A cross between winter and spring wheat, a new type of wheat variety is set to shake up the seed trade.

Referred to as a Sprinter wheat, its huge early vigour gives growers more flexibility over drilling dates and an earlier harvest when drilled in the spring.

See also: Yellow rust risk narrows winter wheat choice for 2025-26

But unlike traditional spring varieties, it has genes which bring winter hardiness.

Speaking at the recent Agrovista open day at the Lamport AgX site in Northamptonshire, the company’s arable seed product manager, Ted Williams, says a key issue with tackling blackgrass is the impact of delayed drilling. This has been especially problematic with the run of wet conditions.

“Establishment can be poor and winter wheat varieties are struggling to get through the wet winters.”

In extreme cases, farmers are unable to get the seed in the ground, which remains in the shed until the next autumn. But there is a good chance that the percentage germination has fallen and it has lost some vigour.

What farmers need is a more flexible wheat. He recalls a breeder in Germany coming up with the novel concept of crossing winter and spring wheat. Several years on and they are now starting to see some interesting varieties.

The first is STR Pace, a Group 1 breadmaker which recently joined the AHDB Recommended List for spring wheats.

“We had to put it through the spring wheat system, as the winter varieties in the RL trials are drilled in September and it would get far too forward.”

Wide drilling window

Ted says the earliest he would drill it is 24 October and it can be planted through to April. “It’s huge vigour makes it well suited for later winter drillings such as after beet.”

“When the weather is conducive, farmers can get it get drilled and it will get going fast. But if they can’t drill, they can leave it until conditions are better.”

If farmers opt for the more conventional spring drilling window, another benefit is its early maturity. A problem with spring wheats is their later harvest, but these sprinter wheats are harvested earlier (-3)

Pointing to crops this summer, Pace is currently about seven-to-10 days ahead of other spring wheats (like Ladum) and will harvest a lot earlier. By flowering earlier, Ted says the ergot risk is lower, too.

Yields

Ted points to trials at Lamport last year. One plot drilled on 18 April went on to yield 9.37t/ha. With winter drillings, November drilled Pace beat Skyfall for yield, while the October drilled plot was on a par.

Agrovista plans to launch the variety next autumn and there are others already in the pipeline from the breeding programme.