Variety breakdown

Jerry

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Devon
How many years do you think a variety holds in for?

Grown skyfall and Graham for a few years but skyfall is suffering from rust.

What’s interesting is home saved skyfall is fairing better fresh C1 seed a seed contract.

Graham is all home saved and little sign of rust.

Note I’m in the SW so high disease pressure.
 

Gong Farmer

Member
BASIS
Location
S E Glos
These days yellow rust produces variants more rapidly than Covid so nothing's safe for long.

However there's an interesting theory, only supported with anecdotes as far as I know, that varieties can adapt if grown repeatedly and from the same seed, on the same farm. They adapt to their location, soil type, climate etc and are 'empowered'.

New seed wouldn't have this effect so possibly weaker?

There are many growers doing this, I know of one or two still growing Deben, and unlikely to be sourcing new seed every year.

Might explain why individual growers stick with a variety, and it keeps performing, long after it has declined in official trials.
 

robbie

Member
BASIS
That's kind of what I'm seeing, Whether there's anything in it or not I dont know but I've grown jb Diego for ages my seed is at least C6 by now and it does really well.

It dropped of the list, for amongst other things it's poor disease ratings but I'm not seeing it on farm. I know I'm the east so different kettle of fish to the west but it was Supposed to be a rusty variety but I'm not really seeing anymore in it that a lot of the other mainstream varieties, perhaps with the exception of Graham which is the cleanest variety I've ever seen.
 

thorpe

Member
our graham looks v good , overwinterd seed home saved we only buy a variety once so this has been grown on for years, its very clean, agrono says drop it , i say i dont think so. remember growing kador for years after bought seed became unavailable, remained clean and did well.
 

Hampton

Member
BASIS
Location
Shropshire
My skyscraper looks very clean, despite it being weak on yellow rust.
Zyatt is my dirtiest variety and may well be dropped this year.
extase looks clean and lush although could be a flash in the pan.
we need better varieties, and perhaps the lack of variety trials over the last 12 months will mean that the seed companies must sharpen their act as we can’t be seduced into buying what we can’t see
 

thorpe

Member
My skyscraper looks very clean, despite it being weak on yellow rust.
Zyatt is my dirtiest variety and may well be dropped this year.
extase looks clean and lush although could be a flash in the pan.
we need better varieties, and perhaps the lack of variety trials over the last 12 months will mean that the seed companies must sharpen their act as we can’t be seduced into buying what we can’t see
how will we get better varieties when seedhouses are owned by the chemical companies. we dont seem to have come very far in the last 20 or 30 years but we have spent a lot on new seed!
 

Gong Farmer

Member
BASIS
Location
S E Glos
how will we get better varieties when seedhouses are owned by the chemical companies. we dont seem to have come very far in the last 20 or 30 years but we have spent a lot on new seed!
To be fair the breeders seem to be true to their profession with stronger and stronger septoria resistance coming through and most wheat varieties at least starting off with strong yellow rust resistance. Where their overlords the chemical companies come in is telling us this disease resistance uses energy in the plant and hence reduces yield, so disease should be controlled by other (chemical) means.

Must admit this boils my pi55. :mad:
 
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FarmerBruce

Member
Location
Yorkshire
our graham looks v good , overwinterd seed home saved we only buy a variety once so this has been grown on for years, its very clean, agrono says drop it , i say i dont think so. remember growing kador for years after bought seed became unavailable, remained clean and did well.
What’s his reason for dropping it. Been consistently our best performer for the past 3-4 years or so
 

Tom Nickerson

Member
Trade
Location
Norfolk
How many years do you think a variety holds in for?

Grown skyfall and Graham for a few years but skyfall is suffering from rust.

What’s interesting is home saved skyfall is fairing better fresh C1 seed a seed contract.

Graham is all home saved and little sign of rust.

Note I’m in the SW so high disease pressure.

Graham to it's credit is a very strong variety in all our trials and has held up in the west. So not sure if that is a question of certified vs FSS.

I think it is safe to say if a variety starts to break, working on the basis it has a high score in the first instance, it takes between 1 and 3 years (talking nationally here, obviously local variations).

It's fair to say though when they do break they do break with a bang: within a year.
 
How many years do you think a variety holds in for?

Grown skyfall and Graham for a few years but skyfall is suffering from rust.

What’s interesting is home saved skyfall is fairing better fresh C1 seed a seed contract.

Graham is all home saved and little sign of rust.

Note I’m in the SW so high disease pressure.

What was your fungicide on the Skyfall to be so rusty?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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    Votes: 80 42.3%
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  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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