By Steve Hoad,

SRUC for FAS

The effects of this year’s cold spring and droughty summer have been evident in the variable yields reported among established and new winter wheat and barley varieties.

Whilst many varieties have performed well under challenging conditions, many less resilient ones were exposed in both treated and untreated trials.

Winter wheat varieties with soft endosperm remain the most important choices for Scottish growers in meeting the demands of the grain distilling sector. With a few exceptions, soft varieties are also the best adapted for our challenging growing conditions.

In winter barley, yields of new two-rowed varieties are increasing, albeit slowly. The largest increments in yield are seen in the six-rows, and especially the hybrids.

The value of good disease resistance was evident in this challenging year. Varieties with good untreated yields tended to perform well across trials, whilst those with weaker disease resistance were far less resilient.

With plenty of wheat and barley varieties available, there are opportunities to prioritise in relation to grain quality, rotational position, disease resistance, maturity and straw stiffness.

All varieties vary in their responses to different climatic challenges and the growing conditions in 2018 help guide us towards wheat and barley varieties with better consistency in yield and quality. The current position of grower and end user preferences in Scotland and the UK north region is given below.

Wheat varieties

Soft distilling wheat

Viscount is the benchmark variety for distilling use. It has been a consistent performer in the AHDB’s north region and coped well with the extreme conditions in 2018. It has short stiff straw with intermediate disease resistance. In some seasons, it can produce a low Hagberg figure which is linked to higher sprouting risk.

Leeds remains a widely grown soft wheat. It has a medium rating for distilling and benefits from a high specific weight. It has performed very well in treated trials, though results in 2018 have been more variable. It is very susceptible to mildew and eyespot. Leeds performs best on lighter soils, and has yielded well in late sown trials. It is rather late maturing.

Myriad has been popular in Scotland, but is now outclassed for yield. Its low untreated yield reflects poor disease resistance. It is rated as medium for distilling.

LG Motown has attracted interested because of a competitive yield and early maturity. It is rated medium for distilling. Good performance on lighter soils and in the second cereal position add to its versatility. It has good resistance to mildew and yellow rust, but is susceptible to eyespot.

Revelation is rated good for distilling. Its delayed maturity won’t suit later areas or growers in the north of Scotland, but its slow autumn development is ideal for early drilling in central and southern areas. It has produced good results in 2018. It has good resistance to yellow rust, Septoria tritici, eyespot and Fusarium head blight.

LG Sundance is rated medium for distilling. This variety has yielded well in both treated and untreated trials, but tends to give low specific weights. It has very good resistance to Septoria tritici and yellow rust, but is susceptible to eyespot. It has intermediate straw stiffness and maturity is later than average.

Elation is a new soft feed variety rated good for distilling. Its yield has held up very well this year. Its specific weight is very good. It has stiff straw and good resistance to mildew and yellow rust. Maturity is similar to Viscount.

KWS Jackal is a new recommendation and is rated medium for distilling. It has high yield potential, and has performed well in 2018. It has good resistance to mildew and yellow rust. It has stiffish straw and maturity is similar to Viscount.

LG Skyscraper is a candidate variety with promise for distilling use. It has produced high yields and has above average disease resistance. It has performed consistently well across trials in 2018. It is early maturing.

LG Spotlight is a candidate variety under test for distilling use. Its excellent specific weight and Hagberg figures are unique for a soft feed variety. It has produced good yields, though results in 2018 have been more variable. It has average disease resistance and maturity is similar to Leeds.

Biscuit-making varieties

Zulu is an established nabim Group 3 variety and has a medium rating for distilling. It has been consistent in meeting the requirements for soft milling. It has produced very good yields in the north region, though 2018 has been a more challenging year.

KWS Barrel is a widely grown soft feed wheat, however it is rated poor for distilling because of its low spirit yield. It has produced very high yields in the north region, but 2018 results are variable. It has short stiff straw and high resistance to yellow rust, but is susceptible to septoria tritici and eyespot.

Elicit is a new biscuit-making variety, but is rated poor for distilling. Its high treated and untreated yields will be trimmed following mixed results from 2018. It has good resistance to yellow rust and septoria tritici. Compared with Zulu, it has higher specific weight, but lower Hagberg figures.

LG Rhythm is a candidate variety under test for both biscuit-making and distilling use. It has good agronomic features, though its specific weight and Hagberg figures are below the Group 3 average.

Hard milling and feed varieties

Dunston is a high yielding feed variety with good untreated yields. Its tall straw has good standing ability. This variety is versatile in its rotational position and does well when sown early, or in the second wheat position.

Freiston is a high yielding feed variety though it yields have been less consistent in 2018. It has intermediate specific weight and good resistance to most diseases, except eyespot. It has tall straw with medium strength.

