20 cereals for list trial
20 cereals for list trial
TWENTY new winter cereal varieties – 11 wheats and nine barleys – are going into Recommended List trials this season.
The higher number than usual reflects the policy of HGCA subsidiary Crop Evaluation, which now oversees the trials, explains NIAB cereals specialist Richard Fenwick.
"In the past only four or five of the best wheats, for example, have been selected for these trials. Now more varieties will get a second chance."
Those performing well could be added to the 2003 Recommended List.
Among the wheats there are several potential breadmakers with yields creeping ahead of Malacca, but still not reaching feed type output, he notes.
Advanta has two possible Group 2s in Scorpion 25 and Warlock 24. Cebeco/Seed Innovations Goodwood is a soft Group 3 type with reasonably good disease resistance.
CPB Twyford says its coded quartet includes a potential Group 1 in W74, two likely Group 3 biscuit types and another aimed at the feed sector. Elsoms 99/20 is a hard feed wheat with yield similar to Tanker.
Nickerson, in WW37, has a potential Group 1 breadmaker. The firms trio is made up with another Group 2 in WW41 and WW39, a Group 3 biscuit type. *
Two-thirds of the winter barley RL trial entrants have resistance to the common strain of Barley Yellow Mosaic Virus. With the disease spreading across the UK that is good news, says Mr Fenwick.
They include Advantas high-yielding potential malter Kestrel and CPB Twyfords feed type B46.
Others are Monsantos Parasol, a possible lower grade malter, New Farm Crops six-row Sequel, which has two-row feed quality, Nickersons very high yielding feed NSL96-7244 and Saaten Unions Clara, another high yielder with some scope for malting.
Of the non-BYMV resisters, Advantas A93-688 is a two-row feed with yield "up with the best". NFCs Pedigree, a potential malter, looks "pretty good", having very high yield, as does Nickersons NSL97-6016 feed variety.