LG Typhoon is a high yielding group 4 hard wheat, that joins the 2022-2023 AHDB Recommended List, from breeders Limagrain UK.
LG Typhoon offers UK growers the package that they have been asking for in a hard wheat; a clean, consistent and resilient variety, with a solid all-round disease package and OWBM resistance.
It has shown excellent consistency of performance, yielding 102% across very differing climatic seasons and across the varying regions of the UK.
Yield consistency
Regions
Years
UK
East
West
North
2019
2020
2021
LG Typhoon
102
102
102
[102]
102
[102]
102
[ ] = limited data.
“LG Typhoon offers growers flexibility in the rotation, across both sowing date and soil type,” says Ron Granger, Limagrain UK’s arable technical manager. “The variety exhibits a genuine suitability for the earlier sowing situation, endorsed by its combination of desirable agronomic characteristics – and this is reflected in its very high yield performance at this drilling window.” “LG Typhoon also excels as a second wheat.”
Rotation
Sowing Date
Soil Type
First cereal
Second cereal
Early Sep (before 25Sept)
Trials sown (25Sept-31Oct)
Late (after 1Nov)
Light Soils
Heavy Soils
LG Typhoon
101
104
[105]
102
[101]
[102]
101
Graham
102
101
100
102
100
102
101
[ ] = limited data.
The reason for LG Typhoon’s consistent performance comes down to its excellent all-round foliar disease resistance, explains Mr Granger. “This is shown by an untreated yield that is above many of the RL feed varieties, supported by a resistance rating of 7 for Septoria – which significantly comes from a combination of sources different to those in current RL varieties,” he says. “LG Typhoon offers excellent yellow rust resistance, with a RL rating of 9 combined with YR seedling resistance – a valuable tool regarding fungicide programmes and timings.” “The variety offers more than excellent yellow rust ratings; it is an attractive proposition with good ratings for all the diseases, including (6) for eyespot and Fusarium, and the very valuable bonus of Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance.” Mr Granger adds: “In terms of grain quality, LG Typhoon offers a good specific weight (76.3 kg/hl), certainly equal or indeed better than many of the feed wheats on the new RL.”
Limagrain UK’s wheat breeder, Phil Tailby, summarises the main traits of LG Typhoon
-The key word to describe LG Typhoon is ‘consistent’; it has performed consistently well in treated trials across all years of testing and across all regions.
-The variety has extremely high untreated yield, which highlights the excellent foliar disease resistances, which include both adult and seedling resistance to yellow rust and a new Septoria resistance package not found in any other variety on the RL.
-It also offers flexibility to UK farmers, performing very well as a second wheat, and is a genuine early drilling variety.
The Limagrain Plant Breeding Hub at Croptec 2021
Croptec 2021 is a must-attend for anyone looking to make their farm business more efficient, productive, and ultimately more profitable
Already shaping up to be a great two days, the show is a must-attend for anyone looking to make their farm business more efficient, productive, and ultimately more profitable.
With a carefully curated roster of talks, from a diverse range of speakers, we’re offering a platform to industry professionals, whose experience lays at the forefront of innovation in British agriculture.
Wed 24th November, LG Plant Breeding Hub Speaker Programme
Join us on Wednesday 24th November at 10.20-10.55am to hear Limagrain UK’s Pulse Breeder, Will Pillinger talk about the latest developments in pulse breeding. He will explain how increasing pulse crop yields through plant breeding can potentially improve output and reduce risk on-farm.
At 12.00-12.25pm, Dr Emma Wallington of NIAB, will discuss what gene editing is and how this could be adopted in the UK.
Liam Wilkinson, Arable Technical Specialist at Limagrain UK concludes the Day 1 programme at 1.20-1.55pm with a presentation on trait focused oilseed breeding and how this forms the basis of IPM strategy when managing the crop.
Thurs 25th November, LG Plant Breeding Hub Speaker Programme
On Thursday 25th November, we open our Day 2 programme at 10.20-10.55am with Farmacy Agronomist Charles Wright, who will be sharing his first-hand experience of the impact of varietal resistance on agronomic decision-making in a farm environment.
At 12.00-12.25pm, we will benefit from a farmers’ perspective with Jonny Hodgson, who will talk about the importance of plant breeding in a regenerative agricultural system.
We end the speaker programme for the day at 1.20-1.55pm with Limagrain UK Cereals Pathologist, Rachel Goddard. Rachel will go into detail on breeding diverse disease resistance in wheat and discuss what wheat breeders can do to stay one step ahead of pathogen evolution.
We aim to showcase the latest innovations in UK plant breeding at the LG Plant Breeding Hub. We are also keen to talk with growers about the challenges currently facing the industry, from climate change to price pressures. Our experts will be on hand throughout the day with farm ready advice and a wealth of both practical knowledge and technical insight.
