Cereal varieties facing the climate challenge

Crop management begins with variety choice and stability of yield and quality is of prime importance when making that selection for your farm.

Dry conditions in 2006 and wet weather during grain filling in 2007 were compounded by untypical advanced or backward growth that stretched crop stability to the limit.

Some varieties have coped well and have become essential choices, while others should be regarded as marginal or higher risk.

Winter wheat

Wheats in nabim Groups 3 and 4 provide many of the varieties best suited the to the north. It is the soft endosperm variety that meets the requirements of the expanding distilling and bioenthanol markets. They are also useful for the animal feed sector.

In the Group 4's, Alchemy and Istabraq were amongst the most consistent performers across the UK in 2006 and 2007.

Alchemy is a good option for a lower risk variety - conferred by its good all round agronomics, with the exception of brown rust susceptibility.

Istabraq is also a good choice for a high yielding soft wheat. Glasgow had a relatively poor year in 2007 and recent results indicate it suits the east and west more than the north.

Varieties in nabim Group 3 suit biscuit making and distilling. In this group, Robigus is still the most consistent across UK regions. It meets the requirements for biscuit making and is graded medium for distilling, but it needs a first wheat slot to deliver is full potential and it is essential to control its severe weakness to yellow rust.

Zebedee is another biscuit option and is rated good for distilling, but unlike Robigus it travels less well outside of southern regions.

The varieties with highest yield potential are the hard Group 4's. But their yield often disappoints the further north they are sown.

Oakley is the exception. It is the highest yielder on the recommended list and is outstanding in the north where it is suited to medium soils and cooler conditions. Its specific weight is on the low side, but protecting its weakish straw and moderate septoria resistance should reward with high yield.

Duxford, Humber and JB Diego are also very high yielding hard wheats, but they are best suited to the south. Duxford and Humber struggled in 2007, compared to Oakley, JB Diego and Alchemy that held up well across the contrasting conditions of 2006 and 2007.

Timber is a special recommendation for growers wanting a feed variety with very good disease resistance ratings, though it had a poor year in 2007 and looks to be a risky choice for the north.

Breading making wheats in nabim Groups 1 and 2 often struggle to reach their yield and quality potential in northern areas. This is partly because of a more variation in weather during the longer grain filling period.

The most reliable varieties have been Einstein in Group 2 and Solstice in Group 1. Both have a high hagberg falling number - a measure of endosperm quality - and Solstice has a good specific weight. As hard milling varieties are lower yielding than the distilling, biscuit and feed types premium payments are needed to make them economic.

For this autumn it is important to consider how varieties differ in their response to sowing conditions. Alchemy does relatively well as a first wheat, whilst Istabraq, Glasgow and Robigus hold up well when late sown.

Istabraq also retains its yield well as a second wheat. Likewise Battalion, Humber, JB Diego, Duxford and Gladiator are also good second wheats, but become more variable in yield the further north they are sown.

Varieties rated less than a seven for lodging will need a good stiffening programme, especially if early sown, otherwise their yields will suffer, especially in wet seasons or with advanced crop growth.

Winter barley

Specific weight is a important quality measure in feed winter barley, indicating how well the grain has filled. Some varieties are consistently high in specific weight, while others are low.

If this is an important criteria for your barley then choice should be a two-rowed variety, but not Retriever, or the six-rowed Sequel.

The hybrid six-row varieties Boost and Bronx also deliver good specific weights combined with high yield potential.

If specific weight is of less concern, then the very high yielding Retriever is a good option, especially in the north UK where its yield are very high. Although Retriever's yield falls away in southern areas, it remains very competitive against most other varieties, even the high yielding six-rows.

The two-rowed Saffron and Accrue have been remarkably stable across the different seasons, though like Suzuka, Camion and Carat they are lower yielding than Retriever and most of the six-rowed varieties.

Flagon and Pearl are the most important winter malting varieties with a smaller requirement for Cassata. Flagon is higher yielding than Pearl and has a lower grain nitrogen.

Its agronomic features are better than Pearl, though it is not as well adapted to the north, where Cassata looks a more reliable replacement.

Spring barley

Stability in grain quality and 'processability' have maintained Optic's strong position across the UK malting markets for more than 10 years.

Newer varieties with different malting qualities have resulted in a north to south divide when it comes to choice for malting spring barley. Optic and Oxbridge dominate the malting distilling requirement in the north while NFC Tipple, Optic and Cocktail lead the brewing requirement in the south.

Gains in market share have not been have not always been matched by consistency in performance on farm. NFC Tipple and Westminster - both brewing varieties - have done well in maintaining yield and quality across seasons and regions, but some others have faired less well.

Oxbridge has better disease resistance and a yield advantage over Optic, though its yield appears more sensitive to seasonal changes than Optic. Variability in Cocktail's quality, particularly in the drier east, has also been evident.

Newer recommendations are beginning to deliver yield improvements without compromise to malting quality.

Publican has provisional approval for distilling and Quench provisional approval for brewing: both are very high yielding and have excellent resistance to Rhynchosporium and mildew. Likewise, Belgravia has good disease resistance and looks promising for malt and grain distilling.

Spring barley for livestock is the priority across much of the north and west. Riviera with its bold grain and long straw and has long been the first choice, but feed growers are switching to high yielding and to some extent less erratic feed options.

Westminster provides versatility with excellent disease resistance and long straw. Waggon is a very high yielding feed variety. Although shorter than Riviera and Westminster, it produces a good bulk of biomass from its stiff straw and performed exceptionally well in 2007.

Scout is also very high yielding but does not appear to suit the north and west as well as Waggon or Riviera.

High yielding malting varieties such as Quench and Publican also provide an option for feed growers because of their excellent resistance to mildew and Rhynchosporium.

This season's candidate varieties

Three potential biscuit making varieties Viscount, Cassius and Scout have high yields and good agronomics including good straw strength, excellent resistance to the rusts and above average resistance to septoria tritici.

They have different grain qualities and initial results suggest that Viscount has the edge for yield and distilling quality, whilst Scout has the highest protein, hagberg and specific weight.

Varieties selected for potential bread making quality include Gallant and Panorama both with a combination of good yield, hagberg falling number and protein levels.

Qplus has good agronomics and high protein, though its yield may not be the highest in this group.

In winter barley, there are three high yielding six-rowed varieties. Volume is a hybrid with a combination of very high yield and good specific weight. Leibniz and Karioka both have high yield potential, though Karioka's low specific weight will put off some growers.

In spring barley there are several candidates with malting potential. Concerto looks best as a brewing and distilling type, whilst Forensic has qualities that could suit malt and grain distilling. Other possibles are Cropton and Berloiz.

Strong seasonal variations in our weather presents a considerable challenge to plant breeders and the testing system as they strive to deliver improvements in crop varieties. Failure to offset seasonal and regional variations in yield and quality has implications for costs of our food and the cost-effectiveness of energy and agronomic inputs.

The past three years have done much to focus our minds on the importance of variety choice to suit local climate.

Take advantage of the regional information and consider the potential - and risks - of the key varieties in each of your preferred nabim groups.

There are opportunities to benefit from improvements in disease resistance ratings and grain quality, but most important of all is reliability of yield and quality to meet the spec for your end use.

Growing for very high yields needs to be balanced with quality premium payments or the better insurance provided by a more robust - or low risk - variety that is less affected by the vagaries of our weather.