Cereals

Numbers of aphid vectors that transmit barley yellow dwarf virus are significantly higher than this time last year and are building rapidly, increasing the chances of an epidemic of the disease if mild weather continues.

With only a few weeks to go before the announcement of the new Recommended List (RL), new Group 3 Soft wheat Candidate variety Bamford continues to generate very high levels of interest from across the UK seed sector.

Late drilling of winter wheat has become an increasingly common practice across UK arable farms for controlling black-grass, for second wheats and crops that are being sown after sugar beet and potatoes, and requires careful management to ensure maximum yields can be met.

Crop analyses carried out by Limagrain UK indicate that most stands of maize are on track to produce a promising crop, with the majority predicted to be ready for harvest in the next week to 10 days.

Blackstone’s exceptionally wide sowing window from mid-September to March looks to be a major benefit to Scottish growers, with Kirkcaldy-based farmer Willie Murray seeing high average yields of 12.5t/ha after sowing the crop for the first time in September last year.

Plans for a consultation with industry over the possible introduction of a Digital Passport for Combinable Crops have been confirmed for October 2023 by the project’s Leadership Group.

With its strong and consistent performance despite high disease pressure, Group 4 winter wheat variety LG Typhoon impressed farm manager Philip Vickers, who is striving to reduce inputs on a large arable farm in the Northeast of England.

Following a successful lobbying campaign for the government to withdraw or delay the impending ban on seed treatments, Limagrain UK is optimistic that treated maize seed will still be available to growers for the upcoming season.

Northants farmer Emma Bletsoe was reassured in her decision to drill Mayflower last year, a Group 2 winter wheat from Elsoms Seeds, following the crop’s positive performance bucking recent trends of sliding Hagbergs and low specific weights for milling wheats.

Twelve new varieties have been added to the British Society of Plant Breeder’s 2024 Forage Maize Descriptive Lists (DL), published last week (1st September).

With higher than average BYDV risk predicted this autumn, managing aphids that can infect newly emerging cereal crops will be of critical importance to arable growers, warns Neil Watson from production specialists Hutchinsons.

Three high-performing forage maize varieties from Limagrain have been added to the 2023-24 Descriptive List, with two very early maturing varieties sitting atop the new list of first choice varieties for favourable sites, and the third, a later maturing option, topping the list for very favourable sites.