At this year’s Cereals event Limagrain will have a range of cereal, oilseed rape and pulse varieties in plots for visitors to see first-hand how new and established varieties have performed under this season’s challenging growing conditions.

Plant establishment: Visitors to the stand will be able to look at the effect of thousand grain weight (TGW) in relation to size of seed in order to get the optimum plant population. Two plots of Horatio were drilled using the same weight of seed per plot. However one is using seed from 2011 harvest with a higher TGW of 60g and the other using smaller seed from 2012 with a TGW of 43g.

“What the effect is on plant populations and overall establishment will be up for discussion in June. The plots will clearly illustrate the importance of sowing by seed number rather than weight, so do come along and have a look,” says Michael Fletcher of Limagrain.

Biofumigation: Getting the best from non-chemical pest control through the use of biofumigants is also a focus on the stand. “Involving the incorporation of fresh green cover crops into the soil that releases chemical substances known as isothiocyanates (ITC), bio fumigation offers a natural way of controlling soil borne diseases such as Fusarium, Pythium, Rhizoctonia and soil borne pests, and  should be of real interest this season,” he adds.  “We have drilled a mix containing white mustard, oilseed radish and cappuccino- this blend is the most beneficial as it creates a wider ITC spectrum. Additional information on the benefits of this approach and agronomy tips will be available during Cereals.”

The variety plots

Leading wheat varieties: Up for recommendation this year, Limagrain has the highest yielding hard Group 4 wheat, Evolution, Panacea the highest yielding soft Group 4 and Zulu the highest yielding Group 3. Established Group one varieties such as Crusoe as well as other market leading varieties such as Edgar, Horatio, Solstice, Myriad and Revelation will also be on the stand.

Barley: With resurgence in spring barley and the demand for universal non-GN varieties, Concerto is now a firmly established market leader. This variety and its ‘sons’ Odyssey, Overture and Chronicle are all in plots this year.

Is there a role for winter barley in the rotation? Most definitely yes, but with varieties that are high yielding and have robust disease resistance ratings. Up for recommendation this autumn from Limagrain, new feed varieties Cadillac, and Cavalier offer growers just this, and are particularly suited to the west. Harlequin is more suited to the north with its early maturity and high yields.

Oilseed rape: Anastasia tops the HGCA northern Recommended List with its excellent gross output potential combined with stiff stems and good lodging resistance making it a variety suitable to be grown north of the Humber Bridge not just Scotch corner!

Ventura is a new conventional, open pollinated variety to be considered for addition to the Recommended List this autumn from Limagrain. Ventura has a high gross output potential with good lodging resistance and top ratings to both light leaf spot and stem canker. Certainly one to watch.

Clive Wreathall has taken quickly to Crusoe winter wheat impressed by its quality, disease resistance and ready milling market.

Despite a dismal harvest nationwide, he combined a bumper crop of Crusoe last summer which was grown on contract for Britain’s biggest breadmaker Warburtons.The new variety outperformed other well established bread wheats such as Solstice and Cordiale on his farm with a yield of 11.2t/ha signalling it could be the future foundation of the British loaf.

“On present form, Crusoe looks like being a successor to Solstice and looks like the kind of wheat we want to grow,” he says.On his rich silty moisture-retentive soils, the variety turned in a promising protein of 14%, a specific weight of 80-82kg/hl and a high hagberg to meet Warburtons 225 minimum. He is growing 40ha of Crusoe this season after a similar amount last year and is set for over 200ha this autumn to account for two-third of his first wheats.

Mr Wreathall summaries the variety’s benefits as producing a quality crop in a tough year, good septoria disease resistance, and stiff straw which is easy to combine and a ready end-market. He easily met the Warburtons milling criteria of 12.5% protein, 76 kg/hl specific weight and the 225 hagberg, and sold his crop at Christmas for £244/t, a then £30/t premium over feed wheat.

The backbone of his rotation at his 1,000ha Chapel Farm, Ivychurch, in southwest Kent, is bread wheat as he has never been able to get feed wheats to perform well. “If you can not grow big crops of bread wheats on our moisture retentive soil in the south east of England, then where can you grow them,” is his cropping philosophy.

Crusoe’s breeder, Limagrain UK, says it has been working with Warburtons and its supplier the British farming co-operative Openfield from an early stage to establish the variety’s breadmaking credentials. Wheat breeder Ron Granger says the variety offers higher yields together with better protein and disease resistance compared with Limagrain’s other well-known quality wheat Solstice, which has been around for 10 years.

