News
Malting spring barley Quench wins NIAB Cereals Cup
[June 2009]
The National Institute of Agricultural Botany has awarded its Cereals Cup to the malting spring barley variety Quench from Syngenta Seeds.
NIAB chief executive Dr Tina Barsby presented the award to Syngenta’s head of barley breeding Paul Bury and Robert Hiles, global malting barley business manager, at the Cereals 2009 event.
“NIAB’s Cereals Cup is awarded to varieties that show outstanding merit and value in their marketplace,” said Dr Barsby. “It was first awarded in 1953 to the spring barley Proctor. Recent winners have included Einstein winter wheat in 2005, Pearl winter barley in 2004 and Claire winter wheat in 2001. Quench is the first variety since 2005 that has met our strict Award criteria with its combination of field characteristics and approved malting quality.”
NIAB cereals technical manager Clare Leaman explained that Quench was an obvious contender for the Cereals Cup, representing a significant step forward in spring barley, as well as offering growers higher yields and a range of marketing options including export potential.
“Quench has yields equal to the highest yielding feed varieties with the bonus of full IBD approval for brewing. It has good resistance to brackling in the field and shows excellent resistance to both mildew and Rhynchosporium,” said Mrs Leaman.
Commenting on the Award, Robert Hiles of Syngenta Seeds said: “We feel truly honoured that the industry has sought to recognise Quench in this way. Quench already has an unbeaten UK treated yield figure among spring malting barley varieties on the HGCA Recommended List for 2009. Now, this latest news should give extra confidence to growers who are already growing it, or those who are looking to grow it for the first time.”
Quench is also enjoying considerable success across Europe – including in Germany, Ireland, Spain, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Austria, Poland and Hungary. It is even being tested as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and China. This is significant because if a variety is accepted overseas it can potentially give growers and end users more markets to sell in to.
“As a breeder, our goal is to produce varieties which the industry is enthusiastic about. These types of accolade are a strong indication that we are on the right track,” said
Mr Hiles.
For further information contact:
Claire Leaman, cereal crops, NIAB
T: 01223 342341
E: clare.leaman@niab.com
Simon Kerr, head of field operations, crops and traits, NIAB
T: 01223 342292
E: simon.kerr@niab.com
Issued by:
Ros Lloyd, Front Foot Communications
T: 01487 831425
E: ros.lloyd@frontfoot.uk.com
The girl who dreamed of plants
[June 2009]
Link - http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_business/displayarticle.asp?id=421782
UKCPVS study confirms new yellow rust race on wheat
[June 2009]
The National Institute of Agricultural Botany has verified the presence of a new race of yellow rust on UK winter wheat.
In 2008 the Fera/HGCA-funded UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) at NIAB collected two isolates of yellow rust from plants of the Group 1 wheat Solstice. Tests confirmed the isolates were virulent on seedlings of the variety.
This spring the isolates were tested on adult plants of Solstice and other varieties in the field. NIAB pathologist Dr Rosemary Bayles confirms that Solstice was subsequently heavily infected by those isolates.
“Two other previously resistant varieties, Ketchum and QPlus, both with Solstice in their pedigrees, suffered moderate to high infection with the same isolates. Humber and Viscount, varieties with high resistance ratings but different sources of resistance, also showed susceptibility,” warns Dr Bayles.
Oakley, already known to have a degree of susceptibility to existing pathotypes, was also shown to be more susceptible to the new race. The yellow rust appears to have made a stepwise adaption to the variety’s resistance.
NIAB’s conclusions seem to be confirmed by the continued flow of yellow rust samples arriving for UKCPVS testing. “It certainly reflects the incidence of the disease across the country this season and concerns over the possible impact of recent changes in the rust population on current varieties,” says Dr Bayles.
For further information contact:
Dr Rosemary Bayles, NIAB
T: 01223 342211
E: rosemary.bayles@niab.com
Dr Jane Thomas, NIAB
T: 01223 342251
E: jane.thomas@niab.com
Issued by:
Ros Lloyd, Front Foot Communications
T: 01487 831425
E: ros.lloyd@frontfoot.uk.com
Three special-use varieties added to the 2009 Herbage Recommended List
[May 2009]
NIAB has added three more varieties to the NIAB Herbage Recommended List for 2009 following an appeals procedure. All three have been recommended for special use.
CONTRAST, marketed by Limagrain, is a diploid intermediate perennial ryegrass. It has been provisionally recommended for special use (PS) as a grazing variety due to a very good yield under simulated grazing and a high early spring growth offering a good early bite.
DUNLOY, marketed by Barenbrug, is a tetraploid late perennial ryegrass. The variety is fully recommended for special use (S) in areas where crown rust is not a problem. Dunloy has good Dreschlera and mildew resistance, which coupled with high yield and grazing digestibility makes the variety well suited to upland and northerly areas of England where a highly palatable variety is required and crown rust is not considered a major disease issue.
