Blackstone’s very wide sowing window looks a major plus for Scottish growers confirms Douglas Gordon of Harley Seeds

         A new Group 4 Soft wheat Candidate variety that produced average yields of 12.5t/ha for Kirkcaldy based farming business JW Murray and Sons has created significant seed merchant support based on its high specific weight, solid disease profile and strong traits that include an extremely wide sowing window from mid-September to the following March.

      Blackstone, from independent breeder Elsoms Seeds, is currently the highest yielding of this year’s Recommended List (RL) Soft Group 4 candidates and was a first-time crop for Willie Murray, who farms 155ha of combinable crops at Wester Balbeggie farm, just north of Kirkcaldy in Fife.   

              Willie says: “We’ve always been very wheat-centric with the business and our current rotation of 1 oilseed rape followed by 3 x wheats, then winter barley, before going back to rape reflects that. Blackstone was recommended to us by seed specialists Harley Seeds, based on its very high treated yield of 105% in the north, and we drilled the crop on September 26^th last year at a seed density of 205kg/ha into a medium loam topsoil with clay underneath following a crop of oilseed rape.

         “The variety’s early vigour was exceptional, and Blackstone easily outcompeted our combined weed burden of annual meadow-grass and broad-leaved weeds, tillering well and coming through a relatively mild winter in excellent shape. Three main splits of Nitrogen were applied, on February 27^th, March 31^st and April 3^rd - with a very small top-up dressing added on April 24^th. Before beginning our fungicide program, the crop was rolled in early spring to counter any frost heave and to encourage its roots system, in conjunction with an early applied plant growth regulator (PGR), to go deeper before the drier weather began.  

      “On advice from our agronomist Duncan Downie from East of Scotland Farmers, we went with a 4-spray fungicide program beginning with a T0 “half-spray” on April 22^nd and ending with our final T3 spray by June 22^nd. Although Blackstone is very stiffed strawed, it was also a tall, lush crop grown in soil with plenty of fertility. So, for additional insurance, a PGR was applied at T0, and again at T2 alongside our main flag leaf spray of mefentrifluconazole + fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin.

      “Through May - July, and leading up to harvest on August 25^th, the crop looked exceptionally clean during a relatively low-pressure disease year in our area. It combined well, producing an excellent amount of straw and a nice, clear bold grain. Average specific weight was very high at 81.5kg/hl, with a protein content of 10.3% that prompted an approach from a local flour mill to take the crop with the spec achieved as a soft biscuit wheat.  

        “Agronomically, the variety was easy to manage, and it stayed very clean, showing no stress despite seeing very little rain between April and June. The second growth kick we got from it after the first N application in the early spring was exceptionally good, and - although it’s not yet on the RL, I will definitely be drilling it again this autumn” he concludes.

            Endorsing Willie’s summary on Blackstone, Douglas Gordon, Managing Director of Alexander Harley Seeds (Milnathort) Limited, is very positive about the variety’s future and sees its long, flexible drilling window as a potential game changer for many northern and Scottish growers.

          He adds:” Having first heard about Blackstone last year, I was initially impressed with both its 105% treated yield score in Scottish trials and a robust disease package that includes a 9 for yellow rust, a 6 for brown rust and a 6 for Septoria Tritici.

           “However, with many winter wheat growers in both southern and western Scotland often unable to get a crop in the ground during the winter months, the appeal of a variety able to be sown from mid-September to, potentially, the following March could be its key trait. If the vernalisation tests that Elsoms are carrying out prove that Blackstone can be drilled well into March, without compromising the final yield too much, then the variety would be of serious interest to many Scottish growers either currently relying solely on lower yielding spring wheats – or larger acreage winter wheat growers who want to spread their harvest window.

       “With positive potential for the distilling market, a high yield, plus its suitability for mixed farms based on an ability to produce a lot of very stiff straw for cattle, if it achieves RL status in November then it should attract serious interest in Scotland” he confirms.

        Elsoms Head of Technical - George Goodwin, was delighted with both the yield results and grain quality from the JW Murray Blackstone crop and links the positive on-farm performance and its leading position in this year’s RL Candidate trials to the variety’s strong and diverse genetic background.

         George says:” Blackstone is a Panacea and Tempo cross. Whilst the benefit of that may not be immediately obvious to a lot of growers, when you look further back into the genetic lines you see that it’s related to outstanding former wheat varieties such as Riband, Consort and Claire. This rich history of British soft wheats is a key reason behind our confidence in Blackstone’s quality performance for domestic, export and distilling use.

“Blackstone often catches the eye in trials, exhibiting lower levels of stress than many other varieties and benefiting from a strong disease package including orange wheat blossom midge resistance and sturdy agronomics. I’ve monitored Blackstone’s high yield performance over the last couple of years and am confident that it’s a real contender for northern and Scottish growers” he concludes.