Openfield is offering Crusoe on a Warburtons milling contract along with Solstice, Hereward and Edgar this autumn along with comprehensive agronomic advice to help growers get the most from the varieties. Tudor Dawkins, Openfield technical manager for Warburtons growers, says the variety can be grown as a first or second wheat with a yield and protein content ahead of Solstice and another breadmaker Gallant.

Its disease resistance is especially strong against yellow rust and mildew, while it has the highest resistance on the HGCA Recommended List with a score of 7 compared with a 5 for Solstice and Gallant, Dr Dawkins adds.

The variety first came onto the HGCA Recommended List for drilling in autumn 2012, and this autumn there should be plenty of seed available. Mr Wreathall believes that he could cut his nitrogen rate and possible fungicides costs after growing the variety successfully for one season.

Milling wheat contracts typically don’t pay for protein above the stated requirement and, in this case, Warburtons requires only 12.5% so after he achieved 14% last season he thinks he may be able to cut back on his three-way split of nitrogen application totalling 260kg/ha. He was clearly impressed by Crusoe’s higher resistance to wheat’s biggest yield-sapping disease, septoria, compared with Solstice.

“There was a huge visible difference between Crusoe and Solstice on the level of Septoria, but the biggest question is will it eventually breakdown,” he says. He follows a comprehensive four-spray fungicide policy through the spring and looks to cover any disease that might strike his crop. “If you aim to get £2,500/ha from your crops then you can afford to use a robust fungicide regime,” he says.

His plan is to ease Solstice out as a first wheat with two-third Crusoe and one-third Solstice planned for this autumn, while he will also try Crusoe out as a second wheat. He grows about 650ha of wheat in a rotation of two wheats followed by a break of oilseed rape, two further wheats then a further break of dried peas. Cordiale has proved a fail-safe second wheat, giving him “bomb-proof” quality, but if Crusoe gives him consistent quality then he will try it as a second wheat.

Crusoe was bought in as a Hereward replacement, but now could be a major wheat on his farm if it can give him the Holy Grail of wheat growers: consistent quality. “Crusoe looks like being the next generation after Solstice for the next five years or so,” he says.

Limagrain UK is announcing the addition of two new sugar beet varieties to the BBRO Recommended List for 2014. Both varieties – Master and Pamina – are high yielding in their respective market segments and represent a “step forward” in terms of output and management ease.

Master is a Rhizomania resistant variety combining good establishment habits and strong disease ratings making it easy to manage. With a yield of 101.8% of controls it is the third highest yielding variety on the list, but with a score of 7 for rust and a 5 for mildew it is offers the best disease resistance of any of the top-rated varieties.

“Master is an exceptional variety,” says Limagrain sugar beet consultant Bram van der Have. “It features top line performance for yield, sugar content and establishment. To combine these attributes with excellent disease scores represents a step forward in all-round variety performance,” he adds.

“Its disease resistance will be welcomed by growers looking to spread the spraying workload among more susceptible varieties and those who like to lift later in the season. An excellent establishment score that is in excess of the mean of the control varieties will give growers the confidence that Master has the vigour needed to get going even in challenging situations.”

Master is likely to appeal most to those with large areas to plant or who find crops perform best when drilled at normal timings,” he adds.

Figure 1. Sugar concentration (%) and adjusted tonnes combined in a conventional Rhizomania resistance background

Figure 1 summarises Master’s position. A very high sugar content variety that is likely to appeal to the sugar processor and a very high adjusted tonnage variety which should make it equally attractive to the professional sugar beet grower. The other variety to be offered from Limagrain UK in 2014 is Pamina and like Master it is bred by Betaseed GmbH, the European arm of the most successful sugar beet breeder in the US, for whom Limagrain is the marketing agent in the United Kingdom.

Pamina is one of five varieties on the list to offer Beet Cyst Nematode tolerance and combined with its Rhizomania resistance and sound agronomic package is likely to be highly prized by those with land confirmed with, or suspected of being infested with, BCN. In RL trials on uninfested sites Pamina produced a worthy performance of 95% of controls; a very competitive performance for a BCN tolerant variety and putting it among the top three varieties in this category.

“Pamina is a strong variety combining excellent yield potential with the highest sugar content of any BCN-resistant variety at 18.79%. Add to this its exceptional bolting performance and good establishment and Pamina is a variety that can be sown with confidence over a wide timespan,” says Limagrain UK sugar beet consultant Bram van der Have.

Figure 2: Sugar concentration (%) and adjusted tonnes combined in a BCN and Rhizomania resistance background

A 2011 BBRO survey of fields with a known history of BCN found that infection in the UK to be widespread, although still at a low level and often not uniform across fields.  Continental data shows that in cases of heavy infections BCN tolerant varieties, such as Pamina, can give yield benefits of up to 30% compared with standard non-BCN tolerant varieties.

