The FAR cultivar evaluation booklet continues to highlight the performance of new cultivars entering the industry. This season the new potential bread wheat Sage and Saracen in its second year have shown good yields. The feed wheat Wakanui has again shown high performance. KWW34 a new cultivar with biscuit potential has similar yield potential as Claire but more resistance to stripe rust.
In Canterbury, the cooler temperatures and higher solar radiation compared with the long term average have contributed to a good growing season for cereal crops. Yields were above average in the Manawatu and Southland as well. When this year’s harvest is compared with the 4 year mean, irrigated crops have performed above average. For example, at the Norwood milling wheat trial the average yield was 0.9 t/ha above the 4 year mean at 10.8 t/ha. At the FAR Chertsey Arable Site in Mid Canterbury, the irrigated average yield was 3.0 t/ha above the 4 year mean at 11.6 t/ha. Irrigation improved yields by 3.8 t/ha in this autumn sown feed wheat cultivar trial. Yields were also above average at the Chertsey dryland site reflecting the good season.
Three of the regular trial sites (Sheffield and Dromore autumn barley and Highbank milling wheat) are not reported this season due to herbicide and hail damage.
The Cereal Performance Trials (CPT) were again a cooperative effort between FAR, several of the major seed companies and the Flour Millers Association. FAR manages CPT2 which is the second stage of cultivar testing where the commercial (and a few pre-commercial) cultivars are evaluated. With CPT1 there is collaboration between the seed companies for testing advanced breeders’ material from which the most favourable cultivars progress into CPT2.
FAR welcomes any queries or suggestions to further improve these booklets, or if you require any additional information that we have not included please contact us.
Rob Craigie
Project manager