Wheat variety choices next year?

[Barry]

@Barry is there any form of assessment or scoring done on plant tillering ?

Given the number of late cold springs over the last few years, us northern wheat growers are getting a bit sick of shy tillering varieties.

If they are new varieties then the breeder will have the best idea what sort of tillering capability they have. But it is not scored as such more general comments if it a strong, weak or average tillerer.

 

[PSQ]

Last year one tutted to my face about it.

'LB', by any chance?

 

[Renaultman]

And yet I grew it after seeing a merchants trials last year, where the Siskin had been hammered by slugs in the Autumn, but by June it had tillered so well that it looked like tumble weed.

But by the beginning of April I was trying to work out what I'd done wrong to end up with such a pale and thin looking stand. (2nd Wheat)
- It doesn't like cold springs.
- it doesn't like drought.
- it's sensitive to a cobbly seed bed.
- VRS helped, but it's too thin on the low rate areas.
- it does like a big dollop early nitrogen.
Not sure it's going to getting a 2nd chance.

Revelation and Grafton coped better, and still look more promising.

My Revelation looks superb, Grafton not quite so, but wouldn't be surprised if it does better.
They both love to deceive in their own way. Have been caught out too many times when cutting first Cassius and then Grafton and getting, unexpectedly, good yields. Then going into the better looking 'barn fillers' to find they look better but do worse.

 

[DanniAgro]

Tillering is about soil and weather conditions isn'it ?

You'd think so, wouldn't you, but on my cold old clay in the autumn any thin spots planted late tend not to fill out if you use the wrong variety - that was what was so great about Santiago, as it just seemed to tiller prolifically until the thin spots matched the better emerged areas.

 

[DanniAgro]

'LB', by any chance?

Never met the man before - he worked for Frontier if that's any help!

 

[APJ]

Reflection, is anyone feeling brave enough to grow this next yr? I'm tempted to go again looks well this yr agronomist is dead against the variety, but it looks well again just got to manage its weakness!

 

[DRC]

Take it from me as a southern grower, I'm just as sick of asking seed company reps whether their new wonder variety tillers well and being told that it's not important. Last year one tutted to my face about it.
When you're trying to get a crop in after maize, tillering is top of my list, so that the plants will fill out in the wet patches where emergence is patchy.

Try Annapolis . Not on the list but seed sold by Hutchinsons. German bred and ticks all the boxes for drilling after maize. Second year of growing it here, and despite being drilled last , it looks by far the best again.
Big bold sample and tillers like mad. I'm planning to grow a lot more of it this year

 

[Hornet]

Reflection, is anyone feeling brave enough to grow this next yr? I'm tempted to go again looks well this yr agronomist is dead against the variety, but it looks well again just got to manage its weakness!

If we still had Galmano in our armoury it would still be on the list to grow, It has everything you'd want in a variety (apart from yr[emoji15]) recon it will be our top yielding and margining wheat this year with a controlled fung spend of £108/ha. (Not inc galamano). BUT yr was coming in (even with galmano) enough to justify an earlier than normal T0.

Kerrin my preferred Grp 4 replacement: yield, obm, reasonable disease, good sp weight, but needs a good sniff of pgr if this year has anything to go by, as it's a prolific tillerer like Santiago. Maybe competitive with bg?

 

[APJ]

If we still had Galmano in our armoury it would still be on the list to grow, It has everything you'd want in a variety (apart from yr[emoji15]) recon it will be our top yielding and margining wheat this year with a controlled fung spend of £108/ha. (Not inc galamano). BUT yr was coming in (even with galmano) enough to justify an earlier than normal T0.

Kerrin my preferred Grp 4 replacement: yield, obm, reasonable disease, good sp weight, but needs a good sniff of pgr if this year has anything to go by, as it's a prolific tillerer like Santiago. Maybe competitive with bg?

We've got shabris and gravity planned as newbies and Diego on a smaller area and Costello the main player just like reflection a lot I know I'm playing with fire but i like it!!

 

[bobk]

Try Annapolis . Not on the list but seed sold by Hutchinsons. German bred and ticks all the boxes for drilling after maize. Second year of growing it here, and despite being drilled last , it looks by far the best again.
Big bold sample and tillers like mad. I'm planning to grow a lot more of it this year

Are you having new seed or fss ?

 

[DRC]

Are you having new seed or fss ?

Not sure yet.