It’s been 2 long years since the last Croptec event, and if the free resources are not enough to tempt you, we have tea and coffee on LG stand, PLUS a scratch card giveaway with a host of great prizes.
Get your FREE tickets today
If you’ve not already registered for free tickets, please put the dates in your diary and click here to do it now. We look forward to seeing you on the LG Plant Breeding Hub stand.
Scratchcard competition
Politics meets Plant Breeding
Bury St. Edmunds MP Jo Churchill, visited Limagrain UK to see how plant breeding is helping UK farmers to be more sustainable.
On Friday 5th November, politics and plant breeding came together as Jo Churchill – MP for Bury St Edmunds, who is also Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Agri-Innovation and Climate Adaptation within DEFRA, visited Limagrain UK’s wheat breeding centre at Woolpit, Suffolk.
Jo Churchill, watering wheat plants in the vernalization chamber
Limagrain is a fast growing farmer owned international co-operative group, specialising in both agricultural and horticultural seeds, and in cereal products. As the fourth largest breeder and seeds marketing company in the world, it employs 9,000 people with a turnover of more than 1.98 billion euros annually.
During the visit, Mrs Churchill received a presentation from Jonathan Tann, Limagrain Business Area Director for NW Europe, on the company from an International and UK perspective, followed by a tour of the research and development facility by Ed Flatman, Limagrain’s Head of European Wheat Research, along with Phillip Tailby, Limagrain UK’s Senior Wheat Breeder.
One of the most important issues currently facing plant breeders are the pressures and rules regarding the importing and exporting of seed. Mrs Churchill was aware of the latest situation and appreciated that there were still problems to resolve.
Current hot issues surrounding plant breeding, such as gene editing and agri-food innovation, were also discussed along with the challenge of energising young people to engage with the opportunities within agriculture.
Mrs Churchill was joined by Oli Wilson, DEFRA, and Lesley Canham, Constituency Office Manager.
From left – Ed Flatman, Phil Tailby, Oli Wilson, Jo Churchill and Jonathan Tann
LG Skyscraper – the variety of choice for the later drilling scenario
Select the right winter wheat variety for the late drilling slot, to avoid unnecessary yield penalties.
Delayed or late drilling of winter wheat, considered to be from mid-October onwards, is now common practice on farms today particularly for black-grass management, in a second wheat situation and for those who are drilling wheat after sugar beet or potatoes.
However, late drilling presents a unique set of challenges to the crop points out Limagrain UK’s arable technical manager Ron Granger.
“Soils will inevitably become cooler and wetter as winter draws in so it is important to proceed with care and consideration in order to get the crop well established.”
“It is important to make a distinction by choosing varieties that will cope well rather than be challenged by the situation,” he says.
“Get it wrong, and you could be facing fairly substantial yield penalties, yet this is totally avoidable.”
“Characteristics of wheats that suit this slot are strong tillering and vigorous, combined with good rooting attributes and a semi prostrate growth habit in the winter.”
He adds that as a consequence, crops drilled later will not have been in the ground as long as those drilled earlier in the autumn, so the chosen variety needs to be quick off the blocks in the spring, once growing conditions are favourable.
“This is especially important where there is black-grass as you need a variety that will compete with its rapid growth rather than sit and tiller flat to the ground, eventually becoming smothered by it.”
“The theory is not complicated, he notes. “This is why LG Skyscraper suits the blackgrass situation over a variety like LG Sundance which is high tillering with a late plant development in the spring.”
Limagrain has conducted a range of trials over the years looking at which varieties suit the later-drilled slot – which includes both winter and spring wheat varieties sown in the later drilling situation after the end of October.
“LG Skyscraper was by far the most consistent performer in this position, delivering high yield potential continuously over very differing climatic seasons.”
Data from several seasons of work also suggests that taller wheats, such as LG Skyscraper, are at an advantage in the later drilling scenario because larger plant canopies also play an important role in keeping black-grass ear numbers and seed return to the minimum, says Mr Granger.
He also points out that one of the single most important factors in getting a late drilled crop off to a good start is to use the correct seed rate.
“Seed rates after the end of October are difficult to quantify specifically as they will be more determined by the seasonal weather and seedbed preparation at the time of drilling.”
“Generally, seed rates are increased the further drilling moves towards the winter months to compensate for the impact on tillering, as a result of cooler temperatures and shorter days.”
“In good conditions in early November, the target should be a seed rate of 375-400 seeds/m2, increasing to 400-475 seeds/m2 at later drill dates, or in a black-grass or poor seedbed situation.”
“Effective seed treatments for root disease and insect control, especially if wheat Bulb fly is a concern, alongside good slug control should be considered as valuable tools for good establishment, especially in known high-risk situations.”
He notes that later drilled varieties often have the advantage of requiring lower inputs and may not require an earlier autumn herbicide.
