Farming News - Higher yielding varieties from KWS to be shown at Cereals 2012

Higher yielding varieties from KWS to be shown at Cereals 2012

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Most notable among the wheats are KWS Kielder, which could take yields even higher than current front-runner KWS Santiago, and KWS Croft, a high quality soft wheat with Oakley-like yields.

 

Given a repeat performance in this year's official Recommended List trials, both varieties could provide some of the highest gross margins available to growers, says the company's cereals product manager, Keith Best.

 

They are being demonstrated alongside market-leading wheats such as KWS Santiago and Conqueror, with four other new candidates all of which have excellent agronomic characteristics that could give them an edge over current varieties in specific regions and drilling slots.

 

Alongside these, KWS UK is demonstrating two outstanding new two-row barleys – up for UK recommendation this year - which, in similar fashion, look set to lift barley yields to new levels:  KWS Discovery is currently 10% ahead of Saffron and KWS Glacier is just 1% behind this.   

 

According to the company's barley breeder, David Harrap, these breakthrough yields have come from combining the vigour and tillering capacity of Retriever with the typical bold grained nature of current on farm favourites Saffron and KWS Cassia.

 

Cereals 2012 will also give growers the chance to see the company's high-yielding six-row barley, KWS Meridian, which challenges the dominance of hybrid barleys across Scotland and the north and west of England.

 

Recommended List data suggests that KWS Meridian has virtually eroded the yield gap with the hybrids, and is just 2% or 0.17t/ha lower yielding than Volume, the best winter hybrid.

 

In the oilseed rape sector, KWS Quartz is the new stand-out oilseed rape variety in plots on the company's stand. 

 

Having produced a 6t/ha plus gross output in official trials, KWS Quartz has an unbeatable rating for stem canker in a conventional variety.  With an exceptional gross output of 108% it will be widely available for drilling this autumn.

 

Crop Guides

 

KWS UK is also launching two new husbandry guides which focus on getting the best from two distinctly different crop rotations.

 

The first is a new guide examining best practice wheat production for crops sown after sugar beet to support the company's strong spring and late autumn cereal variety portfolio, plus innovative beet varieties.

 

"New, more vigorous wheats now enable growers to get the best from later plantings, maximising performance from both sugar beet and a following cereal crop," says the project's manager, Simon Witheford.  "This guide looks at how to get the best from both these crops in the 'beet/wheat' rotation."

 

Also, for the biogas crop producer, KWS UK has produced a comprehensive guide to help growers devise sustainable crop rotations to suit their location that ensure high methane yields from a targeted feedstock mix.

 

Potato Launch

 

KWS is using Cereals 2012 to launch its new potato business to UK growers.  The move follows the establishment of KWS Potato BV in the Netherlands a year ago last April.

 

The UK arm of the business, now headed by ex Branston, senior seed manager, Peter Hewett, aims to introduce a wide range of potato varieties to the UK market.

 

It has taken on the Van Rijn potato varieties and will be looking to exploit its worldwide connections within the industry to develop and market a diverse range of potato varieties many of which will be grown at Cereals 2012.

 

Finally, visitors to KWS' stand (Number D411) will also be invited to sample freshly baked bread, cakes and pastries made on site by master baker John Haynes from flour milled from the company's varieties.