 

[DRC]

We've got shabris and gravity planned as newbies and Diego on a smaller area and Costello the main player just like reflection a lot I know I'm playing with fire but i like it!!

Spunhill trials showed Diego had broken down badly to disease and in their words, stuck out like a sore thumb.
Here it looks ok. Costello looks better than Graham now

 

[APJ]

Spunhill trials showed Diego had broken down badly to disease and in their words, stuck out like a sore thumb.
Here it looks ok. Costello looks better than Graham now

Choices choices think the problem is there are too many gr 4s to choose from!

 

[BigBarl]

Choices choices think the problem is there are too many gr 4s to choose from!

I think the group 4's could be sorted out pretty easily.

Hards

Kerrin = high input high output growers in the east and north mainly. Looks solid, tillers well.
Shabras = my pick, yields there with Kerrin but better disease and Septoria so would plump for it out of the hards. Very good in the West but suitable UK wide. Will suit growers who are less likely to get fungicides on in the right 3hr hour window!
Diego = dead (or at least should be)
Costello = not enough seed in its first commercial year, good sample but doesn't yield, so why would you go into it when Shabras/Hardwicke are available?
Graham = good early driller
Crispin = good late driller

Softs

Sundance = very very clean, looks great in the field. Watch spec weight. But one I am looking forward to growing. Not the most vigorous tillering so be careful of dropping the seed rate to try and bring the spec weight up. Maybe keep off the real light land?
Mowtown = good early harvest, decent enough yield and good sample. Good on light land
Revelation = good early driller, still clean also. Yields down on most now but it is likely to attract a soft premium to make up the gross margin a bit
Hardwicke = shortest variety listed, stiff, clean agronomics, decent yield. Easy to overlook in my opinion. Diego cross so should be pretty consistent. Northern recommendation due to market demands (distilling) but could travel south happily.

Candidates
Universe (soft) watch straw strength but good sample and clean.
Gravity - massive barn filler. Got midge, tillers very well, one to try definitely.

Anything not mentioned because I feel the others have everything covered?

 

[Brisel]

Graham looked scruffy for septoria despite its 6.7 septoria score but will stay as an early driller & replacement for dirty JB Diego which goes after 6 good years here.

Siskin stays as a late driller. Looked tidy all season but I will spend a bit more on PGRs next spring.

Lili will come back as a mid-late Sept driller on some heavier land & will go in the same heaps as Siskin. The millers prefer it to Siskin but I will grow both as feeds with no protein spray/super earwash unless the forward milling markets look good and the crop looks like a good yield will dilute the protein.

 

[Seed&Grain]

Reflection, is anyone feeling brave enough to grow this next yr? I'm tempted to go again looks well this yr agronomist is dead against the variety, but it looks well again just got to manage its weakness!

Our Reflection is pick of the winter wheats, if you know how to grow it, its an excellent barn filler.

 

[Brisel]

Our Reflection is pick of the winter wheats, if you know how to grow it, its an excellent barn filler.

It was my top yielder out of Diego, Lili and Reflection last year by a narrow margin. I won't grow it again due to the risk but for someone who likes a chance, enjoys spraying and can get it treated ASAP it should provide the goods.

 

[bobk]

It was my top yielder out of Diego, Lili and Reflection last year by a narrow margin. I won't grow it again due to the risk but for someone who likes a chance, enjoys spraying and can get it treated ASAP it should provide the goods.

Are you growing Diego again ? I'm struggling to find anything that floats my boat

Quite interested in Annapolis , but don't really deal with Hutchinsons .

 

[Brisel]

Are you growing Diego again ? I'm struggling to find anything that floats my boat

Quite interested in Annapolis , but don't really deal with Hutchinsons .

No plans to grow it again but it wasn't an easy decision to drop it. There are so many cleaner varieties on the RL and septoria is guaranteed down here. In 2014 septoria cost me 1 t/ha+. Why take the risk?

 

[richard hammond]

Reflection, is anyone feeling brave enough to grow this next yr? I'm tempted to go again looks well this yr agronomist is dead against the variety, but it looks well again just got to manage its weakness!

I will definitely be using Reflection next year, if the variety yields well this harvest ,it looks great at the moment, we just need to change
crop management criteria, I treated with a fungicide early due to last years surprise, and then have just treated the same as other varieties.
I have kept all fungicide programs a bit cheaper than last year, due to lower disease risk.
Harvest may make me look a twit!!