Mr Brine is growing 40 ha of LG Astronomer for the first time this season, alongside another 58 ha of LG Illuminate, as he seeks to restore his faith in Group 3 varieties.

“Wheat is the mainstay of our varied rotation,” he explains. “We always put a decent percentage down to milling varieties, especially now that the newer ones are more reliable yield-wise, and there’s usually a reasonable amount of Group 4s. Group 3s have typically made up the remainder, but recently these have let us down a bit in terms of disease pressure.

“However, we liked the look of LG Astronomer and decided to give it a try, especially as its high disease scores on the AHDB Recommended List could make it a bit cheaper to grow.”

A small area was grown in a variety trial hosted on the farm last season, featuring 60m x 12m plots of more than 20 varieties from different breeders, all set within a field of LG Illuminate. “The variety trial is something we like to do every season, just as a bit of an experiment to see which varieties perform best on our farm. Everything is treated in exactly the same way as the rest of the farm.”

Several varieties struggled with disease and poor tillering in a challenging 2021 season, but both LG Astronomer and LG Illuminate were among those that fared better, giving Mr Brine confidence to grow a larger area of them for the coming harvest.

Showing good potential

The 40 ha of LG Astronomer follows winter beans, while his LG Illuminate is behind oilseed rape. Most crops were sown between the 9 to 12 October, at seed rates of 325/m² and 340/m² respectively, using a minimal non-inversion tillage system, based on one or two passes with a Köckerling tined cultivator.

Crops established strongly and came through last winter looking very well, Mr Brine recalls. Dry weather throughout April was a concern, but timely applications of digestate provided a useful boost to spring growth and greening. The LG Illuminate received digestate at the first main nitrogen timing in late February, while for LG Astronomer, it replaced the second main fertiliser dose in April.

Rob Brine

“The digestate really kicked crops into gear and both varieties look like they have very good potential at this moment in time.”

The combination of a dry April and LG Astronomer’s strong RL scores for Septoria (6.8 on the three-year rating) and rust (8 for yellow and brown rust), did allow Mr Brine to make a slight saving on fungicides this season, as no T0 was applied. “We applied an early tebuconazole to the LG Illuminate at T0, but the LG Astronomer didn’t need anything.”

At T1, LG Astronomer received Ascra Xpro, while LG Illuminate was treated with Revystar XE (fluxapyroxad + Mefentrifluconazole) plus folpet. Both received Univoq (fenpicoxamid + prothioconazole) as the T2 flag leaf fungicide, while the T3 will depend on weather and yield potential.

 

Recognising wider benefits

Mr Brine says the resistance to Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) in LG Astronomer and other LG varieties, is a particular benefit at Moundsmere, especially as the business moves away from using insecticides.

“Across the whole farm, we are moving more towards farming in a way that maximises the use of beneficial species, so insecticides are only ever used as an absolute last resort,” he says.

That environmental focus most recently saw the farm join an extensive Mid Tier stewardship scheme, featuring a range of options, including pollen and nectar mixes, winter bird food, cover cropping and overwinter stubbles.

Finally, Mr Brine also recognises the importance of LG Astronomer’s good standing power and resistance to sprouting, reflected by it having the highest scores for these characteristics among all Group 3s on the RL.

“We haven’t had problems with wheat on the ground for many years, but sprouting has been an issue for some wheats in the past, so it’s definitely a benefit of the LG varieties.

Looking ahead to next season, he says final varietal decisions will depend on how crops perform at harvest, but for now at least, it is “so far, so good”.

When Yorkshire farmer Tony Bell started growing LG Skyscraper two years ago, he did so hoping the variety would be up to the challenge of his lighter soils, not ideally suited to high-yielding wheat crops.

So far, the variety has lived up to expectations though, performing well in a challenging 2020/21 growing season that featured a wet autumn, followed by cool, very dry conditions during April, then rain in May and June. His 20 ha (49 acres) of LG Skyscraper kept growing well throughout the changing conditions last season, and went on to average more than 10 t/ha, which was around 1 t/ha above the typical average wheat yield for the 265 ha farm near Thirsk. The crop also produced a nice bold grain sample, with specific weight coming in at 73-74 kg/hl. “Our soil type is relatively light, so it’s not the best wheat-growing land, therefore we wanted a variety that would perform well, both in more adverse seasons when it turns very dry, and in wetter years,” Mr Bell says. “From what we’ve seen so far, LG Skyscraper seems to fit the bill.”