“Growers should also choose varieties with a good disease resistance profile, certainly against mildew, as this can be problematic on some soil types in the late drilled situation.”
Ron Granger recognises that spring wheat varieties do have a place in the rotation for late drilling, especially in a black-grass situation, but points out that some winter wheat varieties can be grown through to the end of January without significant yield penalties.
After January some spring wheat varieties come into their own regarding yield performance, and should be a serious consideration if black-grass is the major threat on farm, he says.
With second wheats, the added pressure from high-levels of take-all inoculum and eyespot are important to consider when choosing a variety for this very testing situation, he points out. “Not all wheat varieties perform in this very testing situation so its important growers choose the correct varieties”
Again LG Skyscraper has performed well in this situation, highlighted by the AHDB Recommended List and more significantly by good on farm performance.
In a second wheat situation, with a known eyespot history, varieties that carry the Rendezvous PcH1 gene; will secure a greater resistance for ensuring final yield potential.
LG trials show value of robust genetics in protecting margin
Crop variety trials provide an excellent opportunity to look at how current leading and potential future varieties, both treated and untreated, perform in particular conditions that help growers shape future cropping choices.
With the top oilseed rape varieties on the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List, and some of the highest yielding wheat and barley varieties, there is much interest in Limagrain UK’s breeding programme.
In response to this, last autumn Limagrain invested in a wide range of new demonstration variety trials sites, whilst also maintaining those that were already a well recognised feature of the farming landscape – one of which is located just opposite the Murrayshall Hotel, outside Perth hosted by S. Cameron courtesy of W. Glen & Son.
“We put the plots in hoping that by this summer we would once again be able to come together for what we believe is a really valuable exercise in helping growers make the best informed variety choices, and one that has not been possible for the last year,” said William Charlton, Limagrain UK arable marketing manager.
“We were delighted therefore in the interest from both growers and the seed trade to our open day at the end of July, where we had the opportunity to showcase our Northern variety portfolio and share the results of our work on how to get the best out of these varieties on-farm.”
OSR Portfolio
Key messages to come from Limagrain UK’s arable development officer, Liam Wilkinson, were Limagrain’s OSR genetics are the strongest and most robust that any breeder has seen for a long time.
“Our focus on using genetics to mitigate risk in the oilseed rape crop has been very successful and is fully reflected in the current RL for the North where LG varieties hold the top six positions.”
Within the breeding programme we have been able to focus on issues relevant more specifically to northern conditions and challenges; for example none of our varieties have less than a score of 6 for light leaf spot and our trait-loaded approach offers pod shatter, turnip yellows virus (TuYV) and RLM7 resistances.
These leading varieties have proven themselves consistently over seasons and continue to deliver the yields that growers have come to expect.
In summary: Aurelia is the top yielding variety for the north at 106% of control. Aurelia is a fully loaded hybrid combining genetic TuYV, pod shatter and RLM7 phoma resistance with the highest light leaf spot rating available on the Recommended List.
LG Aviron is Limagrain’s newest fully loaded hybrid to receive full UK recommendation and joins the RL as joint highest yielding variety at 105% of control. LG Aviron has shown its robustness and consistency throughout testing and is a very vigorous hybrid that can establish well in challenging seedbeds.
Acacia is the highest yielding conventional variety available on the Recommended List at 104% control. Acacia offers key agronomic characteristics of strong autumn and spring vigour, solid disease resistance and short, stiff straw, combined with a high oil content.
Aardvark has early flowering, high vigour and the best disease package out of the recommended conventional varieties with 103% yield for the North.
Aspire is the only recommended conventional variety with crucial TuYV resistance. Aspire is a short robust plant type with very good straw characteristics. A solid disease profile and TuYV resistance means Aspire fits the early drilling option perfectly, with its slower speed of development.
Limagrain has produced a variety guide for its OSR Portfolio. This covers information on drilling dates, traits, and much more. Download using the link at the bottom of this page.
*2021/22 AHDB Recommended List North
Cereals Plots
One of the stars of the show, LG Astronomer, is an exciting new biscuit wheat that offers one of the most complete agronomic packages of any winter wheat available on the AHDB Recommend List for 2021/22.
“Because of its high specific weight (77.8 kg/hl), all-round agronomic package, and strong yield it ticks a lot of boxes for on-farm security, which is what growers are looking for,” says Limagrain UK’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger.
“LG Illuminate is popular in the north and has performed very well in the earlier drilling scenario and has a solid specific weight of 76.6 kg/hl, combined with good sprouting resistance.”
“It meets specification for distilling and export, as well as being a biscuit wheat, so it offers northern growers a wide range of market opportunities.”
LG Prince, which is the highest yielding biscuit variety on the RL, is suitable for early and late drilling spots, and also performs well as a second wheat, he says.