“Growers in the UK will have to use a combination of soil sampling, BCN testing and, where infection levels in excess of 5% are evident, consider whether to use resistant varieties, such as Pamina, in either part or the whole field,” says Bram van der Have.

“Breeding developments have led to the latest BCN tolerant varieties featuring yield potential close to some of the standard varieties. This gives growers with BCN infection at least some armour in their fight against this pest,” he says.

“Growers with BCN problems also have a bio-fumigation control option available by the cultivation of crops for nematode reduction such as:  Doublet Oilseed Radish, Smash Mustard or Adios Fodder Radish and if interested in such control measures, which are widely used in Northern Germany and the Benelux countries, should contact their seed supplier for specific advice.”

Copies of the Essential Guide to Forage Crops will also be available on the stand, providing a comprehensive guide to variety selection, crop establishment, and utilisation.

Where silage cuts have been disappointing, and dairy farmers want to boost winter forage stocks, then sowing catch crops later this summer will provide cheaper alternatives to bought-in feeds.

Stubble turnips can be sown straight after cereals harvest for a low cost forage crop which can be ready to utilise in 12-14 weeks. Similarly, forage rape variety Interval is fast growing and can provide a pre-Xmas fodder supply.

Alternatively, for an early spring bite, Humbolt forage rye can be sown in September and be ready to graze in March.

Advice on the full range of forage options for dairy farmers, and the recommended varieties to sow, will be available on the Sinclair McGill stand, along with free copies of Essential Guide to Forage Crops.

Maize breeder Limagrain UK is running its maize under plastic trial for a fifth year, providing UK growers with up-to-date information on the performance of 45 different varieties. The trial looks at both new varieties and current commercial varieties.  Two new varieties, Ambition and Asgaard, are both demonstrating very good early vigour, enabling the plant to grow through the plastic quickly.

Limagrain’s trials manager Richard Camplin explains: “The trial site at Newark will allow us to evaluate a range of material for emergence, vigour, yield and quality.

“It includes both new available varieties under evaluation for growing under plastic and established varieties such as Award and Beacon, which we already know can produce high dry matter yields with excellent starch content when grown under plastic.  These have both again proven that they have excellent early vigour and they emerged quickly through the plastic. There’s commercial growing experience to back this up in addition to numerous trials. First emergence through the plastic happened within three weeks and both varieties appear very green and healthy and are looking promising.”

Mr Camplin adds: “Ambition is showing the same excellent early vigour as we see in conventional sowings, with rapid emergence through the plastic. Asgaard is a very new high starch variety. This has also shown good, vigorous early growth and fast emergence through the plastic. Although it’s not yet on the NIAB List, seed is now available.

“Although the trial was sown nearly one month later this year, we hope to still see the benefit of the plastic with the crop being ready for harvest by up to a month earlier than conventional sown crops. At harvest we will see if the potential yield benefits are realised, enabling recommendations to be made about which varieties are most successful under plastic.”

After many years of successful oilseed rape breeding on the continent, Limagrain UK has adopted a UK bespoke approach for its oilseed rape breeding programme. Now in its third year, the aim of this approach is to bring oilseed rape varieties to the market place that will suit UK conditions and markets – and Limagrain is the only UK based oilseed rape breeder to do so.

 â€œFor many years successful varieties that have been bred in both France and Germany have been brought over to the UK and have performed relatively well. However it is often the case that these varieties are taller and more suited to the harsher environmental conditions that are had on the continent,” says Dr Jo Bowman, senior oilseed rape breeder with Limagrain for over 30 years.

“In recognition of these differences our breeding programme based up at Rothwell in Lincolnshire, has focussed on producing varieties that are more suitable to the more variable climatic conditions of the UK, and are also better suited to the agronomical approach that we take with oilseed rape in this country.”

 â€œFor example France has serious phoma stem canker, which means that varieties must be bred with that resistant trait, while in Germany it is phoma and winter hardiness that is required.”

“It’s also worth remembering that growers in the UK tend to use double the seed rates used by their counterparts in France and Germany traditionally because of poor seedbeds and difficulty in getting the crop established. This then creates a different set of agronomy challenges when growing the resulting thicker, greener crop which usually has to be harvested in damp, miserable conditions.” .  Dr Bowman underlines the importance of breeding consistent varieties, “that is varieties that yield over a range of seasons not varieties that yield well for a season or two and then drop off – that’s of little value to us or growers. In order to breed consistent varieties, disease resistance ratings and agronomic factors are key, and by getting these right yield is protected.”

