Breadmaking fears escalate
Breadmaking fears escalate
WHEAT growers are being urged to test breadmaking varieties for Hagberg Falling Number before harvest, following fears that cool weather in early July could have hit breadmaking quality already.
Conditions have been similar to 1993 when mean Hagberg was below 250 before harvest even started, warns Harper Adams cereal researcher Peter Kettlewell.
Cool dull weather as grain approaches the soft dough stage encourages the production of pre-harvest alpha-amylase, the enzyme which lowers Hagbergs before ripening, irrespective of sprouting.
"The average temperature here in the first 12 days of July was 15.1C. That is barely above the 14.95C we saw in 1993."
In 1995, a good Hagberg year, it was 18.35C. "A scorching spell could turn things round, but it looks ominous, especially for varieties with variable Hagbergs like Rialto and Riband."
Growers planning pre-harvest glyphosate or to cut early and use extra drying to preserve Hagbergs should consider a laboratory test to avoid wasting money on crops which may already be at low levels, he advises.
"The time to do it is between soft and hard dough stage." NIAB offers a service for £30 plus VAT a sample.
The HGCAs Paul Meakin agrees a test could be a sensible precaution. "You cant salvage Hagberg once it has gone."
NIABs Richard Fenwick is more hopeful. "You only have to remember 1984. Nobody expected it but we had one of our best harvests ever." *
HAGBERGCONCERN
• Early July cool and dull.
• More pre-harvest alpha-amylase?
• Falling number at risk?
• Test vulnerable varieties.
Given Julys cool conditions a pre-harvest Hagberg test could be a sensible move for wheat growers pursuing premium markets, suggests Peter Kettlewell.