“These are great packages; we know that UK farmers are very good at growing biscuit wheats and get really good results, but any of these varieties yield well enough to be grown as feed wheats too.”
Moving on to Group 4 wheats, Mr Granger points out LG Skyscraper is still the highest-yielding winter wheat available on the RL, and continues to deliver these high yields across all situations.
“It has bold grain quality with a high specific weight, and it is widely used by distillers and in soft grists, giving LG Skyscraper multiple market outlets.”
“The variety ticks all the boxes; it works in a first wheat or second wheat slot and because it is suitable for late drilling and quick off the blocks in terms of speed of growth, it is good if you are dealing with a black-grass situation.”
Its greatest asset is the fact its an earlier maturing variety, an important attribute for northern growers.
“Well established soft wheat LG Spotlight also continues to be popular as a soft wheat variety for distilling, with excellent grain quality for securing end use premiums.” Its high stable Hagberg combined with sprouting resistance and a great specific weight should not be underestimated for the north, where harvest can be catchy at the best of times.
Also on show were new promising Group 4 Candidate hard wheat varieties, LG Farrier and LG Typhoon.
“LG Typhoon has potentially one of the highest septoria resistance scores which makes it suitable for the north, and fits across wide drilling windows, including earlier drilling.”
“LG Farrier has consistently produced high yields combined with an excellent specific weight and high stable Hagberg , and has a good resistance profile for mildew and rusts.”
Of Limagrain’s winter barley varieties, LG Mountain is still at the top end of the highest yielding 2-rows, at 104% of control and appears to be the one to beat in the north (105) with its earlier maturity being valuable for northern growers.
“LG Mountain has consistently produced these high yields, since it was brought to the market in 2016, right through to 2020 – which is now recognised to be one of the most challenging growing seasons for many years.”
“This is a really important attribute in a variety, as growers know that whatever the season throws at them, it is able to cope.”
“Over this time, LG Mountain has also demonstrated its ability to produce high yields in both light and heavy soils, showing its flexibility within the rotation.”
“This excellent yield resilience can be attributed to the variety’s good agronomic characteristics of short straw, good disease resistance, earlier maturity and great grain quality,” he adds.
Building High Yielding Wheat Varieties with Disease Resistance
Winter wheat varieties aimed at helping growers achieve consistently high yields year-in and year-out, were on show at Limagrain UK’s Winter Cereals Variety Open Day held at Woolpit near Bury St Edmunds, earlier this month.
For the last two seasons, there has been so little opportunity to have any shared experiences or learnings, so the chance to come together this year has been welcomed.
Ron Granger
Adhering to Covid regulations, small groups visited several stations across the site; each one focusing on different wheat types.
With the increasing loss of crop protection products and the challenges thrown up by unpredictable weather events, interest in untreated yield has been growing, becoming almost more important for many growers than treated plots.
One of the stars of the show drawing the attention of the visitors, was LG Astronomer – an exciting new biscuit wheat that offers one of the most complete agronomic packages of any winter wheat available on the AHDB Recommend List for 2021/22.
“Because of its high specific weight (77.8 kg/hl), all-round agronomic package, and strong yield – in the east it scored 102% – it ticks a lot of boxes for on-farm security, which is what growers are looking for,” said Limagrain’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger.
“It is classified as a biscuit wheat but should not be pigeon-holed as one, as it yields as a barn filler feed wheat too.”
LG Prince , which is the highest yielding biscuit variety on the RL, does particularly well in the east, scoring 104% of control, and is suitable for early and late drilling spots, and also performs well as a second wheat, he said.
“LG Illuminate is popular in the north and has a solid specific weight of 76.6 kg/hl.”
“It meets specification for distilling and export, as well as being a biscuit wheat, so it offers growers a wide range of market opportunities.”
“These are great packages; we know that UK farmers are very good at growing biscuit wheats and get really good results, but any of these varieties yield well enough to be grown as feed wheats too.”
Moving on to Group 4 wheats, Mr Granger pointed out that LG Skyscraper is still the highest-yielding winter wheat available on the RL, and continues to deliver these high yields across all situations.
“The variety is a KWS Santiago cross, and it ticks all the boxes; it works in a first wheat or second wheat slot and because it is suitable for late drilling and quick off the blocks in terms of speed of growth, it is good if you are dealing with a black-grass situation.”
“It has bold grain quality with a high specific weight, and it is widely used by distillers and in soft grists, giving LG Skyscraper multiple market outlets.”
Also on show were new promising Group 4 Candidate hard varieties, LG Farrier and LG Typhoon.
“LG Farrier has consistently high yields, and a good resistance profile for mildew and rusts, whilst LG Typhoon has potentially one of the highest septoria resistance scores, and fits across wide drilling windows, including earlier drilling.”
