NEW WHEATS DO WELL ON EAST COAST FARM
Gary White, farms manager for JW Grant and Co at Boston, Lincolnshire, inspects his crop of Nijinsky, a new winter wheat bred by Nickerson. He has trialled it for the first time this year on 10 has (25acres), alongside a smaller acreage of Sancerre, another newcomer from the Nickerson stable.
In all Mr White grows 1,122 ha (2,748 acres) of winter wheat – with all the grain going to a local pet food factory, owned by sister company Fold Hill Foods. This produces branded and own-label products for many of the major retailers.
"Both the Nijinsky and Sancerre are looking really clean and green, and I have high hopes for them at harvest," says Mr White. "The Sancerre is looking particularly good, despite very late drilling in November after sugar beet.
"I need high yielding soft biscuit wheats that perform well out in the field and in the factory. Claire and Deben, both Nickerson varieties, have been very successful so far, and these two new ones look like they could do even better. They will be tested through the factory this autumn to see how they react to the different processes involved."
Nijinsky is the result of crossing the UK's two leading wheat varieties Claire and Consort. It promises to be the highest yielding winter wheat available, yielding 5% more than Claire and Consort. Quality tests carried out to date indicate very similar Group 3 characteristics to its parents.
Both wheats have the good disease resistance common to Nickerson-bred varieties. They are resistant to all known races of yellow rust – which may become a greater problem in future years, and both have improved resistance to mildew compared to Claire.