With new varieties Vibe, Arnie, Solitaire and Scope, KWS expects 20-25% of this year’s winter wheat area could be down to new varieties. The company also believes its new arrivals will help it take 40% of the wheat area.
It predicts new premium varieties Vibe and Arnie to account for close to 12% of the wheat area, with Group 3 Solitaire and Group 4 Scope taking 10%.
“This is quite an achievement for such new varieties, we’ve worked hard to make sure we have good supplies of seed available, and interest has been significant across all groups,” UK product manager Olivia Bacon says.
With the combination of yield, disease resistance and grain quality, Olivia believes Vibe will prove very popular with a 6% share, the other ‘big hitter’, Scope doing likewise.
“It’s the highest yielding variety on the current RL at 108% of controls and fills the need for a dependable barn filler with good grain quality and high specific weight of 78.9 kg/hl, making it a highly marketable option,” she adds.
The company also expects support for its other new entrants Equipe, Newbie and Flute.