Mr Granger pointed out that Group 1 milling wheat, Crusoe, remains very popular with both millers and farmers, and is holding up well agronomically too.
Mr Granger said: “It has high protein, good quality grain and a stable Hagberg, alongside an excellent disease package that includes a 9 for yellow rust – which has held up well despite the changing pathogens.”
Limagrain’s varietal offering for Group 2 is also looking strong, with varieties such as LG Detroit and newer material waiting in the wings
LG Detroit has orange wheat blossom midge (OWBM) resistance, it works as a first or second wheat, and looks to be competitive with KWS Siskin on yield.
“We are currently assessing a number of different seed rates to build a robust data set, so we can see which gives the best results for farmers in all sorts of conditions.”
The breeder is also looking at specialist wheats such as white wheat, and has some at an early generational stage,
“Sprouting can be a real problem in white wheats, but this one is promising because it has better sprouting resistance and a good Hagberg,” explained Phil Tailby, senior wheat breeder.
Sea front farming needs robust varieties
Changes are afoot at the Skelton Estates; a mixed farming enterprise in Saltburn by the Sea, which is situated right next to the North Sea coast, reveals farm estate manager John Aynsley.
John Aynsley
Working with soils which vary from cold clay to light loams, he is trying to increase carbon content with applications of muck from the livestock, straw and widening rotations. For the arable part of the farm, a transition is ongoing to direct drill from min-till.
Mr Aynsley says: “We are working towards direct drilling everything, partly to save time and labour, but caring for the soil still requires really careful attention to detail.”
As he believes in a step-by-step transition, this year some of the wheat crops have been min-tilled, while others were direct drilled.
So far, tillage has not made much of a difference to crop development, with both methods looking equally good.
John Aynsley is also widening the rotation from three to five years. Part of the reasoning for this is to move away from growing oilseed rape in a close rotation, because club root has been raising its head, he explains.
As a result of the changes, his plans are for 40% of the arable crops to be first wheats, grown for the local feed market.
“Running an estate so close to the coast creates the extra challenge of a microclimate, which brings in sea breezes and sea mists, complicating agronomic decisions and limiting possible spray days,” says Mr Aynsley.
Partly because of this, the two main characteristics he looks for in a wheat variety are resistance and suitability for early drilling and these are the very reasons why LG Skyscraper does so well for him.
Mr Aynsley says: “We need to grow varieties with good disease resistance, so I look at the untreated yields in the AHDB Recommended List (RL).”
With an RL untreated yield of 81%, he has found LG Skyscraper to be a good fit into his system. “ The untreated yield is an important value, as it shows just how robust the variety’s disease resistance ratings are, and how well they stand up to disease.”
This is the second year that John has grown the soft feed wheat variety, which he uses primarily as a barn filler. Out of a total of 260ha dedicated to growing wheat, 60ha have been drilled with LG Skyscraper, which has gone in as a first wheat behind oilseed rape.
Talking about last year’s crop he remarks: “At the beginning of August it looked superb but unfortunately disastrous weather at the end of the month cost us between 1 t/ha and 2 t/ha, yielding 10.4 t/ha in the end”.
Fertiliser application strategy is dependent on needs and conditions at the time and he says: “When we are crop walking at the end of February or the beginning of March, we take a view of the potential of the crop and design our strategy for spring.” The average is 200kg N/ha in four splits, applied as liquid fertiliser.
“In this area where the soils have high magnesium (Mg) levels, we use sulphur to balance it, applying Calcifert S, which we find also helps improve friability and reduce acidity.”
When it comes to fungicide strategy, he reveals that he does not always apply a T0, but T1, T2 and T3 are standard, noting that the local climate can make it challenging to ensure timeliness of application.
This is why he looks to resistance, rather than fungicides, to ensure a healthy crop.
He goes on to mention that he likes to drill as early as he can get away with. “We like to start in the first week of September and complete cereal drilling by the end of the third week of the month.”
It doesn’t always work out that way because if inclement weather settles in, drilling can be halted for ten days at a time. However LG Skyscraper can be drilled from September through to early February, so this is not a limiting factor.
“Without a doubt, the most important influence on how our crops yield is the weather, which dominates everything and is completely out of our control, so we look for varieties that are best able to cope with this.”
