United Kingdom
December 2, 2016
Elsoms Seeds Ltd, the UK’s leading independent plant breeder, seed treater and seed supplier, is building on a very strong 2016 season by launching their four newly recommended wheat varieties to the UK market. The promotion of all four of their candidate wheat varieties to the AHDB Winter Wheat Recommended List confirms Elsoms’ position as an influential supplier with an extensive portfolio of high performance, low risk arable seed introducing exciting new genetic variety.
Success with four Elsoms Wheat varieties added to the AHDB Recommended List
The success of Bennington, Dunston, Freiston and Moulton, Elsoms’ four new AHDB Recommended varieties, heralds an impressive debut for Elsoms Wheat Ltd, an organisation founded to breed better wheat varieties specifically for UK growing conditions. Elsoms Wheat combines the excellence of Stephen Smith’s wheat breeding programme at Elsoms Seeds Ltd in Lincolnshire, UK, with the state of the art breeding techniques and resources of SU Biotech in Germany. This responsive, innovative and forward-thinking approach is showing its worth as the programme also has two further wheat candidate varieties and a strong development pipeline of promising new varieties that are already performing well in extensive trials.
Elsoms’ base in the South Lincolnshire Fens is the perfect location for a plant breeding station as local environmental conditions can lead to a high incidence of wheat disease. Breeding in these conditions ensures every Elsoms Wheat variety is thoroughly tested against pathogens, pests and other factors that can affect yield. As a result, all varieties feature superb treated and untreated yields, exceptional specific weights, consistently strong disease resistance and robust agronomic packages. They are low risk and high performance: very safe to grow.
Stephen Smith, Elsoms’ Head of Wheat Breeding, said,
“The consistently high performance of Bennington, Dunston, Freiston and Moulton over the last few years of trials and now their inclusion on the AHDB Recommended List clearly shows the Elsoms Wheat breeding programme proving its incredible potential. Our enthusiastic, innovative team of specialists is passionate about using the outstanding, cutting-edge facilities at Elsoms and SU Biotech to develop wheat varieties that are ideally suited to UK growing conditions. With many more promising varieties in the pipeline, we’re looking forward to offering UK farmers even more low risk yet high performing wheats in the future.”
Bennington is the highest yielding soft wheat variety in Group 4 and is suitable for export. It has a very high agronomic merit and very stiff straw with a very high specific weight. Moulton, also a Group 4 soft wheat, is approved for both distilling and export. It has a very high specific weight, stiff straw and a good overall disease resistance package.
Dunston, a Group 4 hard wheat, has the highest untreated yield on the list and is identified in the AHDB variety notes as “one of the relatively lower risk varieties on the List”. Freiston, another Group 4 hard wheat, has one of the highest specific weights on the recommended list as well as one of the highest treated yields. Like all Elsoms Wheat varieties, it has first class disease resistance.
Dunston, Bennington, Moulton and Freiston are just four of the Elsoms arable varieties performing extremely well on the recommended lists. Belgrade winter wheat holds a strong position as a late sown, very high yielding and early maturing Group 4 hard wheat variety. Elgar oilseed rape had the highest gross output on the recommended list in the UK in 2016 and SU Performer hybrid rye came out top in UK trials in 2016. The portfolio has also enjoyed similar successes across spring oats, linseed and triticale varieties as well.
One other Elsoms newcomer to the AHDB 2017/18 recommended lists merits particular mention. Chanson spring barley, bred by Saaten Union, is an exciting addition to the market as it combines “null lox” malting quality with high yield; characteristics that could initiate a fundamental change in the barley used by maltsters for the brewing sector.
The friendly, knowledgeable and professional approach of Elsoms’ arable seed team offers practical value, advice and support to seed merchants, agronomists and farmers alike. To find out more about how Bennington, Dunston, Moulton Freiston, or any of the other high performing varieties in the Elsoms Seeds agricultural range, could benefit your business please call Adrian Hayler on 01775 715000 or email Adrian.hayler@elsoms.com
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