He acknowledges the spring growth of all varieties was impacted in some way by last April’s drought, with some very short crops through spring, however LG Skyscraper’s longer straw and strong agronomics proved beneficial. “Because it was so dry, we didn’t need to apply any growth regulators until May, which worked well in the end as crops grew away quickly once rain came during that month. LG Skyscraper did appear to be more resilient and performed better than our other varieties in those conditions,” he says.  

Increasing area

This year, Mr Bell, who manages the farm in partnership with his wife, has therefore increased his area of LG Skyscraper to 34 ha (85 acres), all sown as a first wheat after a range of different break crops that include oilseed rape, potatoes and forage maize. Land typically receives one pass with a Sumo cultivator, before drilling with a Väderstad Rapid. “We generally favour October drilling for our LG Skyscraper, however, drilling dates for the harvest 2022 crop ranged from the 9th to the 23rd of the month, depending on the preceding crop. This year we’re also growing KWS Dawsum and Gleam, which are both September-drilled,” he notes.

Like all wheats on the farm, this year’s crop of LG Skyscraper established well and came through a relatively mild autumn and winter with good yield potential, Mr Bell reports. There was some anxiety over the potential impact of another dry April, however generally he remains happy with how crops are currently looking.

“Despite the mild winter, there haven’t been any particular disease issues,” he adds. Mr Bell recognises LG Skyscraper offers a reasonable disease resistance profile, reflected by its solid untreated yield on the AHDB Recommended List (82% of Control). The variety is rated 7 for mildew and yellow rust, 4.9 for Septoria (three-year rating), and like other leading LG wheats, carries Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance.

Last season, the dry, cool conditions in April meant he was able to make a slight saving on fungicides by not applying a T0 spray to his LG Skyscraper, however this year he did apply one. “Given the rise in commodity prices, we wanted to do everything possible to maximise green leaf area and yield-building capacity throughout the season, and the T0 represents good value for money, relative to the high price of wheat.”

He has tried to make savings in other areas though, using the Yara N-Tester to help reduce the amount of fertiliser applied by 30-40 kg N/ha compared with last year, to nearer 170-180 kg N/ha. “Looking at nitrogen response charts, it may end up reducing yield slightly, but if we can get within 300 kg/ha of last year’s yield, I’ll be delighted.”

How important is vigour when selecting an oilseed rape variety and how is it measured?

Liam Wilkinson, technical arable officer with breeders Limagrain UK discusses the approach that Limagrain takes to measure vigour and how this value can be used by growers to optimize establishment in their oilseed rape crops. Industry wide there is much debate about the value of vigour in oilseed rape varieties – reflecting the challenges the crop faces from autumn drought, weeds, adult Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle (CSFB) as well the threat from spring CSFB larvae.

If a plant can get up and out of the ground and grow away quickly in the autumn producing biomass, it has a much better chance of survival. It’s a similar story in the spring – when faced with high CSFB larval burdens, the plant needs to ‘wake-up’ and grow away as quickly as possible. A well established plant with a good sized canopy that’s not too large, and has good roots will over-winter better. A well established closed canopy can also have a substantial effect on weed competition, and should not be underestimated. A long tap root is essential for a plant to access the resources to get going again in the spring.

But how does a grower select a “vigorous” variety when there is no standardised measurement for either autumn or spring vigour? UK growers now have a choice of an excellent range of both hybrid and conventional varieties that offer ‘autumn and spring vigour’ which help to mitigate many of these establishment challenges, continues Mr Wilkinson. But with no standardised measurement for vigour, it’s a claim that anyone can make based on a very subjective basis. Pressure from breeders and growers is pushing the AHDB to recognise the urgent need to address this issue.

Whilst the AHDB carries out early vigour scores which are recorded on the one year harvest results, it is not a value that is carried over onto the Recommended List (RL). The basis of this scoring is on a sliding scale of 1-9, where 1 is a very weak variety and 9 representing the most vigorous variety on a field by field basis. Clearly this is open to a large amount of interpretation and variation between varieties, fields and locations!

