2000
Recommended List
2000
Its crunch time for varieties. Gilly Johnson visits NIAB to find out which new names have passed muster for the new millennium.
Winter wheat
ITS only a pity that prices are so low… A new barn-filling feed wheat leaps onto the 2000 Recommended List with a yield rating that tops the ranking. Napier from PBI Cambridge is the only winter wheat to achieve list status this time around. It nudges Savannah off its perch to make an entrance as the highest yielding recommended variety.
Napier is a true hard feed wheat – dont expect any premium potential. Grain characteristics are perfectly acceptable for a feed specification; specific weight passes the 76kg/hl mark and without any milling pretensions, a lowish hagberg isnt relevant.
Disease wise, its a high input/high output type; fungicides will be required to keep septoria, yellow rust and mildew at bay. Napiers not brilliant against yellow rust, but the picture is not quite as bad as its rating of 4 might suggest; it is susceptible only to the Madrigal/Equinox race, not to the more widespread Brigadier race. That said, infection risk will increase as susceptible varities become more popular. But because Napier succumbs to yellow rust later, rather than earlier in the season, theres room to manoeuvre with spray programmes. Its interesting to note that despite some susceptibility, Napiers untreated yield matches the highest rating on the list.
With very short (similar to Consort), reasonably stiff (rated 7) straw, this isnt a lodging-prone variety, but some straw management will be required. Napier has an unusual, prostrate early growth habit with high tillering, followed by rapid development in the spring. It has a wide drilling window from mid-September to early January; yield doesnt tail off with later drilling, says the breeder.
Performance looks consistent over region, soil type and season. In regional trials, Napiers at the top in three out of the five, coming second to Savannah in NIABs central and north-east regions – which is effectively the eastern part of the country, north from Peterborough. Given that these results are an average of some difficult harvests, thats a useful achievement, says NIABs John Ramsbottom.
PBI Cambridge had anticipated success with Napier. Seed production was accelerated and so there should be plenty of C1 seed about for next autumn; the companys market share forecast is 7%, which would put it in line for being the number one wheat by the following year. Its a happy swan song for breeder Stephen Brown, who retires shortly. Although PBI Cambridge is now part of Monsanto, the PBI branding will remain.
Unsuccessful candidates for the 2000 UK Recommended List are Cockpit, the first hybrid breadmaking wheat from Nickerson UK, disease resistant potential Group 2 types Genghis and Aardvark from CPB Twyford, and would-be quality biscuit wheat Eclipse from New Farm Crops.
What went wrong? Bluntly, the strength of the other varieties in each sector. Claire is the higher yielding up-and-coming new biscuit wheat which, together with popular Consort, make a hard act to beat. Cockpit was just too susceptible to yellow rust. And finally, good disease resistance wasnt enough to compensate for a merely lukewarm milling verdict on Genghis and deferred candidate Aardvark.
Theo Labuda of breeder CPB Twyford is disappointed: given its "superb" untreated yield figure, Genghis would have been an ideal variety for organic wheat production, he argues. Its a moot point. So far the organic sector has not been catered for within the Recommended List, but a new series of organic trials is under way, funded mainly by the plant breeders and supported by NIAB. Genghis is one of the varieties in the trials. So organic producers will find more information available next year.
Other changes include promotion for Savannah from provisional to full recommendation. Riband escapes banishment to the outclassed category, clinging on as a regional recommendation for the north thanks to its distilling characteristics. However Reaper and Buster move to outclassed; as a purely feed wheat Reapers weaker straw and lower yield cant match the newcomers, and Busters premium market as a specialist feed wheat hasnt been maintained.
Theres been a general clear out in the outclassed section. Its goodbye to yellow-rust prone Brigadier, breadmaker Abbot, hard feed Hussar and milling wheat Spark.
The new list strengthens the feed wheat portfolio, but a gap has now arisen with the Class 2, intermediate milling wheats, says Mr Ramsbottom. "Rialtos performance is looking less competitive, and Charger and Soissons are in the specialist category – we desperately need new mainstream Class 2 wheats." Watch this space next year.
Winter barley
REGINA dominates the winter barley market. But two newly recommended entrants could give it a run for its money – on yield at least, if not malting quality.
Feed barley Antonia from Advanta Seeds pips it to the post on performance, with super yields (the highest ratings, treated and untreated, for a two-row type) and excellent disease resistance including barley yellow and mild mosaic viruses and the full hand of brown rust, net blotch and rhyncho.
Bred in France, this barley has longish but stiff straw, and large, bold grain – so could appeal to livestock producers looking for straw and a feed grain, says NIABs Richard Fenwick. Antonia is earlier than Regina, on par with Pastoral and Intro.
Six-row barley Siberia from Dalgety will also interest those wanting high yields of a feed grain. Its French breeding reflects a new plant type, says Mr Fenwick: "Look at this yield – 8 points over Regina! And this is coupled with extremely stiff, reasonably short straw. Siberia doesnt brackle, either – and that can be a problem with six-rows."