“Producing consistent varieties is an important focus not just for our current but also for future breeding programmes. We have to think now about the needs and challenges of crop production for the future to ensure that in eight years we have varieties that respond to the challenges of the time.”

 â€œIt is important to recognise and understand that securing food supplies for the future is not just about increasing yields but having varieties that yield consistently and we are looking at how these yields can be produced and maintained in the context of possible further restrictions on fertiliser and fungicide use.”

 Hybrid or conventional? “Our breeding programme is balanced in favour of producing hybrids over conventional varieties by about 60%,” says Dr Bowman.  “This reflects what is happening in the market place; the amount of hybrids grown in the UK has been steadily increasing for several years and in 2012 about 65% of the oilseed rapeseed purchased in the UK was of hybrid varieties.”

“Today’s hybrids are shorter and easier to harvest and they often still have a yield advantage. This is particularly noticeable when sown late or in less favourable conditions when their autumn and early spring vigour leads to quicker establishment, greater resilience to pigeon damage in the autumn and more rapid spring growth. “

“With an early onset of colder weather and a shorter growing season hybrid varieties are especially favoured in the north of England and in Scotland.” “Our variety Artoga fits this category very well producing comparable yields to Excalibur, with outstanding early vigour producing a large, healthy plant going into winter, alongside good pod shatter resistance and early maturity. “

“Conventional varieties have tended to be shorter strawed than hybrids leading to a faster and cheaper harvest. The seed is usually less expensive and the sowing rate a little higher. In the HGCA trials conventional types have frequently yielded as well as or better than their hybrid counterparts and on farm experience often suggests that the yield advantage is slight at best.”

“However, there is always a variety that breaks the mould such as the top yielding variety on the northern 2012-2013 HGCA list, Anastasia, that is a conventional. This variety yields at least 1% higher than any of the hybrids on the list, producing 106% over control in fungicide treated trials. This combined with its strong agronomic characteristics make it a very attractive variety for the whole northern region -that is north of the Humber Bridge not Scotch Corner.”

The last two seasons have demonstrated the value of growing consistent varieties that will perform under a range of conditions. Growers need to know that whatever the weather does, the varieties that they have in the ground can cope and will yield.

The last two seasons could not have been more different testing varieties across the recommended list with many succumbing to the intense disease and environmental pressures, whilst others have continued to perform backed up by a sound and robust agronomic make up.

“When choosing varieties for the coming season growers really need to look at these performances to ensure they choose varieties that they have confidence in to deliver irrespective of the season,” says Dr Paul Rowe, wheat breeder with Limagrain.

“Limagrain has a reputation for providing growers with varieties that are consistent for performance in both agronomic and end use specification and it is varieties such as the high yielding, soft wheat Revelation that has performed very well in both fungicide treated and untreated trials over a number of very different years, that underpin this confidence. “

“Revelation which joined the recommended list last year offers an excellent disease resistance package backed up by stiff straw and the results of this have been seen across the country. In fact the variety’s performance last year was outstanding, which in the face of the severe disease pressures we had confirms its genetic robustness.”

“This excellent agronomic package makes it not only an easy variety to manage, but also one that provides more flexibility for input timings than is available with many weaker-strawed, more disease-prone varieties. “

Revelation’s pedigree is based on an Alchemy x Claire cross with Shepherd. “The objective of this cross was to combine the soft-milling and excellent agronomic qualities of Alchemy and Claire with the more diverse disease resistance, including pch1 eyespot resistance, carried by Shepherd (derived from Aardvark), “ he adds.

Revelation is suitable for the feed, distilling, export and bio-fuel markets. The variety has excellent quality specifications, producing grain of good specific weight and a hagberg falling number significantly higher than several other varieties in this sector such as Cougar for example, which does not have a recommendation for distilling.

High yielding and outstanding agronomic profile Revelation has produced very high yields throughout the UK, and in recommended list trials has out-performed all the established varieties in the soft feed group, producing 104% over control in treated trials. Revelation performed particularly well in the east and northern regions outperforming Cougar by as much as 2% in the east.

“There is no other variety currently on the recommended list that displays such levels of resistance over all the major wheat diseases. As the only variety with a rating of 9 for yellow rust and brown rust, an 8 for eyespot and a 7 for Fusarium it is clearly the most robust disease resistant package currently on offer from the soft wheat group, certainly offering a more robust package than either Cougar or Leeds.”

“This outstanding disease resistance gives growers a level of assurance that if fungicide applications are delayed due to adverse weather conditions yield will not be compromised to any great extent. Revelation has stiff straw of a moderate height, and is a late maturing variety.”

“However it is important to note that Revelation does not possess genetic resistance to wheat orange blossom midge, so in areas where this is a problem control with an insecticide application will be beneficial.”

