In this issue..

Insiders View
The septoria resistance comes from both parents,
with a series of genes stacked together to
give the variety a solid package, points out
Samantha Brooke.
“Graham performs above average,
meaning growers who’ve grown
JB Diego should find Graham relatively
straightforward.”
In the autumn, the variety has a prostrate
growth habit, covering the ground very low,
and it’s slow before stem elongation, so is
suitable for early drilling, explains Samantha
▲
Brooke. “In areas where blackgrass isn’t a
problem and farmers want to drill early ––
before 15 Sept –– Graham is especially
suited due to its autumn growth habit.”
Barry Barker concurs that Graham is
suited to early drilling, but growers with
blackgrass issues might not want to do so.
“It’s medium to high tillering, meaning seed
rates can be reduced accordingly. In terms
of grassweed competitiveness, Graham is
about average.” On the limited trials data so
far, it’s more suited to medium and heavy
soils, rather than lighter ones, but more
will be learnt after its first commercial year,
he says.
Very consistent
According to Chris Guest, heavy land is
where Graham is going to perform best.
“But it’s likely to do equally well on light
land and should be fairly consistent.” Over
the four years of trial data, the yield has
only varied by four percentage points,
suggesting Graham is very consistent, as
there are varieties that swing by as much
as 10 percentage points, he says.
Once spring arrives, stem elongation is
really quick, explains Samantha Brooke.
“Graham catches up with and overtakes
other varieties. From growth stage 31
onwards, it speeds through –– behaving
similarly to Gallant in our trials. The feedback
we’ve had from growers is that Graham
Graham has a score of 6.7 for septoria and a UK
yield 104% of treated control.
helps to spread the risk and workload.”
She recommends that growers keep an
eye on the growth habit of Graham as it may
need nitrogen and fungicides at different
times to other varieties, as well as remaining
aware that at stem elongation, it’s very fast.
As a stiff variety, Graham will need
minimal PGR and should only need
monitoring and treating as appropriate within
a standard disease programme, suggests
Barry Barker. “Due to Graham’s resistance,
it’s a case of manage as you go –– it has a
reasonable response to fungicides.”
Norfolk seed crop pushes yield above farm average
Graham can deliver record-busting farm yields
in the East, alongside its strong RL performance
in the West, if the experience of seed grower
William Runciman is anything to go by.
Farming approximately 200ha at Croxton
Farm, Fulmodeston, near Fakenham in Norfolk,
he’s grown Graham for seed for the past two
seasons, with 24ha each year in the same field.
On both occasions, the crop yielded at least
10t/ha, as well as producing a good grain
sample. Normally he says the farm struggles
to push winter wheat above 8.75t/ha.
More impressively, these yields were
achieved on fairly light loam, and last year, that
was as a second wheat, after drilling in early
Oct, and in a season of heavy rain.
“Last year’s weather brought us 180% of
our average rainfall, which for other crops was
disastrous. So I’m thrilled at 10t/ha,” William
Runciman explains.
“We upped the potash a bit, because our
indices are inherently low, and I did increase
the nitrogen a bit to push yield. But we only
used a very light touch of growth regulator. The
standing power was absolutely brilliant. It also
tillered well and we made a conscious effort to
keep as many tillers alive as possible.”
Crops are grown in a four-year rotation,
comprising sugar beet, followed by vining
peas, potatoes or maize, then two years of
winter wheat.
Yellow rust and septoria are normally the
main disease concerns. But he found even a
standard fungicide programme kept Graham
“remarkably clean”.
“Since we started growing Graham we’ve
forgotten what disease pressure is. We’ve not
had the panics in the season that we used to
have. Our agronomist commented that while
Graham responds well to a full fungicide
programme, it is a flexible variety which allows
more time to apply fungicide. It’s been a lot
easier to grow.
“I think there was a lot of yellow rust
pressure last year, but not in Graham. Also,
septoria can be a problem later, but we didn’t
have to worry about it. We just sprayed as
normal and kept the flag leaf and leaf two clean
without much trouble.”
Last year’s Oct drilling date also meant the
William Runciman is thrilled with a wheat yield
of 10t/ha from Graham, grown as a second
wheat last year on fairly light land.
crop escaped BYDV, while at the other end of
the season, William Runciman capitalised on
Graham’s early harvest to get land promptly
cleared.
“It seems to produce a lot of medium-sized
ears very easily, which we want, rather than a
few very big ears. I think that’s where its yield
comes from,” he concludes.
56 crop production magazine arable extra march 2017