Wide variations in drilling dates, the wet winter and the early appearance of disease mean winter wheat crops will need managing on a field-by-field basis this season. The best growers will be paying close attention to every crop – not just those that are struggling. Just as much effort,... Read more
Mixed prospects for UK wheat
Crop StorageWheat 30/01/2024
Wheat markets are set to remain tight this year despite a global harvest which is expected to increase, suggest the latest estimates. Initial forecasts for the coming season suggest rising consumption will more than offset slightly higher yields from a slightly lower wheat area – causing global wheat stocks... Read more
Gene-editing techniques have uncovered a temperature tolerance trait that could protect wheat from the increasingly unpredictable challenges of climate change. Researchers say UK growers could benefit from the discovery – made at the Norwich-based John Innes Centre during experiments examining wheat fertility in plants exposed to high and low... Read more
Two milestone winter cereal varieties from breeder Syngenta have been added to the AHDB Recommended Lists for 2024-25 – one winter wheat and one winter barley. Winter wheat SY Cheer is a potential bread-making variety rated as a provisional Group 1 by UK Flour Millers (UKFM). It is also... Read more
Winter wheat LG Beowulf and winter barley LG Caravelle are the highest yielding varieties to join the 2024/25 AHDB Recommended List. Both by plant breeder Limagrain, they join LG Armada which is the highest yielding oilseed rape variety on the UK Recommended List. In addition, high yielding maize variety... Read more
Drilling high-vigour winter wheat varieties in the New Year could be a viable option for producers battling to get blackgrass problems under control this autumn. With 2023 being a particularly bad year for the weed, drilling until as late as February could allow for cultural and chemical weed... Read more
Wheat seed enhanced with silicon means plants are stronger and more resisilient to slugs, suggests a study. Trials by i2L show that applying the biostimulant Sirius boosts the natural level of silicon in wheat seed and strengthens the plant. Seedlings from this silicon-enhanced seed are stronger and more resilient... Read more
New feed wheat Bamford continues to generate high levels of interest just weeks before the launch of the latest cereals Recommended List (RL). Bred by Elsoms Seeds, Bamford is the highest yielding RL Group Three soft wheat candidate variety this year, says Rodger Shirreff, national seeds business manager for... Read more
A multi-nutrient fertiliser to help supplement conventional spring applications can boost wheat yields and reduce leaching, according to new trials. An autumn application of ICL polysulphate can increase yields by 0.3t/ha and significantly decrease leaching of nitrogen and phosphate over the winter months, suggests the three-year trial carried out... Read more
Poor weather has resulted in disappointing yields for the first trials of recommended list winter wheats this harvest.
Read more