Arable


Blended wheats can reduce farm inputs and help


combat disease • Resurgence of interest in blends • Performs well without fungicides • Conventional and organic mixes


A


new range of blended wheat seed aims to help growers tackle disease and reduce fungicide usage in fa- vour of a regenerative approach to farming. Launched by Lincolnshire- based Cope Seeds & Grain, the pre-mixed range of organic and conventional wheat seed has been developed to meet a resurgence of interest in using blends to re- duce farm inputs. “Back in the 1980s there were many thousands of tonnes of seed blends being sold and grown in the UK,” says Cope Seeds & Grain managing director Gem- ma Clarke. “But with pressure on seed plants to get tonnage through in the autumn, they fad- ed away.”


Cope Seeds is offering two organic and two conventional


wheat blends. Ms Clarke said: “We believe blends are being more readily considered by convention- al and organic farmers who are looking to grow using regenera- tive principles.”


Performed well Nick Padwick, of Ken Hill Farms and estate in north Norfolk, has been growing his own wheat blends for two years. So far, Mr Padwick says the crops have per- formed well and he hasn’t had to apply any fungicide.


“My father grew blends and


it’s coming back around. Gone are the days where yield is king. Now the focus really has to be about re- ducing inputs, reducing the reli- ance on synthetics, including ar- tificial fertiliser and looking after our soils. “We selected our four top per-


Blended wheat varieties


Tristar (conventional) Feed wheat blend of three varieties from three different breeders. Early maturity and high untreated yields with strong resistance to Septoria Tritici. Grain quality is said to be of the highest merit, with the ability to produce a bold sample.


Triple X (conventional) Soft wheat blend offering early to medium maturity, with strong rust resistance and high grain quality. Created to meet market requirements while benefiting from reduced disease and high untreated yield potential. Buy-back contracts available.


Summit (organic) Two-way soft wheat blend with a milling premium buy-back contract. Later maturing crop with high yield potential and tall straw, perfect for weed suppression. Some protection against Orange Wheat Blossom Midge.


Apex (organic) Dual purpose wheat blend of two top varieties for untreated yield potential, Septoria tritici resistance and early maturity. High habergs and potentially high levels of protein suitable for milling – but also suitable for feed. Buy-back contract available.


Gone are the days when yield was king, says Nick Padwick


forming feed wheat varieties in terms of disease resistance and we blended them. The ultimate aim is to stop using inputs entire- ly and build healthy soils which support healthy plants.” Ms Clarke says the blends are a viable alternative to straight wheat. “We have passed the time where we need to see a field of level crops. Fields of different heights containing different va- rieties of healthy wheat are the future.”


Research carried out by Rose Kristoffersen from Aarhus Uni- versity in Denmark, found that growing different blends of wheat varieties helps to increase yield potential as well as reducing dis-


ease pressure. A four-way blend was grown


each year in official trials as a ref- erence. The blend reduced Septo- ria severity by about 10% with a 1.4% yield increase. In untreat- ed trials, there was a 17% reduc- tion in Septoria severity and 2.4% yield increase.


Ms Clarke said Cope Seeds


was continually evolving its blend formulations – pulling out any po- tential lines that may break down and adding in newer varieties with better disease resistance to ensure they remain robust. “We are bringing together the benefits of both nature and science through modern plant breeding,” said Ms Clarke.


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