Anybody care to divulge the bad and good points of this wheat? I’ve had the sales literature but I would like to know about failures where it’s not worked. We are thinking of dropping 3 feed varieties and just going into Belepi alongside our milling wheats. It’s the sowing window that’s pushing us towards it as it would suit our light land planting November to January direct into cover crops. The grain merchants we use are not overly excited at the idea though.
Belepi wheat real life experience
- Thread starter Beefsmith
- Start date
John Slejpner
Member
- Location
- Brick clay near Bedford
Belepi
Grain quality ie bushelweight. is low. Soft gp 4 but i can never get any premium for it.
Weak on rusts and to a lesser extent mildew.
Seems to be stronger on septoria than expected. Never see any in crop, but low pressure here.
The above all said, a cheap 2 spray fungicide strategy usually works well here on late autumn sown.
Genuinely blackgrass competitive.
Tall with huge leaves, it would be the first wheat to go flat, so no skimping on pgr
Ignore early breeder literature (which might have changed since) suggesting the need for low seed rates. Or at least get a second opinion for your soil type / area. I think, on limited experience, that it is particularly weak on seedling vigour. Once it has made the jump from seed to soil it is fine.
Grain quality ie bushelweight. is low. Soft gp 4 but i can never get any premium for it.
Weak on rusts and to a lesser extent mildew.
Seems to be stronger on septoria than expected. Never see any in crop, but low pressure here.
The above all said, a cheap 2 spray fungicide strategy usually works well here on late autumn sown.
Genuinely blackgrass competitive.
Tall with huge leaves, it would be the first wheat to go flat, so no skimping on pgr
Ignore early breeder literature (which might have changed since) suggesting the need for low seed rates. Or at least get a second opinion for your soil type / area. I think, on limited experience, that it is particularly weak on seedling vigour. Once it has made the jump from seed to soil it is fine.
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
I grew it from the very beginning. The first year I sowed it after beet end of November at 110ish kg ha and it done fantastically well, The next three years I grew it in all sorts of different situations from Jan 1st wheat, oct/Nov 2nd wheat and December first wheat,high and low seed rates.
Each time it look fantastic but always seemed to disappoint at harvest not a disaster just not what it should have been also it seemed to suffer low bushel weight.
Each time it look fantastic but always seemed to disappoint at harvest not a disaster just not what it should have been also it seemed to suffer low bushel weight.
- Location
- Bedfordshire
Disappointing
- Location
- North West
Ours looked really well last year, right up until we put it in the trailer, then it looked disappointing
.
Could have just been the season but don’t think I’ll be bothering with it again, not through choice anyway!
. Could have just been the season but don’t think I’ll be bothering with it again, not through choice anyway!
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
That was the main plus for me, to be able to drill it at anytime after beet.
Every year I grew it it looked the best wheat on the farm, it had such a thick canopy with big leaves and a tall inform appearance. It looked like you could walk across it but it always seemed to disappoint at harvest. It's such a shame because I really liked it.
That’s finished that idea then. Thank you gents.
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
Also another downer was for such a "big" looking crop there never seemed to be much straw, it was about 1 to 2 5ft rounds acre less always.
Ninjago
Member
- Location
- south shropshire
So what’s the best autumn sown spring wheat to grow?
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
Does it have to be a spring wheat???
- Location
- the brecks norfolk
Do you need a spring variety for bps crop diverificatio
Ninjago
Member
- Location
- south shropshire
Yes
Midnight plough boy
Member
- Location
- Hertfordshire
If it’s drilled Nov - Jan it won’t be a spring wheat in the eyes of BPS
Ebbage Seeds
Member
- Location
- Ely, Cambridgeshire
Just for the record. Belepi is not a spring wheat, its a winter wheat.
Thanks for all your feedback. We welcome all comments.
Yield - Belepi was in the market the same time as Kielder, Cougar etc. Its a Robigus cross - it gets yellow rust! But a cheap protectant at T0 normally puts it to bed.
We find that because Belepi is asynchronous in its growth habit that it tends to be more variable in performance when drilled in the spring, but clearly has a 'management use' following sugar beet and maize, where growers are lifting through late autumn, winter and into spring. I think Belepi has become a bit of a 'marmite' variety. We always say that growers need to try it to make their own judgement.
Also it remains good for blackgrass competitiveness and will out pace it in the spring, smothering with those wide leaves you have experienced.
I think you need to re-look at the criteria that clarifies what can be drilled in the autumn and classified as a spring wheat as I believe your comment "if it is drilled Nov-jan it wont be a spring wheat in the eyes of BPS" is incorrect.