In the absence of official vigour scores on the RL, there are various methodologies that have been adopted to measure vigour across the industry. Remember however, no-one knows a variety as well as the breeder. We pull varieties apart and really understand the genetics behind the growth habits of particular varieties in the autumn and spring- what we call the growth kinetics of the plant- which are genetically set.

Every variety is different; some varieties can be very fast to establish but may slow down later in the autumn whereas others take a bit longer to establish but once their roots are down, they keeping growing later into the autumn, and all of this relates to the ‘vigour of the crop. Limagrain has invested much time and resource into generating ‘absolute vigour scores’ that can be understood and used by growers.  

The key starting point is to recognise that vigour is not a point in time measurement, it is a reflection of the plant’s dynamic growth through the autumn and reflects the speed of growth and ability of the plant to accumulate biomass.

This is based on the speed of growth, or the rate of a plants ability to build biomass over a period of time – so the rate of change of Green Area Index (GAI) over time. There are three key stages of growth for an oilseed rape plant.

Phase one: is the early vigour phase, the time taken between sowing and emergence, when the cotyledons are first visible

Phase two: when the plant develops between 4-7 leaves.

Final phase: when the plant reaches 7-20 true leaves after which it starts to shut down for winter. By measuring biomass at each of these stages it provides set of standardised values which we term autumn dynamic growth, that give a much more accurate set of values allowing for varieties to be easily compared.

Spring vigour is tied into daylight changes and how early the plant flowers, or comes out of dormancy, so is more straight forward to measure. Understanding how a particular variety develops at these three stages, and being able to create vigour values related to these, means that as breeders we are very well informed to provide advice on where a variety should be drilled. When plotted on a graph, it is easy to see the differences in autumn dynamic growth between varieties. (See graph below)

The very high yielding hybrid LG Aviron is clearly one of one of the most vigorous varieties, it establishes speedily in the autumn and puts on biomass very quickly, even under testing or challenging situations. Due to LG Aviron’s very vigorous growth right through to winter, it is best to drill it slightly later to prevent it developing too large a canopy, which in itself can cause crop management issues.

Varieties such as LG Antigua and Aurelia can be drilled earlier as they establish and put on biomass well in the autumn which means that they get up and away quickly, but then they tend to sit in the winter, so their canopies do not get too big. Location can influence how vigour rankings are used, for example further north it might be more useful to choose a variety that gets going in the autumn, then sits and waits a bit longer in the spring for conditions to become more favourable, such as once the threat from frosts has passed. Limagrain has put together an overview of all its key oilseed rape varieties with autumn and spring vigour value based on this approach.

The yield potential, grain quality and agronomic characteristics of LG Skyscraper have seen it hold its place on one Cambridgeshire farm, as others have fallen by the wayside.

Harry Sperling, who manages a 400 ha (1,000-acre) family farm near Huntingdon with his father, Henry, started growing LG Skyscraper in 2019/20, and has been pleased with its performance so far despite a challenging couple of seasons.

“Previously, we were growing RGT Saki and KWS Firefly, which performed well enough in terms of yield, but we found we were spending too much money on them. Last year we lost a few varieties following the emergence of the Cougar [Septoria] race, so in some ways we’re starting again to find varieties that perform on our farm.”

This year he is growing 35 ha of LG Skyscraper, alongside a range of other winter wheats, mostly hard Group 4’s, and a Group 2. “Our main reason for growing LG Skyscraper is yield,” Mr Sperling says. “But we also like its ability as a second wheat that we can drill late and combine early, to establish oilseed rape straight after.

“We grew it as a second wheat for the first two years, but are trying it as a first wheat this year to see where it fits best on our farm.”

LG Skyscraper’s grain quality characteristics are a further attraction, as most is sold into local soft grade milling markets, which attract a worthwhile premium, he notes. Last year’s crop yielded a respectable 10.42 t/ha in the second wheat slot, with 77-79 kg/hl specific weight and 11.8% protein.