PIROL, marketed by Eurograss, is a diploid hybrid ryegrass. It is fully recommended for special use (S) particularly where a high yield is required. Digestibility tends to be low so the variety will be mainly suitable where this is not an issue such as the equine market.
For further information contact:
Don Pendergrast, Livestock Crops, NIAB
T: 01223 342348
M: 07809 583459
E: don.pendergrast@niab.com
Issued by:
Ros Lloyd, Front Foot Communications
T: 01487 831425
E: ros.lloyd@frontfoot.uk.com
NIAB and TAG in merger talks to create national trials and crop research centre
[May 2009]
The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) and The Arable Group (TAG) are at an advanced stage of merger discussions to create a national, independent centre for applied crop research and information.
Both organisations believe a merged operation, focused on the needs of progressive arable farmers, will provide an unrivalled source of high quality, unbiased research and information, offering expertise and services along the length of the seed, variety and crop protection development pipelines.
The merger will also bring operational benefits through increased flexibility and critical mass in key staffing areas, while improved economies of scale and resource efficiencies will provide greater financial stability and investment capability.
In a joint statement announcing the merger talks, NIAB Board Chairman Tony Pexton and TAG Board Chairman Geoff Elliott said:
“At a time of increasing interest in crop improvement and productive agriculture, a new national organisation, combining NIAB’s core skills in plant genetics, variety evaluation and seed testing with TAG’s strengths in applied agronomy research and farmer communication, will be ideally placed to meet the crop research and information needs of UK arable farmers, allied industries, levy boards, research councils and Government.”
A further announcement on the details of the merger will be made once due diligence procedures have been completed later in the summer.
For further information contact:
Tony Pexton, NIAB Board Chairman
T: 01377 271063
M: 07771 513180
E: tonypexton@pextonfarms.co.uk
Dr Tina Barsby, Chief Executive, NIAB
T: 01223 342200
M: 07711 845209
E: tina.barsby@niab.com
Geoff Elliott, TAG Board Chairman
T: 01794 301665
M: 07836 553979
E: geoff.elliott@thearablegroup.com
Colin MacEwan, Chief Executive, TAG
T: 01953 713200
M: 07919 216780
E: colin.macewan@thearablegroup.com
Issued by:
Daniel Pearsall, Front Foot Communications
T: 01487 831425
E: daniel.pearsall@frontfoot.uk.com
Wheat crops face threat of new yellow rust race
[May 2009]
The National Institute of Agricultural Botany is investigating a potential new race of yellow rust on winter wheat.
In 2008 the United Kingdom Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) collected two isolates of yellow rust from Group 1 wheat Solstice and confirmed that they were virulent on seedlings of the variety. Solstice currently has a resistance rating of 9 and, until last season, was resistant to all known races of yellow rust.
NIAB is now testing the isolates on adult plants in the field to determine the level of susceptibility of Solstice and other varieties to the yellow rust race.
Wheat growers also face a resurgence of older races of yellow rust. NIAB’s Dr Rosemary Bayles attributes this to an increasing area of varieties with the yellow rust resistance gene Yr6.
“Despite predictions that yellow rust was unlikely to be a problem because of the cold winter, outbreaks of the disease have already been detected in wheat crops particularly in the high risk areas of the East Midlands and East Anglia. Reports suggest that Robigus and Oakley are particularly affected at present,” says Dr Bayles.
Robigus, with a rating of 2, is extremely susceptible to a specific race that has dominated the yellow rust population for several years now. However, Oakley has remained largely free to date, so the more widespread appearance of the disease in crops has perhaps come as more of a surprise to growers.
UKCPVS results show that Oakley, with a rating of 6, is moderately susceptible to a separate race of yellow rust, which, although once quite common, has become less frequent in recent years. Unlike the common ‘Robigus race’ the types that infect Oakley carry virulence for the resistance gene Yr6. These are the races that infected older varieties including Madrigal, Access and Napier as well as more recent ones such as Mascot and Einstein.
“Our experience shows that as a variety becomes more widely grown on farms, yellow rust races with corresponding virulence, capable of infecting the particular variety, rapidly become more common. We would therefore expect to see an increase in Yr6-virulent races of yellow rust in response to the increasing acreage of Oakley – and this would account for the increased incidence of the disease in this variety,” says Dr Bayles.
For further information contact:
Dr Rosemary Bayles, NIAB
T: 01223 342211
E: rosemary.bayles@niab.com
Issued by:
Ros Lloyd, Front Foot Communications
T: 01487 831425
E: ros.lloyd@frontfoot.uk.com