Disease profile is good bar yellow rust, which so far hasnt appeared in barley. Like Antonia, Siberia is also resistant to barley yellow and mild mosaic viruses.
Grains are small – as with most six-row types. Siberia is early enough to interest northern feed growers, on a par with Manitou, but with better winter hardiness.
Contenders which did not make the grade are malting variety Vanessa from Banks Agriculture out of the Regina breeding stable in Germany, which was scuppered partly by extreme susceptibility to yellow rust, and high yielding two-row feed Artist, from CPB Twyford, which couldnt quite match up to Reginas performance.
The 2000 Recommended List sees other changes: feed varieties Jewel (with its virus resistance) and Vertige are promoted to full recommendation. Old feed favourite Pastoral is demoted to a regional recommendation for those northern areas where its earliness is important.
Intro remains despite lacklustre yields, saved by its niche as a pearl barley variety. But malting variety Halcyon, feed barley Hanna and northern malting variety Melanie all move to outclassed. Specialist malting type Pipkin, virus resistant feed Epic, and ill-starred would-be malting barley Rifle all fall off the list.
Spring barley
AT LAST. The new Recommended List widens the limited choice for Scottish malting barley growers. Up to now, they have been "caught between a rock and a hard place" with the two mainstream varieties, Chariot and Optic, says Dr David Cranstoun of the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC).
Neither of the established varieties is ideal for Scotland, although they take 75% of the market. Chariots performance has suffered badly, and part of the blame may be laid at the door of a mystery disease which causes late chlorosis. Optic can deliver the yield but its later maturity and susceptibility to brackling are not ideal.
The promotion of high yielding, early variety Chalice to full recommendation for the north, coupled with its recent full approval for the north by the Institute of Brewing (IOB), make this variety a hot commercial favourite.
The IOB has yet to pronounce on the three new spring barleys to enter the 2000 List with provisional recommendations. Top ranking for yield goes to Saloon, from that breeding stable at New Farm Crops which is famous for spring barleys. Saloon breaks new ground both on treated and untreated yields.
Its a tad late for some northern tastes, with Optic-type maturity. And its malting quality doesnt match up to that of Optic; Dr Cranstoun suggests that Saloon could fit in instead as a high performance feed variety. Its short and stiff, with good disease resistance.
Excellent disease resistance, including barley yellow dwarf virus, from new variety Tavern, again from New Farm Crops, will raise interest in the disease-prone west. It is given a provisional regional recommendation for the central, south-east and south-west areas. If anything, this barley is later than Optic – though rated the same. Malting quality is rated 9 but Dr Cranstoun gives Optic the edge on malt extract.
Chime from Nickerson UK looks to be an Optic-type on malting quality and yield, but with those rough edges smoothed off. Chime is earlier, its stiffer and shorter, and its better against rhynchosporium and mildew.
A decision on Berwick from PBI Cambridge is deferred until next year. Malt extract is excellent, but straw is weak and yield has been variable. Chaser from New Farm Crops is not recommended. Although it offers a good range of agronomic characters, malting quality wasnt up to the mark. And as a feed variety, Saloon is way ahead.
Other changes on the new list include putting three varieties into the outclassed section: Cooper, Landlord and Derkado. Cooper may retain a small niche market, grown on contract by some early drilling enthusiasts in the east, says Dr Cranstoun. Landlord was hit by the same early chlorosis problem as Chariot; yields suffered and market uptake was slack.
Derkado is outclassed on yield. "Some distilleries do like Derkado, which is why it has kept going," says Dr Cranstoun. But Decanter is a likely replacement and he thinks it will be "only a matter of time" before distilleries make the switch.
Alexis is removed altogether. Delibes is shifted sideways; its regional recommendation moves from the north-east and north-west to the north-east only.
Oats
NOT much joy on the winter oat scene: "were still looking for that combination of yield and quality," says Dr Ethyl White of the Department of Agriculture, Northern Ireland. Millennium from Semundo is deferred for more information on marketability – an unfortunate fate, given its name.
The winter oat list is reshuffled; Jalna is promoted to join Gerald as the two fully recommended varieties. Quality oat Image and specialist early variety Aintree move to outclassed – yield is lacking with both. Birnam from PBI Cambridge was not recommended on yield grounds.
The only new winter entrant on the 2000 Recommended List is winter naked oat Grafton from Semundo, which has much stiffer straw and better grain quality than Lexicon, which remains the only other naked oat following removal of Krypton and Harpoon. Grafton is susceptible to mildew.
With spring oats, theres one newly recommended variety, Firth from CPB Twyford, which according to some Scottish growers is "too good to be true," says Dr White. "Its a huge leap forward in yield and is easier to manage, with short, stiff straw and earliness." Mildew resistance is excellent. Grain quality is also above par, with low screenings and high kernel content.
The spring oat list undergoes a spring clean. Sailor, Aberglen and Valiant move to outclassed and Melys and naked oat Bullion are removed – theres little seed available. There are now no recommended spring naked oat varieties.
Banquo is promoted to full recommendation. Kite from Semundo fails to achieve recommendation; yield is too low.
