Growers looking to drill grain maize this coming spring are set to benefit from updated variety lodging and brackling scores in the newly published 2011 NIAB Descriptive List.

Produced in conjunction with British Society of Plant Breeders and the Maize Growers Association, the 2011 list is the first in two years. “We lost trials in 2009, and with such a small dataset, it was felt that the 2010 list should be deferred for a year,” explains NIAB maize specialist Don Pendergrast.

“Despite the late storms in 2010, which provided such good lodging data, the crops benefited from the favourable wet weather around flowering and a warm, wet autumn period resulting in good cob filling.”

He adds: “The new lodging data reminds growers of the need to select grain maize varieties based on their intended use. Varieties that fall over are a serious risk to grain maize production and don’t win favour with growers who will lose yield as a result of lodging and brackling. The lower the ‘harvestability’ score, the better the variety stands up to wind.

“In some cases, a more flexible variety with a good wind resistance can be harvested later,” he says.

There are 10 fully listed varieties on the new 2011 list showing a range of wind resistance. The best performer in this category remains the long-established variety Baltis. Established varieties ES Alanis, ES Pallas, NK Falkone and PR39K13 (Pioneer) perform well, which may be the key to their longevity in the market.

The newly listed varieties MAS13L and Coryphee also show notably good resistance to wind damage, Mr Pendergrast adds.

Of the five newly listed varieties on the 2011 list, he highlights three in particular. Coryphee from KWS has a very good balance of grain yield at 102% of controls and a grain dry-down score of 33.4%. This is comparable to Baltis at 34.0%, the list’s benchmark, with only a few varieties offering a better dry-down rate although those all show notably lower yields than Coryphee. The variety has very good resistance to wind damage.

MAS13L from Maisadour shows very good resistance to wind damage, 106% yield with a later dry-down score, and may be suitable as a multi-use variety where harvest date is not a concern.

Third, KWS’s Salgado is the highest-yielding, fully-listed variety at 110% without having too late a dry-down rate. It shows some moderate susceptibility to wind damage, but overall offers good potentials for use in grain maize production and crimping, Mr Pendergrast says.