United Kingdom
August 18, 2022
RAGT’s new soft Group 4 wheat RGT Bairstow has producing some excellent results around the country, prompting growers to re-order more seed for planting this autumn.
RGT Bairstow has delivered a very impressive yield at PC Tinsley’s Hurn Hall Farm, near Holbeach in Lincolnshire.
Managing director Mark Tinsley says the variety was the farm’s highest yielding seed crop, producing 13.18t/ha over 15ha, crashing through the 10t/ha target for the farm’s wheats, which are drilled from mid October to Christmas.
The crop was drilled on 23 October after potatoes and never looked back, helped by its good vigour and a high tillering capacity. “We applied an early growth regulator but omitted the T0 fungicide as the crop was so clean,” says Mark.
Reasonable rates of rain that kept crops growing well underlined the decision to apply a comprehensive fungicide programme at later timings. “At T1 we applied Revystar at 1 litre/ha, which was followed at T2 with Univoq at 1.5 litres/ha,” says Mark. “We also applied a T3 spray, using Prosario at 0.8 litres/ha.
“The crop remained clean and looked very well throughout the season - it really did look good.”
Mark puts the strong performance of his RGT Bairstow and other wheats down to several key factors. “We had a very kind autumn resulting in an even plant stand, and our moisture-retentive silts kept crops going through April and into May.
“We also had sufficient rain at critical times and we had an enormous amount of sunshine from mid-June through to harvest.”
Mark will be growing RGT Bairstow this coming season commercially as well as for seed. “I’m keen on varieties with orange wheat blossom midge resistance, and we need relatively stiff straw on this land.
“RGT Bairstow also has good disease resistance scores, and it makes sense to grow a significant proportion of varieties that will give some help as far as Septoria is concerned.
“It looks like it could be a very useful variety that will suit us well.”
It’s been an extraordinary year at The Grange, Mears Ashby in Northamptonshire, where wheat performance has defied the dry weather to produce the second-best harvest ever, says Andrew Pitts.
“Since May we’ve only had 25mm of rain in small amounts, but have had astonishing winter crop yields.”
Newcomer RGT Bairstow has been particularly impressive, remaining clean all year despite a much-reduced fungicide programme. Grown as a first wheat for seed, it delivered more than 11t/ha across 30ha of medium-bodied soils, the upper end of the farm’s five-year average yield.
“With a bit more rain in May or June it would easily have been a 12t/ha crop,” Andrew says.
He believes yields reflect the huge effort put into improving soils over the past 15 years. Cover crops, organic manures and direct drilling, in conjunction with appropriate cultivations, are now being employed to great effect.
“We’ve also had a massive amount of solar radiation this season,” says Andrew.
He describes the RGT Bairstow as cheap to grow. “We omitted the T0 and the T1, as it was dry and there was no disease to be seen, and followed up with 1.2 litres of Ascra Xpro at T2.
“We’ve doubled the area of Bairstow this coming season. It is a significant advance on some of the other varieties we grow, and it think it will have a longer life, I’ve certainly been very pleased with it this season, it has had an excellent first year on the farm.”
Ken Goodger trialled 6ha of RGT Bairstow at Pates Farm, Tipps End, Welney, Norfolk this season, and the crop impressed from start to finish.
“The crop did phenomenally well late drilled after sugar beet. It was best bit of wheat we had,” says Ken.
“We drilled it after sugar beet in the first week of December, following a pass with a Sumo Trio. Establishment was good and the crop came up very evenly.
“It’s been a low disease year for us. All wheats were treated the same – we started cheap and cheerful as it was dry and crops were clean, then used robust, but not extravagant, applications at T2.
“We kept nitrogen rates the same as usual, applying three doses of liquid N at variable rates according to SOYL mapping. I’m convinced this helped the crop hang on and improved grain fill - yields were pretty consistent across the field, which was 75% silt and 25% fen skirt.
“RGT Bairstow averaged 4.5-5t/ha, which is incredible. Often wheats after sugar beet yield more like second wheats.”
Ken values the soft wheat premium that soft Group 4s like RGT Bairstow offer. His RGT Saki, which also had a cracking year, was sold into Whitworth’s via Fengrain last season and he believes Bairstow will do an equally good job.
“I’ll definitely have Bairstow again. Its ability to produce excellent yields across different soil types really stood out.
“It has good disease scores, offers flexible drilling dates and certainly didn’t suffer as a late wheat. We can grow it as a second wheat if we need to, and we have the chance of a premium as well.”
RGT Bairstow
- Highest yielding soft wheat (RL 2022/23)
- Very consistent performer
- Good disease ratings
- OWBM resistance
- Suitable for early drilling but can be sown to mid-February
- Excellent second wheat
- Good grain quality
- Approved for distilling
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