Key Points
- Four wheat cultivars were sown over 5 months from June to October at 2 Canterbury sites.
- An additional two cultivars were sown at the first two sowing times only, to compare the performance of true winter wheats with facultative types sown at the same time.
- At the Methven dryland site yields from all sowing dates were very low due to the drought from November and high temperatures in January. Yield decreased from the June sowing to the September sowing.
- At Wakanui, irrigation kept yields higher, with some cultivars not showing much yield decline with sowing time until October, when they fell significantly.
- Yield and protein measurements suggest that Torlesse may give a greater gross return in a similar season to 2003/04 than winter wheats sown in June or July. It also performed better than the spring wheats at all the sowing dates.