October-through to late Nov does tend to require less seed in the drill to achieve the same end, it will overcome the problem that some have experienced of lodging. Belepi has Santiago standing and too high a sowing rate will over-weaken the overall stand as the crop will grow tall to compete for light - it will effectively be competing against itself. We would cut sowing rates quite hard for October sowing - we've been down to 80 kgs/ha subject TGW to achieve a 12t/ha crop.
Spring-drilling is where the sowing rate issue is more contentious and in hindsight over our earlier comments we now tend to say that it requires around 10% less seed than other spring-drilled wheat. Spring conditions of course are never the same from one season to the next and so what works one year may not be repeated the next. Also being a winter wheat and winter dormant, if you were to drill a true spring wheat and Belepi in the same field on the same day, the Belepi would establish well, but not move away at the same pace as the spring wheat especially if the April is cold - as it has been this season. It would make up growth stage development once the climate warmed a little.
October-drilled Belepi also is rapid - by May it will be a full GS ahead of September-drilled.
If rapid rate of development is something that appeals, particularly now we are potentially drilling later due to absence of DETER, or you have blackgrass and want to clean up the land cheaply before drilling, then I would recommend the new Group 4 winter wheat variety Sartorial. With Soissons and Cordiale in its pedigree its rate of development late autumn-drilled is the first wheat I have seen that may be as quick as Belepi in this drilling window. Its also got a 9 for YR, 6.2 for tritici and a high spec weight.
Any other queries feedback. Most welcome.
Thanks for all your feedback. We welcome all comments.
Yield - Belepi was in the market the same time as Kielder, Cougar etc. Its a Robigus cross - it gets yellow rust! But a cheap protectant at T0 normally puts it to bed.
We find that because Belepi is asynchronous in its growth habit that it tends to be more variable in performance when drilled in the spring, but clearly has a 'management use' following sugar beet and maize, where growers are lifting through late autumn, winter and into spring. I think Belepi has become a bit of a 'marmite' variety. We always say that growers need to try it to make their own judgement.
Also it remains good for blackgrass competitiveness and will out pace it in the spring, smothering with those wide leaves you have experienced.
I think you need to re-look at the criteria that clarifies what can be drilled in the autumn and classified as a spring wheat as I believe your comment "if it is drilled Nov-jan it wont be a spring wheat in the eyes of BPS" is incorrect.
October-through to late Nov does tend to require less seed in the drill to achieve the same end, it will overcome the problem that some have experienced of lodging. Belepi has Santiago standing and too high a sowing rate will over-weaken the overall stand as the crop will grow tall to compete for light - it will effectively be competing against itself. We would cut sowing rates quite hard for October sowing - we've been down to 80 kgs/ha subject TGW to achieve a 12t/ha crop.
Spring-drilling is where the sowing rate issue is more contentious and in hindsight over our earlier comments we now tend to say that it requires around 10% less seed than other spring-drilled wheat. Spring conditions of course are never the same from one season to the next and so what works one year may not be repeated the next. Also being a winter wheat and winter dormant, if you were to drill a true spring wheat and Belepi in the same field on the same day, the Belepi would establish well, but not move away at the same pace as the spring wheat especially if the April is cold - as it has been this season. It would make up growth stage development once the climate warmed a little.
October-drilled Belepi also is rapid - by May it will be a full GS ahead of September-drilled.
If rapid rate of development is something that appeals, particularly now we are potentially drilling later due to absence of DETER, or you have blackgrass and want to clean up the land cheaply before drilling, then I would recommend the new Group 4 winter wheat variety Sartorial. With Soissons and Cordiale in its pedigree its rate of development late autumn-drilled is the first wheat I have seen that may be as quick as Belepi in this drilling window. Its also got a 9 for YR, 6.2 for tritici and a high spec weight.
Any other queries feedback. Most welcome.
- Location
- Cirencester
Get on very well here with Mulika, sure it doesnt yield as well as proper WW but have never not made milling with it, bushel never a problem, can be late to combine and doesnt tiller terribly well if sown Spring time.
I managed to get a fair bit drilled in Jan this year and it looks lovely, boots just splitting, it does have an odd trait of the tip of the ear getting caught in the ligule and bending the ear over on occasion but it soon pops out.
Looking forward to seeing how mine does this year, esp in light of the rain we've had and are still having.
Midnight plough boy
Member
- Location
- Hertfordshire
My mistake, In the eyes of CRD it would not be a spring wheat drilled Nov - Jan, but as you state it’s a winter variety, it couldn’t be used as a spring option for BPS anyway.
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