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Genserus wheats – the modern solution to BYDV control
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RAGT breeds, produces, and sells seeds globally. The company has one of the largest species portfolios in the seeds industry: maize, sorghum, cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, forages, cover crops and amenity.
Lee Bennett © RAGT Seeds UK Here at RAGT, we are rather proud of our new Genserus range of wheats.
Bred to be resistant to barley yellow dwarf virus, these ground-breaking varieties remove reliance on autumn-applied aphicide applications to control this potentially devastating disease, something we think every grower and agronomist will welcome.
Genserus varieties are the first BYDV-resistant wheats to be marketed in Europe. They offer protection against the virus from the day the crop is planted to the day it is harvested, for less than the cost of buying and applying a pyrethroid spray.
The trait greatly simplifies crop management and delivers targeted control, removing the need to monitor and control aphid populations with foliar-applied insecticide sprays.
This is good news for the pocket, spray operators and, of course, the environment. Whether you agree with the sentiment or not, pressure is building on agriculture to ‘clean up its act’, and the environment is now a key constituent of agricultural policy.
For example, as reported in our last newsletter, a new Integrated Pest Management standard has been introduced under Sustainable Farming Incentive, that will pay growers £45/ha payment for not using insecticides on crops.
We believe our Genserus programme is right in line with this thinking and, as new and improved varieties come along, will have more and more appeal to farmers and agronomists alike.
But don’t take our word for it. We’ve spoken to a well-respected agronomist and a farmer with experience of growing BYDV-resistant wheats, both of whom welcome the prospect of an insecticide-free autumn spraying programme on their wheats.
