain this has been a key focus in the barley breeding programme– we are looking to bring varieties to the market that can be used in distilling and ideally with domestic brewing and export.”

Grain suitable for distilling should be below 1.65% nitrogen, and it is non-GN varieties that can offer this, adds Mark Glew, senior barley breeder at Limagrain.

Non-GN varieties include the version of a gene that makes them non-producers of the compound glycosidic nitrile, explained Mr Glew. “It’s a tiny piece of DNA, but it makes those particular varieties suitable,” he notes. “There are only a few of them, but they’re the ones that are tested and supported by the distillers.”

Concerto and Odyssey are the only non-GN varieties on the RL with full approval for brewing and distilling.

“Back in 2009, Concerto set a new benchmark for distilling varieties for quality and yield, this was followed by Odyssey in 2012. Odyssey demonstrated a step up in yield of 7% over Concerto which was enough of a difference to make growers want to try it not just in the UK but across Europe where its popularity as a dual variety is increasing.”

Mr Glew notes that since the launch of Odyssey however there has been a lull in the market as no new varieties have been recommended. However this looks set to change with the introduction of four non-GN candidates Deveron, Sienna, Octavia and Olympus currently in recommended list trials.

“Deveron offers 107% yield, above that of Propino and is short strawed, with very good disease resistance. Deveron has potential for distilling.”

“Sienna is a dual use variety with potential for brewing and distilling, with similar yields to Propino. Sienna has very good disease resistance and specific weight. “

“Specific weight is becoming an increasingly important characteristic for malting so this is a valuable characteristic for a dual purpose variety. Many varieties currently on the RL have low specific weight.”

“Octavia, another high yielding no GN variety also has potential for distilling and brewing and is already in trials in France having performed well to date. This variety also offers very good disease resistance.”

“The last of the four varieties, Olympus is a potential Belgravia replacement, offering high yields and with potential for malt distilling and grain distilling.”

“When we launched Odyssey, Overture and Chronicle we left it to the market to decide where the varieties would fit and which would survive, and the market very clearly chose Odyssey. We plan to do the same with these new varieties should they all be recommended.”

“This season’s results will clearly show up difference in varieties, having been really tested by disease, so it will be interesting to see how they perform.”

It might be tempting to leave undrilled fields fallow this spring so as to keep crop rotations on track, but a financially better option is to sow a nitrogen-fixing break crop of red and crimson clover and gain from free fertiliser, improved soil structure and a good cut of high protein forage, says Limagrain UK’s Ian Misselbrook.

With autumn drillings postponed due to bad weather, and with spring cereal seed in short supply, farmers have two options for arable fields: to wait until autumn and then drill as usual, or to sow an alternative spring crop. But to ensure drilling is not delayed again, careful choice of a spring crop is needed. A grass and red clover mixture could be the answer. Ian takes up the story.

“These days there is no financial value in leaving a field fallow – instead, the ground and soil content can be improved by establishing a short term red clover ley. This will not only ensure a better supply of soil nitrogen for the next crop, but will also help to alleviate soil compaction and add to the soil structure. It also produces a crop of forage to feed or sell.

“A red clover ley can release between 100 and 250kg of nitrogen per hectare into the soil when the plants die or are ploughed in. Conventional red clover is more suitable for leys lasting over a year. However, another clover type – crimson clover, also known as Italian or French clover – is an annual species, and capable of very high yields of dry matter in a short time.”

Crimson clover can be found in Crimson King, from the Sinclair McGill range of grass seed mixtures. Also included in the mixture, is a blend of conventional red clover varieties along with fast-establishing, quick-growing Westerwolds ryegrass and Italian ryegrasses.

“Crimson King makes an ideal break crop for farmers wanting to keep autumn drilling on schedule. If sown by early May, Crimson King is capable of delivering a good single cut of high protein hay or silage in late summer. The crop can then be ploughed in allowing the roots of the red and crimson clover plants to release nitrogen to the soil, and the plant material to add structure,” he concluded.

There is more information on this innovative mixture in the current Sinclair McGill catalogue – e-mail us and we can post you a hard copy or, alternatively, click here to download the the user-friendly pdf format.

It has often been said that one of the challenges facing UK wheat breeding programmes was to be able to produce varieties that were higher yielding than those already available, but also offered good disease resistance ratings.

Now this has been made possible with the introduction of three exciting wheat varieties that are up for recommendation this autumn from breeders Limagrain UK. Based on the results of the last two years of official trials Evolution is the highest yielding hard Group 4, Panacea the highest yielding soft Group 4 and Zulu the highest yielding Group 3.

