A new vigorous variety of triticale is to be made available this autumn as a cover crop option for arable farmers.
Bred in New Zealand, T101 Wintermax can be drilled from mid-September through to mid-October and has demonstrated strong nutrient use efficiency qualities in trials.
“T101 Wintermax is a later drilling option than many traditional cover crops and would be ideal following maize or potatoes, for example, says Francis Dunne of FD Seeds.
“It will establish very quickly and is extremely winter hardy, so has good potential to suppress pernicious weeds, and its vigorous root development helps to improve soil structure. It is a really good nutrient scavenger, so there is great scope for minimising leaching over the winter months.
“T101 Wintermax produces high yields of biomass, showing a significant uplift in dry matter production on forage rye in UK field trials, so there is good potential for an additional income from winter or spring grazing. Alternatively, the crop could be used to grow biomass for early spring green manuring.
“For farmers looking to fulfil a SAM2 commitment within an SFI agreement, T101 Wintermax can be combined with winter vetch or other fast-establishing species to create a valuable overwinter multi-species cover crop, even when drilled in early October.”
For growers with livestock, the variety can be grazed, ideally between late February and mid-April, or it can be grown as an early silage crop for cutting in late April ahead of drilling maize or spring cereals.