Consistent high performance across all situations
Good performance in a second wheat situation
Good agronomics suited to a blackgrass situation
Good bold grain quality with a high specific weight
Widely used by distillers and in soft grists
A treat for biscuit wheat growers
LG Prince’s high yield potential is supported by Limagrain farmer trials undertaken in the high disease pressure season of 2019 in the south east, which produced a mean yield of 106% from four sites. This marks a step change over current market leader KWS Firefly. Similar trials held in 2019 in Perth (Scotland), revealed a consistent 10 t/ha, showing a yield potential which compares to the current commercial soft wheat varieties commercially grown in the region. Mr Granger says: “These are remarkable yields for a biscuit and they challenge feed wheats too, offering growers the option of growing a biscuit wheat as a feed variety with the additional end markets of biscuit or distilling as a bonus.” With a lineage that includes, Cougar, KWS Kielder and Revelation, LG Prince brings together many of the best characteristics of its parents – a good agronomy package together with really good yield potential. “Both AHDB variety trials and our own research have shown that yields from LG Prince have been remarkably consistent across different sowing dates and soil types, over what have been three very differently testing agronomic years. “LG Prince is an excellent second wheat (104%), which is 3-4% above market leaders in the biscuit sector and equal to some of the highest yielding feed varieties available for this testing situation.” LG Prince is a later maturing variety (+2) so it is important to keep the crop green and photosynthesising to the end, in order to optimise the longer time for grain-fill. To this end, Mr Granger recommends the application of a good T3 on the variety. “This is particularly important for crops growing further north,” he adds. LG Prince does well across a wide window of drilling slots, including both the earlier and late sown opportunities, which is a great asset in a variety. “In AHDB early sown trials drilled before September 25, the variety achieved 106% of control – not many feed wheat varieties can achieve that from the early slot.” Although it grows well across different soil types, Mr Granger observes the best results tend to be in medium and heavier soils where more moisture is conserved during dry periods. LG Prince does not take off too quickly regarding its speed of development in the spring; another characteristic that makes the variety suitable for that earlier drilling date on farm. Moving on to talk about disease resistance ratings, he notes that it has a rating of 83%, which is better than current market leader KWS Firefly on 80% and significantly better than the old favourite KWS Barrel at 71% of treated control. “Certainly, the older competitor varieties in the biscuit wheat sector tend to have a few challenges from susceptibility to Septoria tritici and yellow or brown rust, but LG Prince offers both good rust and Septoria tritici resistance.” Also important is the Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance, which is now general to all of our varieties in the biscuit category, points out Mr Granger.
David Huish
“LG Prince is a short, stiff, high-yielding variety, with broad adaptability for on farm placement. It has a good Hagberg and an acceptable specific weight, which is similar to KWS Firefly when comparable 2020 data sets are examined. It is certainly better than LG Sundance.” David Huish, Seed Sales Manager at Dalton Seeds, sees LG Prince as adding value to the Group 3 market, from its potential to bring growers a premium. The Peterborough-based seed merchants are growing it for the first time in 2021, having contracted a grower to produce a seed crop. He reports that despite the lack of rain in April, visits to the crop have shown it to be clean and standing up well, if not better, than other varieties. Mr Huish says: “It has an acceptable specific weight of 74.8, and if growers wanted to spread their risk slightly, they could grow it alongside another variety such as LG Astronomer. “LG Prince is good in all situations and at 104% in the east, it has a stand-out yield, which leads the biscuit wheat sector and competes with the best in the feed wheat too. “This offers a real win-win for growers.”
New biscuit wheat offers best on-farm yield security
LG Astronomer is an exciting new biscuit wheat that offers one of the most complete agronomic packages of any winter wheat available on the AHDB Recommended List for 2021/22.
Achieving high yields and gaining a premium is always an attractive proposition for growers as they look to maximise their most profitable crop – and now with the added bonus of on-farm security, LG Astronomer makes for a really attractive package for the coming season, says Ron Granger from plant breeder Limagrain UK.
LG Astronomer offers consistency in biscuit wheat yields, with a UK wide yield of 101.1% and a very impressive untreated yield of 86%; significantly better than the untreated yields of KWS Firefly (80%) and KWS Barrel (71%). “Its best performance is in the east (102%) and its characteristics will suit growers in both the west and the north,” he adds. LG Astronomer pedigree of ‘(Cougar x Leeds) x Britannia’, has resulted in a variety that is tall and stiff strawed with OWBM resistance, and a similar maturity of ‘+1’, to KWS Firefly.
“Its disease resistance profile is pretty impressive, particularly for the rusts – with ratings of 9 for both brown and yellow rust, and this is supported by a very good septoria tritici rating of 7.4, raising the bar above the present commercial biscuit varieties, Elicit (5.1) and KWS Firefly (6.8).”
“The variety shows a flexibility in rotational positioning, that makes it really useful on farm,” says Mr Granger. “It is equally as good as a second wheat or a first wheat, and in Limagrain trials, performs very well in both medium and heavy soil types – which is backed up by the AHDB RL data sets.” “Although limited data for now, we have found the variety to perform well in an earlier drilling slot – performing much better than many other biscuits at this time due to its superb agronomic package.” ”LG Astronomer can also be sown through to mid-February, which is a really useful characteristic, considering the late drilling seasons we currently seem to be faced with.”
