However in spite of this, there are over 10 varieties on the recent HGCA Recommended List –so how do growers make the most of these choices and what is it that millers are looking for?
Mark Isaacson, commercial director with milling and coating business Bowmans, points out that there is an ever-increasing requirement for good quality biscuit-type wheats for a range of products across the UK and Europe such as food coatings, and cake flour in the form of heat-treated flour.
“We are supplying increasing volumes of heat treated flour every year, and it’s now one of the main areas of our business. UK soft wheats are still a favourite so the demand is undoubtedly there.”
“Reliability and consistency of quality is of paramount importance, it’s crucial that a variety can deliver this when we take it on. We are happy to accept any Group 3 soft wheat as long as it is on the HGCA Recommended List.”
“Our criteria for selection is based on a bold grain as this is easier to process, so variety choice is important. A good specific weight is more important than Haber Falling Number (HFN) and it’s crucial that the variety has a decent resistance to fusarium mycotoxins,” says Jeremy Pickering, technical director for the company.
James Walgate, based on the Lincolnshire Wolds, has turned to growing soft milling Group 3’s for the second season, having previously grown predominantly all hard wheats.
“We have generally grown feed wheats because of our location – that bit further north as it means that harvest is always slightly later, so we have not always been able to achieve the quality. “
“Although, to be honest we don’t make the decision to grow a variety based on if its soft or hard; the premium is just a bonus. Our driver is all about maximising first wheats with some decent break crops, and this means choosing a variety that I can grow best.”
“We make our variety choices in July through various field trials assessments and consultation with our advisor. We like to get first wheats drilled early, we aim to be done by the first week of October, so we need slow developing varieties that have good disease resistance and strong straw. For the second wheats this is even more crucial.
“Last year was the first year that we broke away from the hard feed wheats and we grew some of the Group 3 soft wheat, Zulu. We were really pleased with how it performed with yields reaching 10.2t/ha – which is comparable with what we got from the Group 4’s – so suddenly we have found ourselves with a variety that has done well on farm and also has good marketing opportunities.”
Pleased with the performance of the variety, this season Mr Walgate has 25ha in the ground, and so far this season he is pleased with how it has looked, despite some serious disease challenges.
“It’s been a tough spring for disease, and it has really separated out the varieties that have better disease resistance. “We have adopted a very robust spray regime throughout and we have managed to keep on top of the rust and septoria- we never want to be in a position where we are chasing disease.”
“Both Zulu and the Group 4 Revelation have stood out as their disease resistance has proved robust and very valuable.”
Zulu, bred by Limagrain UK, was added to the RL in 2014, and is classified as a uks soft wheat with a medium rating for distilling. “Limagrain has a history of breeding good soft Group 3’s such as Claire and Invicta and Claire is still a firm favourite with many growers due to its reliability and consistency despite having been added to the recommended list as far back as 1999– Zulu offers very much the same – but with a step up in yield,” says Lee Robinson, sales and marketing director with Limagrain.
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YIELD POTENTIAL (% Treated Control) |
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Treated |
Untreated |
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ZULU |
102 |
90 |
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KWS Croft |
102 |
91 |
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Invicta |
100 |
90 |
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Scout |
97 |
88 |
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Zulu offers a very good agronomic package, combining good straw characteristics with robust disease resistance and WOBM resistance whilst also offering good grain specifications for several end market opportunities points out Ron Granger, arable technical manager with Limagrain.
“Zulu has a 7 rating for mildew, 9 for yellow rust and good eyespot resistance (7), as well as a (6) for fusarium.” “Zulu is a slightly taller variety, but it does respond well to PGR’s, with a rating of 8 for this characteristic. It offers SBCMV resistance and although the distribution of this disease is low in the UK, it appears to be on the rise so varietal resistance is essential for growers affected to guarantee good returns.” In terms of grain quality characteristics it has a soft endosperm so Zulu is suitable for the key marketing outlets as a soft biscuit wheat, and is a registered uks variety. Most importantly however Mr Granger is keen to highlight that it is Zulu’s consistency of performance in terms of yield stability and but also quality that makes it a valuable variety. “It has performed solidly over a number of seasons and rotations at 103% over control, and this is what will make it a firm favourite for both growers and millers alike.” Farm facts
Approach Mr Walgate established his wheats with a plough followed by a Simba Unipress and drills with a Horsch CO4 drill. Black grass is increasingly becoming an issue so Avadex is applied following drilling. A pre and post emergence herbicide spray is used when needed, and any remaining black-grass is hand rogued in the spring. “Nutrition is important as we have high pH soils here on the Wolds, so phosphate can be locked up. We precision place liquid fertiliser where needed to combat this.” |
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