United Kingdom
February 14, 2023
New maize variety RGT Bluefoxx looks set to be an excellent fit for both the AD and forage sectors thanks to its strong agronomic package, timely maturity and high yields.
That’s the opinion of Nigel Walley, seed manager at Agrovista, who has added the variety to the company portfolio this season.
“I’ve been looking at RGT Bluefoxx closely for three years and I’m very confident with it,” he says. “The variety has good early vigour and produces a really nice, strong looking plant, which has good disease resistance, is relatively stay-green and consistently produces very well-finished cobs.
“It is everything we want in a mainstream forage and early AD variety. In the forage sector on more favourable sites Bluefoxx will give you outstanding yields at a very competitive price point.
“It produces a big cob with lots of starch and a decent amount of ME, which is exactly what most dairy farmers want.”
Nigel believes RGT Bluefoxx will have equal appeal in the AD sector. “There is an increasing trend towards higher yielding FAO 180-190 material, which Bluefoxx fits perfectly. Chasing big yields can mean harvesting a crop that’s not fully mature. That’s no good for anyone – you cannot produce methane from water, so you need maturity to produce good starch and energy yields.”
RGT Bluefoxx is the first maize variety from RAGT Seeds that Agrovista has included in its portfolio, a move that adds valuable genetic diversity to the company’s maize offer, says Nigel.
“All breeders have good varieties but they also have their weaknesses. Some are having serious issues with fusarium which can lead to lodging issues, particularly from early infections that can cause significant stem degradation.
“Other breeders are chasing the ultimate feed value, but this ever-increasing quest for cell wall digestibility can be at the expense of lignin levels. There is a very fine line between digestibility and stem integrity – the variety may look untouchable on paper but if it suffers serious lodging issues any benefits associated with increased cell wall digestibility will be totally lost.
“The cell wall issue is not as prevalent as fusarium when it comes to lodging, but where it is apparent in a variety it is not pretty. Bluefoxx is not going to suffer either of these problems; it provides a good balance of all the key factors in a strong agronomic package at a competitive price.”
RGT Bluefoxx
- The ideal combination of yield and maturity and suits both forage and energy maize applications
- Good disease resistance coupled with excellent standing ability make Bluefoxx a reliable performer in all sectors
- A solid performer at a competitive price point
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