Grain quality is very important for a biscuit wheat, and LG Astronomer stands out with its excellent quality attributes – starting with a specific weight of 77.8 kg/hl, protein content of 11.9% and HFN of 238. “This is one of the best specific weights on the RL, irrespective of the UK Wheat Millers (nabim) Grouping.” By choosing LG Astronomer this coming season, growers have the exciting option of growing a wheat variety that will deliver whatever the season throws at it, will cope with a range of rotational positions, and also offer the added bonus of a biscuit or distilling premium, concludes Mr Granger.
LG Crusoe still reliably hitting 13% protein to win YEN
Simon Budden’s crop of Crusoe milling wheat won Gold in the 2020 Wheat Quality YEN (The Yield Enhancement Network) awards with a yield of 11.98t/ha and a grain protein content of 13%. It also achieved a specific weight of 82.7kg/hl, a Hagberg score of 352 and moisture level of 12.5%.
Crusoe has been the variety of choice for Hampshire-based wheat farmer Simon Budden of Netherley Farm since 2013 due to the reliability with which it hits the magic 13% protein mark to receive a full premium. Last year was his first entry into the YEN.
“The great thing about the YEN report is the detailed analysis of the crop throughout the growing season. The grain analysis was really insightful and highlighted low potash, magnesium, copper and manganese.” “This will be useful information going forward to help increase grain yields further,” he says. He admits that some of the newer varieties have slightly better yields but points out that they are often less reliable in achieving the required protein levels and so do not always achieve the premium. Having grown Crusoe for a number of years, he knows how to look after it and get the best from it.
The local soil is loam over chalk, with good organic matter measured at 8.6% by loss of ignition. As part of his agronomy strategy, because the soils can vary within one field, he uses variable rates for planting using the SOYL system. Soils for milling wheats at Netherly Farm are min-tilled. “Last year’s crop was drilled at an average seed rate of 185kg/ha into good soil conditions in late September and received rain at just the right times.”
“The millers need a consistent grain, so we use the variable rate fertilisers to even up the crop.” Phosphate, potash and nitrogen were also applied at variable rate, and the crop received 260kg/ha in five splits of ammonium nitrate, one of which went on with sulphur. For the milling wheat he uses a hand-held N leaf tester and tops up if necessary.
Last year, his milling wheat also received 220 litres/ hectare of Omex Protein Plus at 40kg/ha at grain filling, to give 40kg of extra Nitrogen per hectare taking the total on the field to 302 kg/ha/N. “As we are in a catchment sensitive area and also an NVZ, we are very conscious of not wanting to waste any nitrogen and we are also working to improve our carbon footprint.”
“Our strategy going forward is to continue growing reliable high yielding milling varieties like Crusoe but also grow feed wheat crops to reduce our total nitrogen use over the farm “ Growing in an area with an average annual rainfall of 100 cm, septoria is a big challenge, so he prefers varieties with in-built resistance, and they always receive a full spray programme. “We first saw the crop in some local trials and we were impressed how it stayed green despite high septoria pressure. We have been growing it ever since.”
Crusoe remains agronomically robust, he says. “In this area we monitor closely for brown rust, but did not see any last year – two seasons previously it came in late, but we find the variety holds up against the disease anyway.” “The fungicide costs for last year’s crop of Crusoe, at less than £98/ha, were not high in the context of a crop reaching 12t/ha with a premium from protein of £1.32t/ha,” he points out.
LG Diablo’s Malting Marathon
Barley that has been grown for brewing or distilling goes through several processes before ending up as a beer or spirit in the glass.
Eddie Douglas
In fact in its journey through the processing plant from the lorry through to its metamorphosis into malt, each barley grain travels almost the same distance as the height of Mount Snowdon (1,085m).
Just through the processing section of its journey that single barley grain travels a distance equivalent to climbing The Shard!
Eddie Douglas, commercial director of Bairds Malt, takes us on the journey the grain has to travel to convert it into to high quality malt, fit for brewing or distilling requirements.
Malting barley is typically ready for harvesting in Scotland in late August through to the end of September with a natural moisture percentage in the range of 17-22% off the combine, he explains.
“This is a very busy period for the Scottish malting barley industry, growers, hauliers and malting barley intakes, all pull together to secure the valuable harvested crop over this 6 week period.
“Once it is drawn forward for processing, the barley is graded, with grains that are too small, sent off for animal feed.”
“The primary job post intake, is to dry the newly harvested malting barley down to 12% moisture from the natural 17-22% range, to ensure it is fit for safe long-term storage.”
Barley Dryers
“This allows us to capture the important raw material for the following calendar year’s malt deliveries to brewers and distillers,” explains Eddie, adding that dormancy levels can vary after drying, depending on the weather and growing conditions the crop has been subjected to.
“We find that after a wet harvest, there are longer dormancy levels, which can affect the ability of the crop to germinate.”
