Wheat varieties for (or not for) direct drilling

[teslacoils]

Thanks again folk
@teslacoils - I am involved in an on farm trial with some seedbed N. It’s possibly something we could do in more detail. How much do you think we should be applying, 40kg N? Only relevant to DD? I think we have a Weaving drill that can do fert as well as seed.

So, we all know that wheat looks much better when there is some autumn N. If you "redrill failed OSR with wheat" it typically looks much better.

I have no idea on the rates. My thoughts would be along the lines of a trial where you put zero, 10, 20, 30kg placed in line with the seed. See if there are establishment / root mass benefits. Take to harvest and see if there is a yield difference. Then, to extend the trial, you need to check how much if any of that autumn N is lost to groundwater. Then try varying the spring nitrogen vs autumn nitrogen. What youre looking for is the sweetspot where a quantity of autumn nitrogen produces a yield benefit and overall reduction in fertiliser "losses". Something ideal would be saying that 10kg of autumn N placed with the seed increased establishment and root biomass by X, allowing for a reduction in spring nitrogen of Y for the same or better yield.

 

[Andy004]

Thanks @ih1455xl and @Feldspar for the comments. @snarling bee thanks very much for the suggestion of an unsuitable variety. I guess the exceptionally wet autumns didn’t help? Root traits are a right pain to study, but could be important. I’d imagined DD soil should drain better than conventional, so sitting wet shouldn’t be more likely under DD, am I wrong? Maybe soil type dependant?
@teslacoils thanks for the follow up, sounds an interesting idea, I’ll certainly give it thourght. If it did happen, I’m wondering if drilling date would make an effect more or less likely? Measuring leaching isnt that easy, I’d suggest if we measured total N at final harvest we’d have a measure of uptake efficiency, and as long as it was improved by the autumn N we could assume leaching would have been reduced. We could also measure pre and post winter N uptake if we wanted, which would also give us a biomass yield at those points.
Thanks!

 

[yellow belly]

In my experience the application of nitrogen in the autumn does not easly get into autumn crops
nitrogen left over from the previous crop or previous manure is more easly utilised
this was especially shown when we grew osr planted after liquid urea treated milling wheat in part of a field and osr planted on the other half or of the field the visible difference was large

it take several weeks or longer for nitrogen aplied to be available especily when rainfall in September is limited sufficient for germination but not for fresh aplied nutrient mobilisation

early planted cover crops and early plante wheat or osr utilise any available residual nitrogen but later planted (October )or spring crops on bare winter land loose it all down the drain

measuring One years n application against 1 years yields does not accurately represent the nitrogen efficiency of a farm system

 

[Simon C]

Just looked at Extase in this years trial. Taller and seems to have more Spring vigour than the rest. It actually looks very similar to the Conqueror I mentioned yesterday. Are they related at all? I am sure there is a clue in their growth habit that suits them so DD.

Siskin never does well for me, in fact one dry year it gave up and nearly all died where all the other varieties were fine.

 

[Andy004]

@yellow belly interesting comments, thanks. Yes, whole farm N balance is important, but a crop that takes up a higher %of available N is surely on the right road to improving N use efficiency? Interesting idea to see if a second wheat benefits from a late N application in the first wheat. We had 350 kg N on some first wheat plots last year, its spring barley now, but I could look and see if there’s more growth than where we put 100 kg N in the same field.

@Simon C thanks for looking at your. Plots and getting back. Conqueror is Robigus x Equinox, Extase is Boisseau x Solheio (I’d not heard of either parent), so not closely related. Interesting Siskin doesn’t do well, if the trial goes ahead would be a good one to include.
Thanks again

 

[Simon C]

Have you got a trial area that has settled into DD for a few years? Direct drilling varieties into a field that was ploughed the previous year won't teach you much.

 

[Andy004]

@Simon C yes thanks, should be going into fifth year of DD.

 

[Richard III]

In my experience the application of nitrogen in the autumn does not easly get into autumn crops
nitrogen left over from the previous crop or previous manure is more easly utilised
this was especially shown when we grew osr planted after liquid urea treated milling wheat in part of a field and osr planted on the other half or of the field the visible difference was large

it take several weeks or longer for nitrogen aplied to be available especily when rainfall in September is limited sufficient for germination but not for fresh aplied nutrient mobilisation

early planted cover crops and early plante wheat or osr utilise any available residual nitrogen but later planted (October )or spring crops on bare winter land loose it all down the drain

measuring One years n application against 1 years yields does not accurately represent the nitrogen efficiency of a farm system

I've often seen these effects too, I only need modest amounts of N to get a good crop of wheat, but late applied N can make the difference between success and failure in the following OSR. I've also seen a massive difference in spring linseed after barley, despite N placed in furrow, the headland and the right got another 30 kg/ha of N on the previous barley. Wheat after linseed also benefits massively from a little late applied N on the linseed here.

I have a suspicion that N choking, from straw return is causing some of my issues. It possibly helps the residue breakdown if the straw is higher in N?

I 100% agree that measuring one years N application against 1 years yields does not accurately represent the nitrogen efficiency of a farm system.

All crops have been No Till for 13- 14 years now.

 

[fudge]

Just looked at Extase in this years trial. Taller and seems to have more Spring vigour than the rest. It actually looks very similar to the Conqueror I mentioned yesterday. Are they related at all? I am sure there is a clue in their growth habit that suits them so DD.

Siskin never does well for me, in fact one dry year it gave up and nearly all died where all the other varieties were fine.

I’m not a direct driller, but perversely direct drill after beans. I would chose extase because it’s quicker of the mark in the spring. That’s my limited experience. NB we plough after rape here and that provides a better conditions than direct drilling however the timing of our spring bean harvest doesn’t allow time for weathering before the optimum wheat drilling date. Therefore DD is a better option for us in that position.

 

[Simon C]

I 100% agree that measuring one years N application against 1 years yields does not accurately represent the nitrogen efficiency of a farm system.

Yes absolutely agree. Wheat is always best after linseed, I used to think it was something to do with soil conditioning or enhanced biology but am convinced it is just that there is a fair amount of unused N kicking around. Linseed often doesn't take up later applications, especially when it's dry. This year I have done 2 N splits on linseed, 1st two weeks before drilling and 2nd as soon as I could see the rows. Perhaps the next wheat won't be so good this time.

 

[teslacoils]

OSR always got going better after milling wheat that had had an extra late bag.

 

[tr250]

Anyone tried Champion it looks fast to establish but is not recommended for early sept drilling which is when I want to drill but it will be dd into a grass ley

 

[Wombat]

Anyone tried Champion it looks fast to establish but is not recommended for early sept drilling which is when I want to drill but it will be dd into a grass ley

Have some on order for this autumn will be the first week of oct when I drill it though (assuming the weather plays ball)

 

[BigBarl]

I've been no-till for 18 years and have done my own variety trials probably the last 5 or 6 years. Stand out variety is Conqueror, although not available any more, it always out yields anything else. I put it in a blend of 4, equal amounts of each and after 7 years of saving the seed, it has taken over and is now up to 70% of the mix. I am not suggesting anyone grows it because it is now very susceptible to yellow rust, but it would be worth investigating what traits make it so much higher yielding in my no-till system.

KWS Cranium is a grandchild of Conquerer and about as close as you would get nowadays.