Feed for thought: Varietal potential explored by Cornish growers

Choosing varieties that perform highly and meet local market specifications was brought into focus at the Cornwall Variety Open Day.

The event, organised by AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds, saw variety experts give growers an in-depth analysis of varietal performance at the Duchy College trial site.

While all wheat and barley varieties on the AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) were on show at the event in June, many Cornish growers focused on varieties to supply feed markets.

Head of Recommended Lists Dr Simon Oxley, said: “For wheat, the hot topic was varieties which combine stiff straw, good yield, high specific weight, good disease resistance and low sprouting risk.

“Growers were particularly keen to explore new varieties which compared well with locally popular consistently performing feed varieties.”

In terms of Hard Group 4 wheats, Reflection created interest because of its high West yield, whereas Costello excited the crowd with its high specific weight and good disease resistance spectrum.

The Soft Group 4 wheat variety Revelation was also of interest, with its early drilling potential, stiff straw and good resistance to disease. Despite its weaker disease resistance spectrum, Leeds was also of interest to growers with an eye on sprouting resistance.

The end-market flexibility of some of the newly recommended varieties was also a discussion point, such as the nabim Group 2 variety KWS Lili, which can be grown for bread making or as a high-yielding feed wheat.

For winter barley, growers preferred a good two-row specific weight performer, like KWS Cassia, over six-row varieties.

For spring barley, there was some interest in brewing markets, though feed markets dominated.

Dr Oxley said: “When selecting a feed variety, growers should explore the whole list, as some new brewing varieties have produced very high yields in trials. For example, RGT Planet combines good yield with reasonable specific weight”.

KWS Irina was also cited as a popular option, as it carries full IBD approval and has a relatively high West yield.

Where feed was the sole target end use, the newly recommended variety Scholar was shown to meet most growers’ requirements, with short straw and good brackling resistance, while limited data suggested the variety also had high resistance to mildew, yellow rust and ramularia.

Dr Oxley added: “Our Variety Open Days produce valuable local trials data. With every extra year, we are able to provide more robust information on varietal consistency.

“At the event, we also encouraged growers to explore the full range of RL data to bespoke their variety choice for their own unique circumstances.”