Growers are being warned to take care with winter wheat choices this autumn. It comes after ProCam trials have shown several of the UK’s top varieties, including group 3 wheat Bamford, and group 4 varieties Champion, and LG Beowulf, have been very susceptible to rust attacks.
Speaking at ProCam’s June open day at Cawood near York, independent consultant Lee Bennett noted it won’t be a surprise if yields for the worst affected varieties are down by as much as half a tonne per hectare, or potentially more.
“Rusts, particularly yellow rust, have had a profound impact on crop cleanliness this season, with ProCam trials suggesting that some of the more popular first and second wheat options have been unable to cope with the high disease burden, despite their supposed resistance ratings,” he said.
Lee therefore urges growers to start thinking about which varieties they want to grow in the new cropping cycle sooner rather than later, especially if they are dedicated group 3 wheat growers, as there are limited alternatives to Bamford, which has been the UK’s most popular wheat variety this season.
“With so many new and nearly new varieties to choose from, and a lot of marketing hype and Recommended List noise to filter, selecting the right option for a specific location, soil type or end market can be baffling. My advice is therefore simple: Don’t leave it until the eleventh hour to place your order as that’s a surefire route to disappointment and take advice if needed. Don’t end up with a variety that requires the full kitchen sink of fungicides to be thrown at it to cope with whatever testing conditions next year is inevitably bound to conjure.
“Admittedly, some growers decided to reduce fungicide inputs this year due to a combination of low commodity prices and tighter margins following last year’s poor harvest, but even where a full programme of fungicides has been applied, some relatively recent and popular varieties have started to show their age with yellow rust really putting their performance under the microscope,” he noted.
