World record-beating yield set with new wheat variety Reflection on Lincolnshire farm
Lincolnshire farmer Tim Lamyman has beaten the world winter wheat yield record by harvesting a whopping 16.5 t/ha from a brand new variety in his first year growing it.
Farming at Worlaby Farms, near Louth, Mr Lamyman beat the world record by 5% with a crop of winter feed wheat variety Reflection. Launched earlier this year, it is a variety available to growers for planting this autumn.
Mr Lamyman’s 16.5 t/ha Reflection yield, which was adjusted to 15% moisture, also smashed his own previous UK record set on the farm last year by 2 t/ha, he says, with the crop also producing an impressive 83 kg/hl specific weight.
He puts the results down to a combination of the variety’s characteristics – including its inherent yield potential, with Reflection having the highest UK treated yield figure on the HGCA Recommended List for winter wheat for 2015/16 – and to the agronomy and nutrition programmes used.
“I’m over the moon,” said Mr Lamyman about his record-beating yield. “The big thing is it is a high-yielding variety. With its standing power, we’ve been able to push it for yield. And its growth habit, combined with the nutrients, helped us to maximise ear numbers.”
Agronomically, Mr Lamyman has long been a fan of a preventive approach to cereal disease control. So a fungicide programme to keep the crop clean during the season included: Cherokee + Amistar at the early T0 timing, followed by the SDHI fungicide Keystone mixed with Bravo at T1 and T2, and Amistar Opti + triazole fungicides applied to the ear at T3.
Nutritionally, Mr Lamyman says he designed a smart programme from the Bionature product range around the variety’s strengths, and to feed its tillering ability. “Using Delta K and 1-4-All three times in autumn allowed me to create more tillers per plant and a greater root structure. This was followed in spring with more Delta K applications and a new product, TipTop, aimed at helping the plant at critical growth stages with any potassium and, to a lesser extent, any phosphate shortages. I had no qualms about pushing the variety and having on average 930 heads per metre squared because of its core strengths of fantastic standing power and short straw.”
Additionally, Mr Lamyman says the early maturity of Reflection among his winter wheat varieties was another bonus. “Reflection was the first to come to maturity. It was nice to have it in the shed before the weather broke.”
Mark Bullen, campaign manager for Reflection breeder Syngenta, congratulated Tim Lamyman on his outstanding yield achievement, and said it was even more impressive in the first year of growing a new variety.
“We know from trials that Reflection is high-yielding,” said Mr Bullen. “However, trials don’t always tell the whole story, especially in seasons like this when harvest is so protracted. So it is really encouraging to see this incredible yield being set on- farm.”
As well as launching Reflection, Syngenta has also launched a www.beatyourbestyield.com website to help support farmers growing the new variety.
The site includes a section on Mr Lamyman’s record attempt and, for the 2016 harvest, will follow other growers around the UK as they too set out to beat their best yields with Reflection. There is also an opportunity for other growers to join in the challenge for themselves.