The true value of proven varieties on farm
GLEAM: The variety you can rely on
11 October 2022, UK: GLEAM is arguably the most consistent variety on the Recommended List and once again delivered a very strong performance in 2022. The combination of high and stable yield is not something that is easy to put a specific value on, but in a market with extreme volatility, the reliable varieties remain key.
Recommended List Performance
The average yield and specific weight were significantly higher in Recommended List trials this year compared to the 5-year average. However, GLEAM still delivered 103% of control means, in line with its 5-year mean. GLEAM has shown it is an extremely adaptable and resilient variety for several seasons now and has consistently delivered on farm. As a variety it has demonstrated stable performance in all situations, delivering 103% of controls regardless of sowing date, rotational position, or soil type.
GLEAM has shown high performance across a range of tillage systems
The first indications from our independently run tillage trials with ADAS also show that GLEAM is extremely versatile and delivers high performance when in a plough-based system but also in non-inversion tillage and direct drill approaches as well.
Throughout the season the plough-based approach appeared to have the advantage visually. There were significantly higher plant populations in the plough-based system at GS13. This trend continued throughout the season and GLEAM had a significantly lower plant population where direct drilled at GS31 compared to the non-inversion tillage system, whilst populations were highest where ploughed.
There was a far higher tiller density in the plough plot where GLEAM was producing 636.2 tillers m2, compared to the direct drilled area which was producing 567.2 tillers/m2 which would generally be deemed sub-optimal. However, due to the plant density, we could already see that GLEAM was producing more tillers per plant in the direct drill area to help compensate for lower plant populations.
Matt Bull, Seeds Technical Expert, says:
“Wheat in general has an excellent capacity to compensate when in sub-optimal conditions, but GLEAM seems to be superior in its ability to deliver high performance across a vast range of conditions and scenarios”
“The components of yield is where it gets really interesting. Throughout the main growing season, you would have absolutely picked the plough-based system. More plants, more tillers, deeper rooting and in turn a greater density of fertile ears. But GLEAM, as it always does, did the business and compensated through thousand grain weight and grains per ear to deliver marginally higher yield from the direct drilled area”.
The yield data was analysed using the ADAS Agronomics approach, which cleans the data and accounts for spatial variation across rows and along rows, and for the effect of the treatment. The highest yielding area was the direct drilled at 11.22 t/ha followed by the plough-based system at 11.15 and then the non-inversion tillage was third at 10.72 t/ha.
The yield analysis highlighted that there were no significant effects of the cultivation treatments on yield across the trial which is exciting, and demonstrates how versatile GLEAM is as a variety. There are several risks associated with switching to reduced tillage, and whilst every farm is different, having a variety like GLEAM that delivers is a good risk mitigation during the transitional period.
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