| Cereals
New varieties take performance to the next level
KWS is to unveil four new varieties spanning three crop types with each offering class-leading grain quality attributes at Cereals 2016 .
T he new varieties , include milling and feed wheat , malting barley and oats , and combine higher yields with strong all-round disease packages meaning they offer something for every grower .
All four candidates are in Recommended List trials and will potentially be added to the 2017-18 AHDB Recommended List later this year .
KWS Zyatt is a potential Group 1 milling wheat with a yield of 105 % of controls , 8 % ahead of the current Group 1 control , Crusoe , and on a par with high-yielding feed wheat KWS Santiago . Unusually for a Group 1 , KWS Zyatt manages to maintain its yield without sacrificing protein which , at 12.1 %, is on a par with established milling variety Gallant .
“ KWS Zyatt shows great promise . Over three years of private testing KWS Zyatt has shown itself to be a typical Group 1 with grain and flour characteristics similar to that of other varieties in this group and consistent bread-making performance ,” says KWS wheat breeder Mark Dodds .
“ In has performed similarly well in official testing with comments noting its ‘ good baking quality similar to that of Gallant ’,” he adds .
A yield on-par with feed wheats will further underline its appeal to growers as it means they can grow for the heap without suffering a yield penalty while retaining the opportunity to pursue price premiums for quality .
“ KWS Zyatt is the ultimate in flexible wheats . It combines excellent yields and grain quality and strong disease resistance to the principal foliar diseases and pch 1 eyespot resistance , meaning it will find a place on every farm ,” says Mark Dodds .
KWS Kerrin is a feed wheat with outstanding yield . “ It has been remarkably consistent across contrasting seasons proving to be the highest yielding winter wheat in National List trials over the past two years where it out-performed KWS Santiago in 24 of sites ,” says Mark Dodds .
“ KWS Kerrin is a KWS Santiago cross , but with better yield performance and disease resistance . It has a good yellow rust score , OWBM resistance and is a medium height variety with strong
straw and maturity similar to other Group 4s .
“ It has a similar HFN to its parent and will appeal to those in the East where it is a natural successor to KWS Santiago ,” adds Mark Dodds .
KWS Funky is a six-row winter barley with excellent all-round disease resistance , especially to Rhynchosporium and brown rust . A yield of 105 % of controls places it just 1 % behind the leading hybrid , Volume and 2 % ahead of the leading conventional , KWS Meridian . It is the same maturity to Volume and is a day earlier than KWS Meridian and features the highest specific weight of any sixrow winter barley at 69.3 kg / hl . “ Funky has strong farmer appeal . It ’ s the highest yielding non-hybrid six-row in NL trials in 2015 and the third-highest six-row overall . It is the equal stiffest strawed variety since KWS Meridian with no recorded lodging in treated or untreated trials . It is also 10cm shorter than Volume which will speed combining at harvest ,” says KWS barley and oat breeder David Harrap .
“ Rhynchosporium is the principal disease concern of barley and Funky has shown strong resistance to this and net blotch in trials . Add its high specific weight and it is an enticing feed barley proposition ,” adds David Harrap .
WPB Elyann is a spring oat that is receiving strong interest from millers for its excellent grain qualities .
A yield of 8.44t / ha ( 103 % of controls ) and exceptional kernel content – it is the only variety on the AHDB Recommended List trials with a score above 80 % – high specific weight and low screenings make Elyann the stand-out spring oat candidate for harvest 2016 .
“ Elyann has received considerable interest and large batches have been requested from this harvest for evaluation . It is the most exciting spring oat to come through the system in recent years and with increasing domestic demand from millers , we expect Elyann to be a significant beneficiary ,” says David Harrap .
“ It will fit well on farm being two days earlier to mature both Firth and Canyon and similar resistance to the principal diseases , mildew and crown rust ,” adds David Harrap .
20 | Farming Monthly | June 2016 www . farmingmonthly . co . uk