That was despite tricky drilling conditions in the previous autumn and a prolonged cold, dry spell in late spring 2021. “We’ve found LG Skyscraper does cope well in a dry spring. It tillers and roots strongly and takes up nitrogen well, which helps it stay greener for longer. It’s a cracking variety and I’m pretty sure we could get 11 t/ha-plus in a good year.”

Mr Sperling recognises the importance of ensuring there is a high enough plant population to maximise yield, and says seed rates are increased from 400 to nearer 425 seeds/m² for second wheats sown towards the third week in October.

Second wheats typically receive around 250 kg N/ha in four splits, including urea in mid-February, ammonium sulphate and urea in early and late March respectively, then a final ammonium nitrate application in mid-April (timings depending on the season).

Competitive ability

Mr Sperling says LG Skyscraper’s tillering capacity and height also give it a useful competitiveness against black-grass, which can be an issue on the reasonably heavy soils. Land going into winter wheat is typically cultivated with a Väderstad TopDown, followed by a Rexius Heavy Press, then is left for black-grass to germinate before being sprayed off with glyphosate ahead of drilling in the second or third week of October.

“We’re definitely improving black-grass control, although there is some that we have to live with, so the tillering and height of LG Skyscraper certainly help. If black-grass gets too much though, we will put fields into spring cropping.”

This season, he is growing 10 ha of LG Diablo spring barley on the worst black-grass field. “It’s a high yielding, multipurpose variety that delivers low grain nitrogen and high alcohol content, so is good for both farmers and buyers.”

Mr Sperling last grew LG Diablo in 2020, when heavy rain disrupted autumn drilling schedules. “It was a tricky year as spring 2020 turned very dry, but Diablo coped pretty well and it all made malting spec at 1.6% grain nitrogen.

“The LG Diablo was last to harvest in that year, but it worked well in terms of spreading our workload,” he adds. “Winter crops are still clearly the best for gross margin, but we will keep spring barley in the rotation where required.”

Winter hardiness is just one attribute that makes kale an attractive forage crop for cattle producers, according to Limagrain UK’s Scotland-based seed sales specialist John Heaphy

He’s seen great success with overwintering cattle on Scottish units and, more recently, new varieties that have softer and more digestible stems have further improved the feed value and utilisation of the crop. “Poor stem quality has limited the feed value of forage kales in the past and could have accounted for between 60% and 70% of total crop yield,” says Mr Heaphy. “But new varieties have been bred for improved stem digestibility that supports better feed value.”

He adds that, in the past, farmers could face a bit of a dilemma. “A well-grazed kale crop shows good utilisation, but liveweight gain could be limited as the feed value in this stem is poor. But if a proportion of the stem is left, liveweight gains are better but crop utilisation is poor.” Marrow stem kales, like Limagrain UK’s Bombardier, which are highly digestible and have improved dry matter yields and utilisation potential, can overcome this dilemma. “Farmers like to see fields grazed clean and cattle perform well,” says John. “Many farmers are delighted with these new kale varieties.”

Bombardier was introduced in 2018. In trials it showed a digestibility of 72% and a relative dry matter of 18% above the control – worth an extra 1.74 tonnes per hectare. He explains that kale is best drilled in May or early June at a seed rate of 5kg per hectare. Farmers are encouraged to opt for varieties that are club-root tolerant and where a seed treatment can be applied.

A fine-seed bed is also important, to help the crop germinate, establish and achieve good ground cover as quickly as possible. “The sooner the crop gets to the ‘rough-leaf’ stage, the less prone it is to pest damage, predominantly from flea beetle and pigeons,” he says. He adds that kale is proving popular because it helps to reduce the costs of production on Scottish beef units, as well as offering a break crop on units that may also grow cereals in their rotation.

“But the big attraction is its high yields. Average dry matter yields for kale are twice that of stubble turnip crops and it’s also ready for grazing from late October.” One Fife-based suckler beef producer has been growing kale, on and off, for the past 20 years and has consistently grown the crop on his unit since 2011.