Rotational flexibility  According to Dr Rowe it is the flexibility of where the variety can be grown within the rotation that should make it particularly appealing to growers as it has produced a consistent performance in both first and second wheat rotational positions, and on both light and heavy soil types.

“Although only low levels of take – all have been found on farm in the last couple of seasons, partly due to the extreme climatic variation, Revelation would appear to be a very good second wheat candidate from our own trials. The data illustrates that Revelation has the potential to yield consistently well, over several years, in this key rotational position, presumably in part due to the variety’s excellent eyespot resistance of 8,” he says.

Early drilling This coming season many farmers will be looking to get their wheat crops in as early as possible to avoid a repeat of last autumn. For those growers who may be discouraged by the risk of increased disease, lodging or weed pressure associated with early drilling, Revelation is a variety that they should consider for this slot that overcomes most of these early drilling issues.

“The requirements for an early-sowing variety “are a prostrate winter growth habit and a relatively slow primordial development in the spring, combined with good disease resistance and stiff straw, all of which Revelation possesses.”

“The variety’s high level of eyespot resistance is an added bonus for a variety in the early drilling slot, as the incidence of this disease is greatly increased from early sowing dates, even in a first wheat situation, which can result in reduced yields.”

REVELATION – KEY POINTS• Soft Milling Feed Wheat• HGCA Recommended for the UK• Very good Disease Resistance• Pch1 Eyespot resistance• Stiff Straw• Suitable for early September sowingREVELATION – MARKETS• Animal Feed• Distilling• UKS export brand• Bio-FuelDownload the Revelation winter wheat guide here

Given the difficult conditions last autumn, many growers will be looking to drill as soon as possible this year. At a joint press briefing at the Cereals event, breeders Limagrain in conjunction with Agrii, provided some essential early drilling advice for this season.

Agrii R&D project manager, James Southgate, outlined the potential benefits of early drilling crops such as increasing yield potential, improving establishment, reducing seed rates and knowing that there was a crop in the ground should weather conditions break as they did last year.

However Mr Southgate also highlighted the risks involved with early drilling such as increased BYDV threat, increased disease and lodging as well as an adverse effect on black-grass control.

Key to the success of early drilling was choosing the right variety he said. “ In Agrii trials, it was clear that some varieties were better suited to the early slot than others such as Horatio and JB Diego, with a 1.3t/ha difference between them and a variety such as Santiago which is not as well suited. Early drilling really pulls out the differences between varieties.”

Ed Flatman, senior wheat breeder with Limagrain pointed out that not all varieties are suitable for early drilling, and not to drill any variety early just because you have it in the store. “The message for this season is that it is important to sow the right varieties at the right time.”

Understanding plant development is key to selecting the correct varieties for early drilling continued Mr Flatman.” Growth habit should be high married against a slow to medium apical development.  If apical development is too advanced in the spring it can result in damage from late frosts, so you want a variety that has slow spring apical development in phase with stem extension.|”

“Claire is the ideal variety for early drilling with a 7 for growth habit (9 being prostrate), slow spring apical development and high tillering ability. More recently recommended varieties such as Revelation and Horatio both have a 7 for growth habit balanced with medium to slow apical development, making them ideal for the early drilling slot.”

“Both varieties also have good robust disease resistance ratings and stiff straw so this helps to combat the extra disease pressure that comes with early drilling.”

Appropriate agronomy for early drilled crops is critical to getting the extra yield continued Mr Southgate. “Our trials conducted in Essex showed that higher seed rates (200-250seeds/m2) produced higher yields than lower seed rates (100-150-seeds/m), although seed rates will vary depending on geography and environmental conditions.  Using an adequate seed treatment, such as Deter or fluquinconazole, is also important.”

“The black-grass factor is of course critical to consider when drilling early, its worth balancing up the pros and cons as delayed drilling can reduce black-grass by as much as 50%, so choose your fields carefully. Early drilling on bad black-grass fields should not be considered.”

In a season where many growers’ wheat struggled to meet milling specification a little known German wheat has been somewhat of a welcome surprise.

Edgar, from Limagrain UK, is a German ‘E’ wheat that was identified by Warburtons, Britain’s premium bread brand, as having the necessary quality attributes to meet its requirements. It was then trialled by Limagrain and Openfield to assess its suitability to UK conditions.

Its bold grain and high protein content as well as its versatility across a range of soil types, particularly lighter soil types, raised its appeal at a time when there were few varieties coming through domestic programmes likely to make the Group 1 category.