“Once the grain starts to germinate, which can be seen as it starts to chit, it is placed in the germination chamber, which is part of a tower system with a direct gravity feed. The barley typically spends four days in a humid, temperature controlled atmosphere,” explains Mr Douglas.
“The embryo then becomes metabolically active and starts to produce the enzymes that will break down the starch endosperm which is so important for the brewers.”
“For the next part of the journey, the barley is transferred 100 metres by augur conveyor to the kiln, where it is held at temperatures of 70-75°C and dried back down to 4-4.5% moisture, which is a 24-48 hour process.”
Germination Chamber
Within the next three weeks the barley will be delivered to the brewer or distiller, from where its journey diverges according to its final destination, he says.
“If the barley is going to be brewed, it will be taken in a 28t bulk tanker to the mill to crack the kernel, releasing the starch and converting it to sugar.”
“The milled, malted grain will then be mixed with water and hops, and yeast will be added to start the fermentation process that provides 5-7% alcohol.”
When brewed into craft beers, it can be on the supermarket shelf within six to eight weeks. However, for distillers, the process takes an average of eight to ten years.”
“Journeys vary enormously; the nearest supermarket can be as close as just five miles away, whereas some of the specialist distilling malts from Scotland can be shipped as far as Thailand, Japan and North America.”
Baird’s Malt, one the first Maltsters in Scotland to produce roasted malts, have facilities in Pencaitland, Arbroath, Inverness, and further south in England. Within 50 miles of each of these malthouses, the company has a nucleus of specialist malting barley growers -meaning the grain travels minimal road miles for the first stage in the process.
Back in 2018, LG Diablo was one of the newer varieties that stood out in Bairds’ annual private evaluation trials in Carnoustie and Inverness which monitored different sowing dates and tested the robustness of the variety grains.
Last autumn, LG Diablo was given Full Approval for brewing use, by the Malting Barley Committee (MBC). This follows on from its Full Approval last year, for malt distilling.
LG Diablo is now the highest yielding spring barley variety, with Full Approval for both brewing and malt distilling, on the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List.
“We initially grew 300t as a new variety. We malted it and offered it to the distillers for appraisal and feedback, and subsequently in 2019, increased this to 5,000t,” explains Mr Douglas.
“Although LG Diablo already had Approval for distilling use for the past few years, it has only recently received Full Approval for brewing use.
“We have found LG Diablo to produce higher yields compared with its rivals, along with a bold kernel size, promoted by the slightly later maturity of the crop.
“One of the advantages of being a later maturing variety, is that it helps to spread the workload on farm, over an intense harvest period.”
From the loading intake to grading:300m – similar to the height of the Eiffel Tower From grader to dryer: 50m – almost half the length of a football pitch From dryer to short-term storage:45m – after touching the halfway line, this is almost the whole way back to the goal posts
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From short-term storage to steeping area: 60m – equivalent to an indoor championship event sprint. The fastest male runner is Christian Coleman, who ran it in 6.34 seconds (World Athletics) Up to the top of the processing silo and into the steeping vessel:70m Down into one of the germination floors: 25-45m
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Travel to kiln: 60m – championship sprint again! The fastest female time is Irina Privalova, who ran it in 6.92 seconds (World Athletics) Long term storage: 150m – one and a half lengths of a rugby pitch Loading bay:70m – almost the world record discus throw, set by Jürgen Schult, who reached 74.08 metres
A Quartet of New Biscuits
Limagrain UK has a strong reputation for producing great biscuit wheat varieties, from Claire to more recently Zulu and Britannia.
This strong breeding line continues with the introduction of four new Group 3 biscuit varieties for the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List: LG Astronomer, LG Prince, LG Illuminate and LG Quasar.
These new varieties offer an improvement in yield potential in the biscuit sector, combined with good agronomic attributes of stiff straw, good disease resistance ratings for the rusts, Septoria tritici and Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance.
“Very importantly, these should not be just considered as solely biscuit wheats, as they all have the additional end market of potential for distilling and two of them also have uks export opportunities on top, for a full marketing outlet opportunity,” says Limagrain’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger.
“A breeder getting a couple of varieties onto the Recommended List is quite an achievement, but getting four new varieties listed in the Group 3 biscuit wheat category is very unusual, and an achievement that should be acknowledged,” he adds.
Each variety is different, offering a range of agronomic characters suitable for particular farm situations, to allow for optimum performance.
For full AHDB Recommended List 2021/22 dataset, see: ahdb.org.uk/rl
breeding programme.
spray days,” says Mr Aynsley.
“
“Its disease resistance profile is pretty impressive, particularly for the rusts – with ratings of 9 for both brown and yellow rust, and this is supported by a very good septoria tritici rating of 7.4, raising the bar above the present commercial biscuit varieties, Elicit (5.1) and KWS Firefly (6.8).”