Gleam this new is very high yielding with good untreated yield. It has stiff straw and is relatively early maturing, and has no severe disease weaknesses.

KWS Lili is a nabim Group 2 milling variety that has produced very good yields in the north region, including 2018. It produces high Hagberg figures. It is relatively late maturing, with short stiff straw and high resistance to mildew and yellow rust. It has performed particularly well on lighter soils and is well suited to first wheat situations.

KWS Siskin is a high yielding Group 2 milling variety with high specific weight and Hagberg figures. It has performed relatively well in 2018. It has high resistance to Septoria tritici, mildew and yellow rust, but is susceptible to eyespot. It has performed particularly well in first cereal situations.

Winter barley

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Two-row feed

KWS Creswell is a recommendation for the north region, where its yield has been above its UK average. It has an intermediate specific weight, with average straw length and strength. Its low untreated yield reflects weaknesses for mildew and net blotch. It yields well on lighter soils.

KWS Orwell a high yielding variety with intermediate specific weight. It has stiff straw. It is very weak for mildew and intermediate for rhynchosporium. It performs well on both heavy and lighter textured soils.

KWS Infinity is a high yielding variety, but with a specific weight below both KWS Cassia and KWS Glacier. It has tall straw with intermediate strength. It has weak resistance to mildew and is moderate resistance to other diseases.

KWS Tower has been grown widely as a grown successor to KWS Cassia, though it has a moderate specific weight. It is weak for net blotch, and tends to be poor for mildew and Rhynchosporium. It is well suited to lighter soils.

KWS Glacier is becoming outclassed for yield, but as a successor to KWS Cassia it has produced very good specific weights. It is very weak for mildew and Rhynchosporium. It is early maturing and performs well on heavier textured soils.

KWS Cassia is now outclassed for yield but is still appreciated for its very high specific weight high. It remains on the Scottish List as a specific use variety. Resistance to lodging is good. Mildew and rhynchosporium resistance are weak and it has average maturity.

California has a west region recommended and is valued for its tall stiff straw, early maturity and moderately good specific weight. Disease resistance is relatively good. It is very well suited to heavier soils.

Surge tends to underperform in the north region, as reflected in its 2018 results, but it remains the best of the two-row feed varieties in untreated trials. Resistance to lodging is moderate and maturity is average.

KWS Gimlet is a candidate variety with yields that are competitive against the best two-row choices, though it has had some mixed results this year. It has intermediate specific weight and disease resistance. It is relatively early maturing.

LG Mountain is a candidate variety with high yield and good specific weight. It has done relatively well in 2018. It has short, stiffish straw. Disease resistance is intermediate, but it has above average resistance to net blotch.

LG Flynn is a candidate variety with high yield and very good specific weight. It has produced good yields in 2018. It has stiff straw. Disease resistance is intermediate, but with above resistance to rhynchosporium.

Six-row feed varieties

Bazooka is a hybrid six-row with a good specific weight and intermediate screenings. It has tall stiff straw, but can lodge under high pressure situations. It has intermediate disease resistance, but is weak for mildew. It yields well in all regions and performs well on lighter soils.

Belfry is a hybrid six-row with intermediate specific weight and screenings. It has stiff straw and no severe disease weakness. It has performed well on heavier soils. Funky is a conventional six-row with a good specific weight, but has produced relatively high screenings. It has short and stiff straw. Maturity is early. It has a good untreated yield conferred by good all-round disease resistance. It yields relatively better on lighter soils.

Libra is a new six-row hybrid feed variety with very high specific weight. It has modest yield in the north region. It has good lodging resistance, with moderate disease resistance. It performs well on heavier land.

Sunningdale is a hybrid six-row has excellent yield potential especially in the north region where it has produced good results in 2018. It has moderate straw strength and it relatively early to mature. It has intermediate disease resistance and yields even better on lighter textured soils.

SY Kingsbarn is a candidate hybrid six-row variety with very high yield and very good specific weight. Provisional data indicates that this tall variety has stiff straw.

SY Baracooda is a candidate hybrid six-row hybrid. It has produced very high yields and has a good specific weight. It is very tall and provisional data indicate stiff straw. It has average resistance to Rhynchosporium and net blotch.

Winter barley malting options

SY Venture is the current UK market leader, though Pearl has retained its place as the highest intake in Scotland. It has Full Approval by the MBC for malting and brewing. It has good hot water extract, but is intermediate screenings. It is highly susceptible to rhynchosporium. Maturity is average.

Craft has Full Approval for malting and brewing by the MBC. Grain yield for the north region is above average for a malting variety. Lodging resistance is very good and disease resistance, including, mildew, rhynchosporium and ramularia are intermediate. It is suitable across all soil types.