Revelation provides peace of mind in high disease pressure season

Promising exceptional rust resistance and high yield potential made Revelation the perfect choice for Lincolnshire grower Jim Beeden this spring – and the variety has stood up to whatever the season has thrown at it to be the stand out variety of the year across the 1200ha of Flagleaf Farming in Welton, Lincolnshire.

Keen to develop a range of varieties that spread disease risk and make in-season agronomy more manageable Mr Beedon was banking on Revelation helping to do just that.

Rated 9 for both yellow and brown rust and strong against eyespot, mildew and septoria, the variety has a very robust disease profile, which has bought us time when trying to get around a large area within a limited number of spray days, he says.

“While we want to grow high-yielding wheats, we don’t want to fill the farm with varieties that we can’t keep on top of. With just three full-time men and one sprayer that also does all the liquid fertiliser across 3,000 acres, we need a portfolio of varieties that spreads disease risk and gives us management flexibility at busy times.”

Mr Beeden says Revelation is the ideal choice for his early drilling slot thanks to its slightly later maturity and disease resistance, so he is growing a block of 100-120ha (250-300 acres) this season.


“We normally start drilling in the first week of September on lighter land and all of our Revelation went in early at a rate of 80-100kg/ha. Crops got away well, but because it’s a later maturing and very clean variety, it doesn’t get too far ahead of itself and you don’t end up with lush, thick crops full of disease.”

Our fungicide strategy is normally based around a three or four-spray programme that is tailored to disease pressure at the time, Mr Beeden continues. “This spring’s high disease pressure has meant that we have made particular effort to keep ahead of the disease by focussing on well-timed fungicide sprays. However the Revelation has allowed us a bit of flexibility within that.”

“We’ve seen rust in most varieties, especially Santiago, Kielder and a bit in JB Diego, but the Revelation has stayed clean. Of all the varieties on the farm it is the stand out variety of the year and the one variety that we have not had to worry about chasing disease. “

Fertiliser strategy is based around a fairly straightforward two-split programme that sees most wheat get a total of 200-230kg N/ha, depending on soil type. The first application (roughly 50% of the total) goes on in mid-March, with the remainder applied in mid-April.

“Revelation hasn’t shown itself to have any specific requirements in our experience, which makes it an easier variety to manage,” Mr Beeden adds.