Bob Howat overwinters half of his 150 Saler cross cows on kale, at his 500-acre (202-hectare) unit, based between Cupar and St Andrews, which is also home to 1,000 breeding ewes. The farm is predominantly grass, for grazing and silaging; but also grows barley, for cattle feed and kale, for overwintering suckler cows. “Kale’s large leaves and stems are ideal for grazing cattle and it’s ready at a time of year when we need it,” he says, adding that he sees dry matter yields of at least 10 tonnes per hectare.

“And nothing is wasted either. Leaf, stem – it’s all eaten. And the cows look well on it too.” Bob grows 5.5 hectares (14 acres) of Limagrain kale varieties Bombardier and Grampian – a variety bred at the James Hutton Institute– a 50:50 split – each year, which is supplied by East Linton-based Watson Seeds. The crop follows grass – Bob selects a ‘tired’ ley that’s also on a suitable and relatively free-draining site. And he says that seedbed preparation is key to success.

“Achieving good establishment and fast early growth is vital,” says Bob. “Once the crop has grown to the rough-leaf stage and good ground cover has been achieved, it looks after itself. So I give it plenty of attention early on.” He drills the kale, in early May, into a fine seed bed, created by first rotovating the old ley, ploughing and then power harrowing. “We may make two passes with the power harrow if the seed bed isn’t quite fine enough. It’s well worth the effort to achieve the ideal tilth. And after sowing, to improve soil-to-seed contact, we’ll make a pass with a roller.

So far, so good. But Bob says there are two more hurdles or ‘problems’ he must look out for and quickly tackle to ensure the crop’s success. “The first is flea beetle. We keep a close eye out for it and if we see if, we spray straight away. It’s important to control this pest as it can significantly check growth and yield.”

The second challenge faced by the crop is pigeon damage. “Pigeons really like young kale plants. So we use bird scarers until the crop is a little more robust. Once good ground cover has been achieved, and the pigeons can’t see space to land, they lose interest in it.” Bob applies 80 units of liquid nitrogen with the bulk of it put on post emergence, once he can see rows started to emerge, and a second dressing when he can still see space between the rows, just prior to total ground coverage. “Once we get to a good ground cover stage, we know that we can close the gate and walk away, until it’s time to graze it in the autumn.

The crop really does look after itself.” He says that when he goes in with the electric fencing in October, he’s always pleased to see how well and how consistently it’s grown. “We aim for chest height – we’re happy with that.” Cows are strip grazed on the kale and the fence is moved every 12 hours. As nothing else is fed to this block, except some big bales of straw sitting on a trailer on a hard standing, Bob saves on the cost of grass silage and home-grown rolled barley, as well as the additional labour required to feed housed cattle.

“I don’t know what we did in 2020, but some plants stood six feet high and the entire crop – both varieties – yielded better than usual. We grazed 83 cows on it, 10 more than usual, from late October to late January. This was an extra two weeks compared to a more typical year. “The bigger the yield, the more we save on other feed costs,” adds Bob. “And if I get the crop off to a good start, it’ll be trouble-free during the growing season.”

Faced with escalating fertiliser costs and the prospect of tight feed ingredient markets next winter, the importance of maximising feed output from your own resources will remain a priority for dairy farmers.

Richard Camplin, Technical Manager

According to Richard Camplin, LG Seeds Technical Manager, farmers who are able to grow maize, or who can work in partnership with an arable neighbour who is happy to grow the crop could benefit from increasing the acreage grown this year.

“There is still time to get maize in the ground and it could be used to increase forage output with reduced reliance on fertiliser. Maize requires less fertiliser per tonne of dry matter than grass and a large proportion on maize requirements can be met from slurry.

“Alternatively, it could be used to produce crimped maize to help trim the requirement for purchased starch sources. Careful variety selection can allow a degree of flexibility to be retained about how crops are utilised as the season unfolds.”

He says advances in plant breeding mean there have been massive improvements in the standing ability and disease resistance. New hybrids such as Prospect, Pinnacle and Resolute now have the combination of improved agronomy plus the advantages of superior digestibility and high starch yield, making them ideal for quality forage and also for crimping.”

If 2022 is a better than average grass growing season so grass silage yields are higher and if maize crops grow well, Mr Camplin the situation might develop where a proportion of the maize could be crimped to help reduce the requirement for purchased starch sources for the TMR.

