In this issue..

The new name
for a farmer’s
friend?
Features
Insiders View
Disease resistance is
becoming a more prominent
and important feature for
wheat growers and
Syngenta’s variety, Graham,
offers a disease package
that many may warm to.
CPM finds out more.
By Melanie Jenkins
Now in its second year on the AHDB
Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended List,
Graham has the joint top Septoria tritici
score in its category, offering farmers
security against the biggest yield-robbing
disease in the UK. A hard Group 4 feed
“
Having
Graham in your
armoury will be a
bonus. ”
wheat from Syngenta, its yield also comes
in at 104% of the control across the UK
and 106% in the West, offering growers
a combined yield and disease advantage.
Despite being new to the table last year,
Chris Guest at Gleadell says that Graham
was one of the first varieties to sell out.
“That’s the sign of a decent variety. It’s a nice
all-round package that should do well on
farm; even if its out-and-out yield doesn’t put
it at the top of the list, as it has lots of
useful attributes which will be of interest
to growers.”
In 2016, its first year of commercial
availability, Graham proved a popular
choice, says Samantha Brooke, seed
sales manager at Syngenta. “Graham is
a hard-endosperm feed variety that was
bred in France –– a cross between Premio
and Expert.”
The parentage of Graham is quite
interesting, adds Barry Barker at Agrii.
“Using French parents, Syngenta has
introduced new genetics to the UK, whereas
a lot of varieties on the RL are crosses from
Hereford or Timaru.”
Graham was first recommended in 2016
because it combined good yield and
agronomics, including a step forward in
septoria resistance. This resistance is the
likely reason it performs particularly well in
the West, says Simon Oxley, head of the RL
at AHDB. “In Scotland, it performs less well,
so it’s a variety more suited to England.”
All-round package
With a score for septoria of 6.7, Graham also
has a good yellow rust score and a high
untreated yield, meaning it’s a good
all-round package, says Samantha Brooke.
The septoria resistance comes from both
parents, with a series of genes stacked
together to give it a solid package, she
points out, meaning it’s a fairly safe variety
to grow. In one particular trial, it was difficult
to tell the difference between the treated and
untreated plots, she adds.
The variety’s septoria resistance really
stands out to Barry Barker. “It’s as good as
anything out there and in Agrii’s scores,
comes out comparable to Crusoe. Having
Graham in your armoury will be a bonus,
whether in the West or elsewhere in the
country.”
Growers have been very keen on this
septoria resistance, as it tops its category,
says Richard Torr. “Although last year
growers got wound up about yellow rust,
agronomists still focused on septoria as the
key issue –– it’s likely to be reinstated as the
main disease threat going forward.”
Graham’s yellow rust resistance looks fine
to Barry Barker. “It has been an emotional
year for a lot of people with yellow rust, but
Agrii rates Graham at 8. Brown rust is a
potential weakness, scoring 5, but a lot of
varieties score around 4, so growers are
aware that if brown rust becomes an issue
they have to deal with it,” he adds.
“It’s eyespot score looks relatively low on
the RL, but there’s limited data and it’s not
that crucial –– if it’s something growers are
worried about they should choose varieties
with the Pch1 Rendezvous resistance gene.”
For growers already growing the well
established varieties JB Diego or KWS
Santiago, Graham is a choice which yields
better and has a better disease spectrum,
explains Simon Oxley. It also survived the
yellow rust issues last year.
On the AHDB Relative Risk graph,
which ranks varieties according to disease
resistance, lodging and untreated yield,
Graham scores in the lower risk quadrant.
▲
54 crop production magazine arable extra march 2017