A trio of winter wheat varieties from RAGT Seeds has been promoted to the 2022/23 AHDB Recommended List.
Two of these are feed varieties, RGT Bairstow and RGT Stokes, while RGT Rashid is a biscuit wheat. These are the latest to emerge from the company’s breeding programme and are said to offer high yields, good grain quality and robust agronomic features.
RGT Bairstow
- Group 4 soft
- Highest yielding soft feed on RL
- Highest second wheat yield for a soft variety
- Rated good for distilling
- Good grain quality
- Very good all-round disease profile
- High Septoria tritici rating and OWBM resistance
- Suits UK and all regions
RGT Bairstow is the highest yielding soft feed variety on the List, with a five-year treated mean yield of 103.1%. It also had the highest second wheat yield of any recommended soft wheat variety at 104.3%, almost a point ahead of its nearest rival.
It’s said to deliver exceptional results in all regions, and grain quality is good with Hagberg at 228 and specific weight at 75.9kg/hl. This is well above the minimum feed wheat specification and ahead of the 74kg/hl that has secured premiums for soft Group 4 wheats this season.
The variety is reluctant to sprout at the ear and has resistance to orange wheat blossom midge. As a bonus, RGT Bairstow is rated good for distilling.
The parentage is Revelation, Santiago and Cougar, with impressive resistance ratings for Septoria tritici of 6.4 based on the AHDB three-year dataset. The variety has solid ratings of 7 and 6 for yellow rust and mildew respectively and is resistant to orange wheat blossom midge.
RGT Stokes
- Group 4 Soft
- Highest yielding wheat for the West
- Highest yielding soft feed in North trials
- Impressive second wheat performance
- Rated good for distilling
- Good grain quality
- Good rust resistance and very high Septoria tritici resistance
- Consider for UK and all regions
RGT Stokes has a similar yield potential to Bairstow, achieving 102.4% of controls in the five-year dataset. It was high yielding in all regions but saves its best for the west, where it produced a treated yield of 105.2%.
The variety, a Cougar, Santiago and Revelation cross, also has a very strong three-year Septoria tritici resistance rating of 6.9, ahead of any other soft wheat. It also scores a 7 and 5 for yellow rust and mildew.
Overall, the company believes it is an obvious replacement for older favourites in the west. It also produced a 104% rating in the north and has a good distilling rating. In an analysis carried out by the Scottish Whisky Research Institute, the variety produced the highest alcohol yield in 2021 compared to other recommended varieties and control crops.
Early drilling potential and the fact that it makes good second wheat is said to add to its appeal. It is stiff strawed when treated with PGR and exhibits good grain quality, with 248 Hagberg and 75.3kg/ha specific weight.
RGT Rashid
- Group 3 Soft
- Highest yielding Group 3 for the East
- Good grain quality
- Medium for distilling
- Very good straw
- Excellent disease profile
- Very good Septoria tritici rating and OWBM resistance
Group 3 newcomer RGT Rashid has been recommended for the east and looks to be a good choice from Yorkshire, through the Midlands and to the south coast, offering high yields and good premiums.
In the east, it achieved just over 102.1% of controls, around two points clear of competitors. The grain exceeds the minimum standard for biscuit production and is rated 226 Hagberg and has a good specific weight of 76.4kg/hl.
Its parentage is Icebreaker, Solo and Cougar and it has a three-year Septoria tritici score of 6.9 and it has a very good 8 for yellow rust, arguably the best combination of these two diseases in the Group 3 sector.
RGT Rashid boasts strong, stiff straw, together with a strong disease resistance profile and resistance to orange wheat blossom midge, making it an obvious successor to Firefly according to the company.
