Group 2 wheat, Panorama, gave a 'cracking' yield according to grower John Roe who farms at Shirewood House, Boston, Lincolnshire.

John started growing Panorama five years ago on a seed contract for breeder Limagrain and has been pleased with how it performs throughout the season on the farm’s sandy clay loam soil.

Grown alongside the new Group 3 variety Zulu and JB Diego, Panorama has found favour in the second wheat slot at Shirewood House Farm, largely because of its suitability to light land and consistency of yield.

One field yielded 49% above the farm’s five-year average (including second wheats) last year. This was helped considerably by favourable weather, however growing a variety that is tailored to a specific role has helped, says John’s son Charles, who is an agronomist.

The variety establishes and tillers well and is relatively straightforward to manage. Using a timely, robust fungicide strategy on it can pay dividends, he says.

“Yield is as good as anything else we’ve grown and you’ve got the added potential for high protein as well if you’re growing it for milling, although our focus here is on yield.

“Brown rust is the only real issue to watch, but having said that, we didn’t really see much of it last year. Using an SDHI fungicide at the flag leaf timing helps keep brown rust out, as it tends to develop later in the season. Taking a preventative approach to disease control is key whatever variety you’re growing.”

A four-spray fungicide strategy is normally used across the wheat area, although products and timings will be tailored to individual variety and disease risk, he says. SDHI chemistry is normally used at T2, but may also go on at T1 this season if disease risk is as high as predicted.

“We’ve already used a pre-T0 on some of the Zulu,” he notes. “On our land it’s manganese that crops need early on, so if we’re going on with that early in the season it makes sense to include a fungicide and buy some time for subsequent sprays.”

Establishment of Panorama as a first wheat last year involved a Sumo Trio-type cultivation before combination drilling at a seed rate of up to 350 seeds/m2 for crops sown at the end of October. Ploughing is carried out for second wheats followed by the combination drill.

Nitrogen applications typically range from 190-200kg/ha for first wheats to 200-220kg/ha for second wheats, split into three doses (roughly 50kg, 100kg, and then 50kg).

Charles has also been impressed by the 20ha (50 acres) of Zulu that is in the ground this season. “It certainly looks very promising from what we’ve seen so far. The likes of Zulu, Revelation, and Leeds represent a real step forward for new varieties.”