Choose varieties carefully following harvest delays, warns Nickerson Direct Seed Specialist

Farmers attending the Cheshire Ploughing Match at Little Bollington near Altrincham on Wednesday 30th September will have an opportunity to discuss the very timely, and now-critical, issue of seed selection for the 2010 harvest with one of the country’s leading suppliers.

"Forward plans made before harvest have gone out of the window," explains James Allis, Seed Specialist in the North West for Nickerson Direct, the on-farm trading division of plant breeding company Limagrain UK Ltd. Mr Allis, who advises many leading growers in the North West, including event host Mr F Cookson at Agden Brook Farm.

"Many growers who had expected to drill their 2010 season winter wheat crops early have experienced significant delays due to a protracted harvest caused by the very unsettled weather. They will now have to think very carefully about which varieties to drill this autumn and take these factors into account.

"Autumn establishment holds the key to the crop’s future. Sixty per cent of winter wheat yield is set during the establishment phase, so careful planning is required to get the crop off to a good start, set it up for the entire season and justify any subsequent inputs. Correct seedbed preparation is the key to good establishment, but time of drilling, together with correct choice of varieties, sowing rates and seed treatments are all key parts of the decision- making process if good crop establishment is to be achieved.

"Selecting the right winter wheat for a particular drilling slot is vital.

Slower-developing varieties such as Exsept, Orator and Claire are likely choices for earlier drilling as these are less inclined to have advanced growth stages come the spring, while good disease resistance is important in early first wheat selections and varieties with good multi-gene resistance to rusts are the best starting point. Conversely, in later-drilled first wheats or second wheat situations growers should be looking for faster-developing varieties such as Istabraq, Einstein or Hyperion, which all carry good disease profiles, especially with eyespot in mind.

"Farming profitably increasingly demands the very best inputs to achieve high outputs," comments Mr Allis, who like the other Nickerson Direct Seed Specialists is trained in all aspects of agriculture and seed production.

"Growers who consistently achieve good results recognise the value of investing in quality seeds. While other companies increasingly rely on selling to farmers over the phone or via the internet, Nickerson Direct Seed Specialists advise farmers face-to-face on all aspects of the range, which includes Original cereal seeds, Circle Ley grass mixtures, oilseeds, LG maize, pulses and Foundation potatoes, together with several non-seed products."

Nickerson Direct is part of Nickerson, which is owned by Group Limagrain, the largest plant breeding and seed development company in the European Union. It is therefore uniquely positioned to offer farmers the full benefit of the company’s huge resources and its investment in research and development.