Winter rape
IF YOURE in a muddle distinguishing between the different hybrid rapes around, these two new entrants wont help. Cohort and Comodor from Semences Cargill (the French programme owned by Monsanto) are the first of a new breed: three-way hybrids.
The biology behind three-ways is tricky – suffice to say that the advantage of three-way types is that they segregate in the field into a half-and-half mixture of fertile and non-fertile hybrids of the same variety, so theres no risk of pollen shortage. "Were confident that this new type of hybrid will set seed well," says NIABs Simon Kightley. And seed production is apparently easier than with the fully restored, fertile hybrids.
A new rating replaces yield on the 2000 List: gross output. This takes oil into account as well as seed yield. On this measure, neither Cohort nor Comodor beat provisionally recommended Gemini (the varietal association which uses a hybrid as both the pollinator and the infertile plants in the mix). But they do match up to fully recommended restored hybrid Pronto.
Of the two three-way hybrids, Comodor has done best in the south east and so has a provisional recommendation for this region, following deferral last year. Its weaker strawed than Cohort and has reasonably good disease resistance.
But provisionally recommended for all the UK, Cohort has good standing ability (its a Pronto type) with good disease resistance including an 8 for light leaf spot. Seed supply of both Comodor and Cohort will be plentiful, according to the breeder. More three-way types will coming through the system, and seed of a candidate for next year – Canberra – may be on sale next summer.
Triangle, a three-way type using a different production system from Advanta UK, did not achieve recommendation.
Back to conventional varieties. Newly provisionally recommended for all the UK, Fortress from Novartis is just below the top performing Escort but it has other strengths, says Mr Kightley. "Stem stiffness and lodging ratings approach those of Apex, so it reverses the recent trend towards weaker strawed types."
Spirit from Novartis was deferred, pending another year. "It did well in north, but in order to earn a regional recommendation, we need another year of trials results."
Theres a clear out of outclassed varieties with Artus, Licrown, Meteor, Capitol, Alpine and Commanche being removed. Boston, Lightning and Gazelle fill the slots in the outclassed category. Madrigal is promoted to fully recommended for the UK; Synergy shifts to a regional recommendation for the north and central regions.
Variety Treated Breeder/ Profile
yield agent
rating
WINTER WHEAT
Napier 106 PBI Cambridge High performance hard feed which leaps onto the new list with top rating for yield. Short, not as stiff as Riband (more like Savannah), and with acceptable specific weight. Expect to go in with a high input/high output management system – disease resistance profile is not brilliant. Feed market only; good seed supply
WINTER BARLEY
Antonia 104 Advanta Seeds Bold grained feed barley with more yield and earlier than Regina – and barley yellow and mild mosaic virus resistance. Longish but stiff straw. Very high untreated yield; excellent resistance to net blotch and rhyncho
Siberia 111 Dalgety The first of a new type of six row feed barley – with superbly stiff, short straw that can support extremely high yield. This variety has topped the yield ranking in all regions bar the south-west; superb performance in the north-east. Early enough for more northerly regions, and good resistance, including barley yellow and mild mosaic virus. Net blotch needs watching. Small grains, but this isnt a problem as on-farm feed
SPRING BARLEY
Chime 103 Nickerson UK A quality malting variety giving a good all-round package of agronomic characters plus earliness – an Optic alternative but with shorter, stiffer straw and better disease resistance
Saloon 107 New Farm Crops Superb yield performance but malting quality may not suit all brewers. Very short and stiff; good disease resistance. Slightly late maturity might limit appeal in the north. Excellent resistance to ear loss
Tavern 105 New Farm Crops Provisionally recommended for the central, south-east and south-west regions due to later maturity, this high yielding malting variety has very short, stiff straw. With the highest resistance to BYDV and brown rust, this will be a useful variety in the south west.Malting quality rated 9 but probably wont match that of Optic
WINTER OATS
Grafton 75 Semundo A naked oat with stiffer straw and better grain quality than Lexicon. Susceptible to mildew
SPRING OATS
Firth 105 CPB Twyford Newcomer which heads the yield ranking. Very good grain quality – better kernel content and much lower sieving losses than Dula. An easy to manage variety that will appeal to Scottish growers – short straw, stiff; good disease resistance
Variety Gross Breeder Profile
output /agent
Cohort 105 Semences Cargill/ Three-way hybrid which beats Pronto on output. Provisionally
Monsanto recommended for all UK; good stem stiffness (similar to Pronto) but a shade later to mature, on par with Synergy. Excellent resistance to light leaf spot
Comodor 104 Semences Cargill/ Three-way hybrid which has done particularly well in the south-
Monsanto east, so earns a regional provisional recommendation. Not as stiff as the other hybrids but excellent performance and reasonably good disease resistance. Similar maturity to Synergy
Fortress 101 Novartis Conventional rape with that winning combination of high yields and good stem stiffness. Rather late maturing; not that brilliant against light leaf spot. Provisionally recommended for all UK
THE UK Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseed rape are funded through the HGCA cereals and oilseeds levies. They are prepared following collaboration between the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and the Department of Agriculture, Northern Ireland (DANI).