Though not on the HGCA Recommended List it is available in the UK through the EU Common Catalogue and is now generally available having been previously exclusive to Warburtons. While it was its quality grain that first attracted attention it is gaining a following among growers who like its easiness to manage and find its tall straw of value.

“After three seasons in the UK it has proven to be particularly consistent and will inevitably come to be a significant variety with its vigorous growth habit and good grain sample,” says Openfield’s Dr Tudor Dawkins who manages the technical aspects of the Warburtons relationship.

Experience suggests it is ideally suited to lighter land, black-grass and second wheat situations, but its excellent disease package suggests it will find favour beyond this catchment.

“The lack of visibility on the HGCA and NABIM lists may have slowed uptake initially, but once growers have tried it they will certainly want to grow it again,” says Dr Dawkins.

“It ticks a lot of the management boxes which often determine whether a grower goes with a variety,” he says. “It has a prostrate winter growth habit and tillers prolifically. It develops rapidly in the spring producing a tall crop, but with very good standing ability and has outstanding disease resistance, especially against mildew, brown rust, Septoria and Fusarium.

“If that were not enough to attract growers it is also a proven second wheat with outstanding Rendezvous eyespot resistance,” he adds.

SUCCESOR TO HEREWARD For West Sussex grower James Seller Edgar seemed to offer everything he was looking for in a quality wheat to succeed Hereward which has been his main wheat for many years.

“We can grow Group 1 wheats well with consistent results, but not every variety suits our soils or our climate. We’ve tried Solstice, but didn’t get on with it and consequently, we have been stuck with Hereward for some time,” says James Seller.

Such testing requirements have not discouraged him from looking for a successor to Hereward which, while its quality remains outstanding, its yield lags newer varieties.

“We have been monitoring the results and experiences of other varieties in this category for some time and following a trip to Cereals in 2011 we decided to go with Edgar. Of all the varieties available to us, I felt Edgar best suited our situation,” he says.

Part of the attraction was its tall straw and its impressive quality aspects. “We look for taller varieties as they tend to perform better on our drought-prone land. Our flint clay over chalk can, and does, dry quickly and experience has shown that the taller crops tend to fare better. “It also had a strong disease profile with good scores for all the main foliar diseases and resistance to eyespot. We couldn’t see a reason not to try it,” he says.

Due to a sizeable area of woodland surrounding the farm and no near-by neighbours James Seller avoids oilseed rape and spring peas for fear of losing these crops to pigeons. Instead, he follows a rotation of winter wheat, winter oats, winter wheat and spring beans.

Last season Edgar drilling commenced on 9th October and finished 11 days later, a laudable result given the season. Heading in to winter he had his reservations about the variety as it was not tillering in line with his expectations, but these proved to be unfounded.

“I felt we were one tiller short of what we should expect, but it’s fair to say that it is not a variety with a prostrate growth habit.  The Gallant seemed to look better coming out of the spring, but Edgar delivered pleasant surprise at harvest.”

Even so, it came out of the relatively mild winter looking good with no signs of stress; all that however, was about to change as the seemingly endless rain begun in April.

“It’s true to say it had a less than robust fungicide programme. The rain interrupted our spraying schedule with the T1 application being merged into the T2, but nonetheless it withstood the disease pressure well considering the conditions and yielded 7.65t/ha (3.1t ac).”

The quality results were mixed with specific weight bucking the season at 73-75 while Hagberg Falling Number and Protein coming in at 205-337 and 13.3-13.5% respectively.

“The Hagbergs were a little low though this could be partially attributed to my inexperience with a new dryer installed before last harvest.  A neighbour on the Down had an appalling harvest with specific weight in the 50s so we count ourselves fortunate: 40% of our Edgar made Grade A specification,” he adds.

ONLY WHEAT TO MAKE MILLING GRADE Edgar’s robust performance surprised more than one grower in 2012 with Colin Collins of RB Goldbourne & Sons in Worcestershire grateful for Edgar’s resilience in what turned out to be a challenging year.

At 7.9t/ha (3.2t/ac) his 101ha (250 ac) of Edgar outperformed newcomer Crusoe, the highest yielding Group 1, and stalwart Alchemy.

“We were pleasantly surprised by its performance and revised our decision to drop it.  If I could have secured more seed this autumn I would have taken it, but like many others I suspect we have not had the opportunity to plant any winter wheat,” said Colin Collins.

His crop of Edgar was helped by its early maturity which meant it was harvested two weeks before any other variety with combining commencing on the 19th August.

“Despite the challenges at harvest all our Edgar made milling specification. Given the year, this was a relief and has changed my opinion of a variety we were having second thoughts about,” he added.

