Seed breeder focuses on robust wheat varieties
WHEAT improvement programmes should focus on the creation of robust varieties, not just those that deliver high yields, says a Cambridge seed breeder.
Weather that varied from season to season, the threat of disease and pressure on farm finances and workloads meant wheat varieties had to be capable of delivering the goods reliably every year without ideal agronomy.
“Our focus must be on varieties that don’t require spraying programmes to be spot on to prevent problems with Septoria, yellow rust, blossom midge or lodging,” said Ed Flatman, senior wheat breeder for RAGT Seeds.
Varieties like newly-recommended Warrior, for example, delivered a treated yield within a few points of the best Group 3, yet boasted the highest untreated yield of any listed variety courtesy of its foliar disease resistance package.
“At the same time, it has a notably broad disease resistance base – as high a resistance to lodging without PGR as it does with chemical assistance, and resistance to wheat orange blossom midge.”
The goal was to build the greatest possible level of risk minimisation without compromising overall yield potential. This made for reduced production risks and increased agronomic flexibility at no cost in commercial performance.
“We’re doing this by breeding in increasingly broad resistance to yellow and brown rust as well as Septoria, stacking partial as well as major genes to provide high levels of disease defence unlikely to suffer significantly as pathogens adapt.
“In exactly the same way, our team is progressively improving the ability of wheat to sustainably resist or tolerate key pests, lodging and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns.”
The RAGT Seeds programme was currently exploring alternatives source of resistance to wheat orange blossom midge and ways of combating its close relation, yellow blossom midge, said Mr Flatman.
Physiological improvements to minimise the risk of both root and stem lodging were also being investigated, together with genetics to increase tolerance to drought and water-logging, and improve nitrogen utilisation.