“Limagrain has a history of bringing robust and consistent varieties to the market place such as Claire and Alchemy, but there has often been higher yielding varieties in these Group 3 and 4 categories, and for many growers it is yield that has been the deciding factor when choosing to grow a new variety. However by opting for out-and-out yield, growers have put themselves at higher risk from disease as these varieties have not also been able to offer robust ratings,” says Ed Flatman, senior wheat breeder for Limagrain.

“Evolution, Panacea and Zulu have been severely tested in both official and our own trials over the very different and challenging conditions of 2011 and 2012 and still performed. So, we know that their key traits such as disease, grain quality and agronomic features will stand up to whatever the 2013 season will throw at us and that’s really important for UK growers. “These new varieties will be at Cereals this year, so it is possible to come along and see how they have performed under this season’s challenging conditions.”

Highest yielding hard feed wheat

Evolution is a very high yielding hard feed wheat which will enable growers to increase their yields on farm. “A cross between Smuggler and a Robigus derivative, the variety was bred in Denmark by Sejet, but is being brought to market in the UK by Limagrain. It is an ideal variety for both the animal feed and biofuel markets as it has a hard endosperm and a specific weight comparable with other feed wheat varieties,” says Ron Granger, wheat breeder with Limagrain.

Over the last three seasons Evolution has yielded 108% over control; that is 1% above current market leader KWS Santiago and 5% over JB Diego, with an untreated yield of 9% over JB Diego. These yield results put it at the very top of the Group 4 hard wheats category.

The variety has very good resistance to foliar disease offering a 7 for mildew, and 8’s for both yellow and brown rust. “These levels of rust resistance have not yet been found in a hard Group 4, and the ratings are based on very sound resistance genes that have not succumbed to any of the newer aggressive races that have prevailed in recent seasons,” he adds.

Evolution has good resistance to mildew with a rating of 7, and 6’s for both Septoria and eyespot. The eyespot ratings are far above those for KWS Santiago with a 3, and an improvement on the 5 for eyespot from JB Diego. Evolution is similar in height to KWS Santiago with comparable standing ability to JB Diego.

“We are delighted that growers will have the option of another soft feed wheat with yields, comparable to the hard feed wheats that have dominated the market to date, with the new Group 4 soft wheat from Limagrain, Panacea,” says Mr Granger.

 â€œAs breeders we have always led this sector with Alchemy, followed by Horatio, Myriad and Revelation in the last couple of years, each variety raising the yield bar that bit more. Panacea offers the next step forward in yield.”

“Panacea has been bred through a cross of Lear with a Claire x Robigus derivative. Based on this parentage it is no surprise then that the variety has a very high yield potential in fungicide treated trials, yielding 107% over control which is 8% above Invicta and similar to the hard wheat KWS Santiago in official trials. “

“Panacea has a very good Septoria resistance rating of 6, critical to protecting yield as Septoria is still the most damaging disease in terms of yield. Panacea has moderate resistance to rusts, and very good resistance to mildew. It also has OBM resistance a key trait for many feed wheat growers in the UK.”

“In terms of height, the variety is similar height to Invicta with a comparable ripening date. The grain quality of Panacea is moderate for Hagberg Falling Number (HFN), similar to that of Santiago, but has good physical grain characteristics with a relatively high specific weight and what is so useful about this variety are the flexible marketing options it offers. Panacea’s soft endosperm ensures it can be sold into the soft wheat market, and it is therefore a suitable option for the distilling, bio ethanol, export and feed wheat markets.”

Highest yielding Group 3

“At Limagrain we have a reputation of providing growers with good biscuit making varieties such as Claire and Invicta, and this breeding programme goes from strength to strength with the introduction of Zulu,” says Mr Granger. “Based on a parentage of a Claire cross and Robigus, it is not surprising therefore to see that the variety yields 4% over the leading variety in this group Invicta, and 7% above Scout.”  

“Offering a respectable HFN of 215 for a biscuit wheat with a high specific weight, Zulu has demonstrated consistent biscuit making characters across in-house and official trials. It’s soft endosperm makes the marketing of this variety extremely flexible as it is suitable not only for biscuit flour but also for the distilling, biofuel, export and animal feed markets, and in this way offers growers a risk management strategy for selling grain across a wide range of markets.”

Mr Granger confirms that Zulu has a very good yellow rust rating of 9, an 8 for mildew and a 6 for Septoria which is higher than competitors Scout and Invicta. The yellow rust resistance is similar to that found in Evolution and has stood up against the more aggressive rust strains that have emerged in the last two seasons, including the Warrior race. Zulu carries OBM resistance and also Soil Borne Mosaic Virus resistance which is a vitally important character for some growers.