Test results reveal his Edgar produced broadly consistent results with specific weight of 74 or above and Hagberg Falling Number ranging from 205 to 234.  Protein too was respectable at between 12.8% and 13.2% against a contract requiring a minimum of 12.5%. In comparison, Crusoe managed a specific weight of 65 to 68 which, while not poor for the season, was less than his milling contract specified.  Hagberg too fell short of contract specification at 180 though protein levels were similar.

His only criticism of Edgar lies with its tall straw. Although it stood well all year he decided to cancel his seed order ahead of harvest, but once combining began he reversed the decision and as the other crops came off even tried to secure more seed.

“We knew it was a tall variety and so increased the PGR accordingly, even so its height going into harvest was a concern.  On reflection I needn’t have worried because it stood fantastically, even in to the corners, but as we have little need for the straw I tend to prefer shorter varieties,” he says.

As such the straw was chopped, a decision he regards as a wise one given the early entry it provided for winter oilseed rape drilling. 

“I feel we were fully justified to chop the straw. The oilseed rape that went in after Edgar had two weeks longer than that following the other wheats and it looks significantly better for it.”

“It was also reasonably cheap to grow.  It has good all-round disease resistance which tends to befit most German-bred varieties so despite the season we managed with a modest fungicide programme (see table below) similar to 2011.  Our only overspend was on the PGR.”

Edgar fungicide regime at RB Goulbourne & Sons

T0 (31st March)                  Alto Elite (chlorothalonil + cyproconazole) 0.72 l/ha

T1 (15th April)                     Fosulfuron (sulfosulfuron) 1.0 l/ha                                             Standon Pygmy (trinexapac-ethyl) 0.15 l/ha                                             Whistle (boscalid  + epoxiconazole) 1.0 l/ha                                             Rover 500 (chlorothalonil) 1.0 l/ha

T2 (17th May)                     Aviator 235 Xpro (bixafen + prothioconazole) 1.0l/ha                                             Terpal C (chlormequat + 2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) 1.0 l/ha (???)

T3 (10th June)                     Fandango (fluoxastrobin + prothioconazole) 0.15 l/ha                                             Proline (prothioconazole) 0.3 l/ha                                             Tebuconazole 0.36 l/ha

EDGAR: TECHNICAL SCORES

Source: Limagrain private trials

As one of the highest yielding soft Group 4 wheats on the Recommended List, Limagrain UK’s Myriad, has proven itself to be high yielding in the north of England and Scotland (107%), with an outstanding disease package and good ratings for distilling.

“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, wheat breeder for Limagrain UK.

“It has consistently produced high yields across the last two difficult seasons, across all rotational positions and a range of soil types, producing similar yields to Leeds, and 2% above Cougar.  Myriad has been particularly successful in the north where it has shown an ability to yield despite some of the more difficult growing conditions.”

“Quality wise Myriad produces a very similar grain sample to Alchemy with a positive rating for distilling and with uks export soft wheat opportunities. “

Source UK HGCA Recommended List

“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 9 for yellow rust , 7 for eyespot and a better mildew rating (5) than Leeds .”

“Whilst it’s a slightly later maturity variety (+2 days), it is by no means the latest maturing variety to be placed on the RL,” adds Mr Granger. Dr Steve Hoad of the SAC sees the quality offerings from the variety as being attractive for the distilling market. ”Although Myriad’s soft endopserm will also be suitable for animal feed, bio-fuels and export markets, it is particularly well suited for distilling  Its Hagberg is fairly good for a soft Group 4, which may give it some protection against sprouting.”

Mr Granger recommends that the variety is not placed in the early drilling slot on farm but sown in the mid-to-late drilling season window: “The variety has done well in the later sowing slot, which would suggest that it would suit the regimes of potato and sugar beet growers.”

Andrew Smales of Manor Farm, East Yorkshire is one grower who is taking this approach on the advice of his local Nickerson Seed Specialist, Marc Lanham.

 â€œAs 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 grown for processing,” he says. “Also being a soft group 4 with some distilling potential we identified the variety as suitable for the new Vivergo ethanol plant six miles away and we also sometimes fall into the catchment area for sending distilling wheat to Scotland.” 

“In addition over the last few years soft wheats have generated a premium when sold, a welcome boost to returns on the back of a fairly ordinary harvest last year”

The 10ha crop of Myriad was drilled on 13th October at 175Kg/ha and sprayed pre-emergence for black-grass and broad-leaved weeds. “The crop emerged in early November after some very persistent rainfall and established well. It was interesting that the crop established equally as well as the 2ha of Claire -the farms preferred variety after potatoes – in the same field and drilled at the same time.”