Crimped maize is typically a 65-75% dry matter feed with 14.0-14.5MJME/kgDM and 60-70% starch making it a valuable ingredient in diets. Having been processed prior to clamping, it is a rumen-friendly feed with a higher proportion of bypass starch.  It can be clamped or stored in AgBags.

LG Grain Trial, Leicestershire

LG has been running UK trials looking at crimping potential and Mr Camplin advises that variety choice allows flexibility of use to be a real option.

“We ran trials on three locations with an average 27.5% moisture at harvest with the wettest crops being 33%. As the crops are harvested around six weeks after silage would have been taken, it is vital to be growing early maturing varieties and to allow the maximum growing season. So I would recommend not making crimp from later drilled crops.

“Early maturing varieties that performed best in the trials are LG30179, Prospect, Resolute and Pinnacle, so growing these varieties would give the option for quality forage or a crimped crop (see table).”

He stresses the importance of selecting a variety suited to the farm and to look for varieties with low levels of disease and high standing ability and lodging resistance. As crops are harvested later it is essential they stand well.  Bad infections of fusarium, for example, can lead to fusarium stalk rot which can weaken the stem and increase the lodging risk.

If a crop is being planted specifically for crimped maize, he advises it is usual to reduce the seed rate to 85,000 seeds/ha. This is primarily to help bring maturity forward but this is less of a concern if an early variety has been chosen as they tend to have good cob maturity. However, having more space and light will help improve cob size and starch content.

“If a grower is interested in growing a crop guaranteed to produce high quality forage but which could be switched successfully into crimping to maximise the contribution from maize the key will be choosing an early maturing variety with good feed quality and the best agronomics.

“In this way, maize can provide a flexible way to meet the challenges of feeding cows this winter,” Mr Camplin concludes.

 

Crimp grain yields from early maturing varieties 2021

	Fresh Grain Yield	Grain Dry Matter
Variety	t/ha @ harvest	@ harvest
Pinnacle	10.7	72.1
Resolute	10.5	70.7
LG30179	9.8	74.9
Prospect	9.6	74.7

 

All the UK’s main barley-growing areas were represented in the survey, which found that while farm practices are generally in-line with recommended approaches, there are some potential areas for improvement.

Ron Granger

Limagrain UK’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger examines three key areas.

 

Seed rates

Generally, seed rates appear about right, with half (49%) of growers sowing spring barley at 300-350 seeds/m², and most (76%) targeting an 8 t/ha yield.

“Our trials work shows that for mid-March sowing in good weather and soil conditions, 350 seeds/m² is optimal for modern, high-yielding varieties. An 8-9 t/ha crop needs around 800 ears/m², which at a 350 seeds/m² rate, equates to 2.5-3 tillers per plant at harvest,” Mr Granger says.

But seed rates must be adjusted to drilling date, weather and seedbed conditions, he continues.

“For example, if you’re sowing early on light land in perfect, warm seedbeds, then establishment and tillering capacity is greater and rates could be reduced to nearer 300 seeds/m². Equally, if it’s late March, or soils are cold and/or cloddy, then go to nearer 375-400 seeds/m², and for anything sown into April, or in a black-grass situation, consider 400-450 seeds/m².”

Late-sown crops inevitably produce fewer tillers and therefore fewer ears, which must be compensated for by increasing seed rate, he explains.

“Modern varieties, such as LG Diablo or newcomer Jensen, offer excellent spring vigour and high tillering capacity,” he adds.

“The biggest issue is often the weather. Drought will cause tiller loss, so ensure numbers are high enough at the outset by driving establishment and early rooting with front-loaded nutrition.”

 

Optimising nitrogen

The survey shows 52% of growers usually apply 100-120 kg N/ha, and one third apply 120-150 kg N/ha to spring barley. But significantly, 45% plan to reduce nitrogen use this season.

This is not surprising given higher prices, however Mr Granger believes cutting fertiliser is a false economy if plant health, tiller retention and yield are compromised.

Limagrain research in Scottish and English barley trials shows that applying an extra 30 kg N/ha at late tillering before stem elongation, after an initial seedbed application of 120 kg N/ha, regularly returns a 0.4-0.5 t/ha yield benefit over a single seedbed dose, with negligible impact on grain nitrogen.

