Winter wheat harvest results are indicating strong performance from hard group 4 varieties

07 September 2021, UK: 14 harvest results from the main Recommended List wheat trials are now available from the main winter wheat trials series. The available data covers sites from a wide geographical spread including Cornwall to Angus, which should provide good evidence of how well the tried and tested Syngenta varieties have performed this year.

Yield results generally look very promising with the mean of the control varieties (Skyfall, KWS Siskin, KWS Barrel, LG Skyscraper and GLEAM) almost 0.3 t/ha ahead of the 5-year average. However, the unfavourable conditions and stop-start harvest is starting to show in the grain quality with some low Hagberg Falling Numbers and specific weights being reported both in trials and commercially.

The hard Group 4 varieties are at the top this year, led by a very strong performance from SY INSITOR which is delivering 107% of control means. This is also combined with good specific weight, which is well ahead of the trial average.  It has been a challenging year for grain quality and over a third of the tested varieties are currently showing an average specific weight of under 75 kg/hl, which really demonstrates the importance of selecting varieties with inherently good grain quality.

We are also seeing a promising performance from SY INSITOR from our own internal trials, particularly on some of the lighter land, where it is significantly outperforming other key hard group 4 varieties for yield and specific weight.

GLEAM has again demonstrated its resilience in a challenging season, being the top yielding control variety at 105% and delivering strong performance right across the UK. GLEAM continues to show why it is seen as an extremely adaptable variety – one that you can rely on, on farm.

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Finally, all-rounder GRAHAM is showing its stability of performance, just slightly outperforming it’s 5-year mean for yield, again showing the value of proven genetics. GRAHAM is not top of the pack for yield, but that is exactly what we would expect. In the early sown trials GRAHAM is performing at 107% of the controls and remains a strong option in the early drilling slot, as and where appropriate on farm. GRAHAM continues to offer a secure all-round package, with stiff straw, an excellent disease profile and early maturity added to consistent yield performance.

It seems no season is ‘normal’ from a weather perspective anymore, which puts greater emphasis on selecting varieties with profiles that can deliver in sub-optimal conditions. That may be the unique Septoria tritici resistance profile of GRAHAM, the excellent combination of yield and grain quality with SY INSITOR or the adaptiveness of GLEAM, which delivers consistently high performance across a vast range of scenarios.