Zulu is a short variety, shorter than Invicta, is early to ripen and with a similar resistance to lodging as Invicta.” It is important to note however that Zulu is not a suitable variety for the early drilling slot as it tends to be fast out of the blocks in the spring- similar to most Robigus derivatives,” he adds.

Plant early maturing maize varieties to prevent delays in winter wheat drilling

Planting an early maturing maize variety can help maximise the performance of a successful follow-on winter wheat crop. Data from HGCA’s latest five year rolling Recommended List trials has shown that delaying winter wheat drilling to late November could result in a yield loss of almost 1t/ha, when compared to drilling in late September. Limagrain’s Tim Richmond takes up the story: “This equates to a potential loss of £216/ha. So, with maize it is essential to sow a sufficiently early maturing variety to help prevent a late harvest and subsequent delayed wheat drilling in the crop rotation.”

In the Recommended List trials, which were planted in late September/early October, the mean yield of the control varieties was 10.2t/ha, whereas when sowing was delayed to late autumn, the control yield dropped to 9.3t/ha, a reduction of 0.9t/ha. Mr Richmond added: “Latest prices put feed wheat at £197/t, and milling wheat at £216/t, so a loss of nearly 1t/ha soon adds up.

“In a rotation where the follow-on crop benefits from early drilling, growers should choose an early maturing variety of maize so it matures on time to fit the schedule. The modern genetics bred into the new early maturing varieties, like Ambition and Fieldstar, can deliver both earliness and yield, making variety choice simpler.

“Growers planting early maturing varieties like these have a ‘win-win’ situation, the maize is fully mature and harvested early enough so that winter wheat is drilled early and there is no loss of grain yield. Sowing a later maturing variety would mean having to wait for the maize to mature, resulting in a potential loss of 1t/ha wheat yield due to delayed sowing. With the current high wheat prices it’s madness to lose out.”

“If maize isn’t mature by harvest time then growers have a difficult decision to make; leave the maize to reach its full maturity, resulting in a late wheat drilling and a loss of grain yield. Or harvest the maize before reaching maturity in order to drill the wheat on time, consequently losing out on maize forage quality.”

Mr Richmond added: “After the poor weather we’ve had over the last few years, sowing an early maturing variety of maize can be the difference between being able to sow a follow-on winter  crop or not.  It also gives a longer window of opportunity for drilling the follow-on crop, thus there’s less pressure to get onto the land and risk damaging the soil, with the knock-on effect that would then have on wheat yields.”

For a free copy of The Maize Variety Selection Guide, email Limagrain UK at enquiries@limagrain.co.uk or visit www.limagrain.co.uk/maize to download the pdf file.

April 2013

With the end of winter in sight and warmer temperatures predicted as we head towards the end of April and into early May, already struggling oilseed rape crops will be at very high risk from pollen beetle attack as they race through the growth stages into green bud development over the next few weeks, and will need vigilant monitoring.

“The prolonged winter has meant that the majority of rape crops have still not reached stem extension, and flowering that would normally occur in mid-April has been delayed, with crops only entering the green bud stage later this month or even as late as May. However this later development will also coincide with pollen beetle migration as temperatures improve which could be disastrous for already struggling crops,” warns Jo Bowman, oilseed rape breeder for Limagrain UK.

“The oilseed rape crop is very susceptible from pollen beetle feeding from green to yellow bud stage prior to flowering, and the beetles will be particularly hungry after the long, cold spell and will be on the move once temperatures improve which means that we could be faced with this migration when crops are at the green bud stage. “If this is the case they will move rapidly into the rape crops from winter hosts biting into and killing the buds. They will also lay eggs inside the closed buds, and hatched larvae then feed before dropping into the soil to pupate. Usually warm temperatures and beetle migration coincide with crop flowering which poses a reduced risk as they feed on the flower pollen which is what we will be looking at as temperatures warm up heading into May and adult pollen beetles to start migrating and looking to feed and lay eggs, ”

“Therefore, it is imperative that growers are vigilant at monitoring crops both midfield and headlands, and that at the first sight of infection – even once or two beetles- and should be prepared to spray straight away.”

“Whilst threshold levels are useful in normal years, this is not a normal season, and I think it requires a more pro-active approach which means getting out and spraying at the first sign of infection.”    â€œAn additional concern that prompts early action is that we really do not know how far resistance to pyrethroids has spread. As we have not had a high risk situation for a number of seasons, growers have not had to spray and therefore will not know in many cases if the sprays that they normally use will have an effect. It will be important therefore to discuss product choice carefully with your agronomist.”

“Ultimately rape crops that have made it this far cannot afford to be damaged any further, it’s all about protecting whatever potential is still in the crop.”