“With feed barley prices of £220/t, that could be worth £110, or more if there’s a malting premium, which far outweighs the £60-65 (N price of £2/kg) cost of the extra nitrogen. Why reduce rates if it compromises yield and, more importantly, the return on investment?”

Effort is better focused on timing applications to optimise uptake efficiency, he adds. “Some growers get good results from a ‘little and often’ approach, but whatever route you take, good plant health combined with soil moisture is essential for crops to efficiently take up nitrogen.

“Foliar trace element mixtures at times of plant stress can be beneficial when nitrogen uptake from soil is a limiting factor.”

 

Disease control

Most growers (70%) apply two fungicides, which is preferred in “normal” seasons, Mr Granger says. Typically, the first application is between GS 25-31, with the second targeted between GS 39-55.

“We all know how quickly spring barley moves, so close monitoring of growing crops is essential.

“Spring barley doesn’t have a main yield-building flag leaf, so all leaves, especially leaves two and three, must be kept clean and green as long as possible.”

Very dry conditions with no disease, may offer potential for cost savings, however he suggests this is best achieved by adjusting product selection and rate, rather than omitting sprays.

“If you’re only spraying once, it’s difficult to judge the best time to apply it, and you’re second-guessing the weather. Remain flexible and react to the season.”

Mr Granger also notes 70% of growers surveyed do not generally use an insecticide. “BYDV can be a problem in some areas, especially if there’s high activity of virus-transmitting aphids after a mild winter, so it’s something to monitor and treat if necessary.”

International cooperation showing positive results for Limagrain UK’s Pulse Breeding Programme

Limagrain’s pulse breeding programme focuses on winter and spring peas and beans. We are a multinational breeding team based in Europe and the UK and target a global pea and bean market.

Pulse breeding is centred in Rilland in the Netherlands, which is on the same line of latitude as London. The programme is spearheaded by pulses breeder Will Pillinger, along with his team consisting of Corrie Dekker (assistant breeder), Jaenet Ter Schure (assistant molecular breeder), Evelien Bakker-Breker (breeding assistant) and Lucie Collins (trials manager).

Major markets targeted include France, Germany and the United Kingdom, but we also breed for other markets within Europe and North America.

The EU Market for peas and beans is worth €10 million and the specific types of peas include green seeded types (€1.8m) for human consumption and yellow peas (€3m) for animal feed.

Field beans (€4.7m) make up roughly 1/3 of our breeding activities across spring and winter types, with our main market being the UK. Key traits for peas and beans are excellent agronomics, yield, quality and protein content.

The other targeted traits we look to develop include; resistance to lodging, Aphanomyces tolerance, tolerance to cold, Downy Mildew and Powdery Mildew and FEBRUARY 2022 GatePost Pea Seed borne Mosaic Virus (PSbMV), maturity and plant architecture.

The core activities for breeding comprise of crossing, early generation selection and seed production. Although we have many breeding targets for peas, there are some specifics for the human consumption market that are key, such as excellent seed colour retention.

When harvested at the right time, peas will retain the blue green appearance. They will quickly lose their colour if not harvested or stored correctly.

In 2021, we entered 15 varieties into National Listing across Europe and the UK. For a small breeding programme, that is a significant number and gives an idea of the potential challenges of being successful in each target market. As a result, the pressure on the seed purification team can be high.

Further developments over the next couple of years will be the ability to measure yield performance of our breeding material during the first year of field assessment. Additionally, the development of techniques to predict the performance of material without testing in specific environments, will help to advance the output of high performance varieties from the pulse breeding programme.

We are excited about the future of pulses and Limagrain have backed the programme with significant investment to further modernise our activities.

Ed Flatman – Head of European Wheat Research

As a result of the perfect ‘Septoria storm’ this spring, many wheat varieties have seen their Septoria resistance ratings drop. Whilst this has mostly affected varieties with Cougar in their parentage, it is important to look at the detail behind each individual varieties’ genetics to fully understand the risk, says Ed Flatman, Head of European Wheat Research for Limagrain.