Agronomist Alastair Moore believes that feeding the crop in the cold spring helped as the crop tried to grow away: “It received an application of foliar manganese and nutriphite PGA to encourage plant and root development in early March. Tiller numbers were satisfactory so no growth regulator was applied until the end of April along with a triazole-based T1.”

“Good disease resistance being one of the variety’s features meant that the SDHI-based T2 was not applied until the end of May, followed again with a triazole-based T3 immediately after flowering.”

“The crop management has been simple and straight forward due to the flexibility and strong agronomic features of the variety,” said Mr Moore. ”Interestingly 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.”

“With better weather forecasted over the next few weeks we are looking forward to a good yield with the crop showing so much potential now,” adds Mr Smales.

For a high yielding maize crop at harvest it is essential to get off to a good start. Maize should be knee high by 4th July and good early vigour is essential in achieving this, says Limagrain’s Graham Parnell. “In Mole Valley Farmers’ maize trial site near Street in Somerset, new Limagrain variety Yukon is showing excellent early vigour, reaching 70cm tall by 4th July which is well above knee height. It’s visibly higher than the other varieties in the trial,” he adds. 

Mole Valley Farmers run three trial sites in the south of England each with different growing conditions for maize; Dorchester which is intermediate, Launceston which is marginal, and at Street which is favourable. This year 21 maize varieties are being evaluated. 

MVF forage specialist Clive Bethell explains: “The trial was drilled at the beginning of May and although all of the varieties emerged at the same time, Yukon clearly demonstrated excellent early vigour and just took off so much quicker than the others.

“Yukon has been grown in MVF trials for the past 3 years and has always outperformed the others. It is quick to fill out the gap between rows and has big leaves that maximise photosynthesis, thereby further increasing the bulk yield of the plant. By 9th July it was over 90cm tall, which is over a foot’s growth in less than a week. Right now, it literally stands head and shoulders above the other trial varieties.”

Mr Parnell adds: “Yukon is a tall, high-yielding early variety with superb starch of 6.33t/ha on the 2013 NIAB List for favourable sites, this is 8% above the control.” 

For more details about Yukon maize, email Limagrain UK at: enquiries@limagrain.co.uk or visit www.limagrain.co.uk

A new Descriptive List for maize was recently launched by the BSPB/NIAB to provide AD (anaerobic digestion) plant operators and growers with independent data to use when selecting varieties to maximise biogas (methane) production. Where growing conditions are Less Favourable, it ranks varieties on earliness (DM%) and at Favourable sites, by Metabolisable Energy (ME) yield.  LG variety Atrium tops the Favourable List – with the highest ME content of 11.75MJ/kg DM and highest ME yield of 215,000MJ/ha. For growers wanting an earlier maturing variety, another LG variety, Fieldstar, has an ME content of 11.48MJ/kg DM and ME yield of 207,000MJ/ha.

Limagrain’s Tim Richmond explains: “Farm-based anaerobic digestion is a relatively new, but expanding industry with maize frequently being used as the main feedstock for the digestion process, especially in areas which are ‘favourable’ for the crop.  Growers of maize for AD need an independent source of information to compare variety performance in order to select the right one. Hence the launch of this new Maize for Anaerobic Digestion List which has been compiled from over 3 years of BSPB/NIAB trial data.” 

The new List recognises that the selection criteria for anaerobic digesters are different from those for livestock feeding. To maximise biogas production, it is the total energy (ME) production per hectare that best indicates the potential methane yield of a variety. So this new AD List provides growers with data on energy yield, dry matter content at harvest (earliness), DM yield, plus the important agronomic traits of early vigour, and standing power.

Mr Richmond explains: “Dry matter yield is one of the most important attributes when selecting which maize variety to grow as an AD feedstock. Later maturing varieties can generally produce higher yields, and since maize for AD plants can be harvested at a lower DM content (28-32% DM) than for forage use, this makes the later maturing variety Atrium an ideal choice. It combines outstanding energy content together with a very high DM and energy yield.”

Mr Richmond adds: “As large areas of maize are needed for an AD plant, it is advisable to spread the harvest operation and enable any follow-on cereal crops to be planted in good weather conditions. Growing both Atrium and the early maturing variety Fieldstar, which has an ME yield of 207,000 MJ/ha, enables growers to start harvesting some maize earlier and plant the following crop sooner.”

Mr Richmond concluded: “Over the next few years we expect to see more high-yielding specialist varieties appearing on the Maize for AD List. It will become a crucial decision-making tool for growers and AD plant operators seeking to maximise the performance of maize as a feedstock.”

For more information on Atrium maize, email Limagrain UK at: enquiries@limagrain.co.uk or visit www.limagrain.co.uk