Getting the most out of Group 4s

KWS Dawsum has delivered a stellar performance since its launch in 2022 and is now the UK’s most popular high yielding wheat with the new soft Group 4 KWS Zealum waiting in the wings.

KWS Dawsum’s combination of consistently high yields, real world flexibility and strong agronomics has made it the wheat to beat in fields across the UK over the last two years, says the company’s Jamie Kirkwood.

“New in 2022, KWS Dawsum has quickly established itself as the most popular hard Group 4 in the UK, offering ultimate flexibility on farm and fantastic yields right across the rotation.

© KWS UK LTD

“In the 2023/24 AHDB Recommended List, KWS Dawsum achieves a yield of 104% for the UK as a whole but for the north this rises to 105%.

“It’s a bankable barn filler delivering great yields with an exceptional specific weight of 80.0 kg/hl – one of the highest on the market today. Plus, it’s a really clean, nice plant type with one of the widest sowing windows available.

“In the latest RL, for example, early drilling yield is 107% whilst mainstream and late sown slots are still 104% which offers real versatility, especially for growers in the North of the country.

“That lack of yield penalty in the later drilling slots will be of real benefit to many growers, particularly in view of the more variable growing conditions we now face.

“It’s also very unusual for such a high yielding variety to have such flexibility with many other big hitters rapidly losing yield potential the later they are sown. That’s not the case with KWS Dawsum.

“It’s a great second wheat too, delivering 105% of controls in the latest RL compared to the 102% seen in some of the other popular Group 4s when they are drilled as second wheats.

KWS Dawsum delivers an untreated yield of 95%, second only to KWS Extase, and includes diseases resistance scores of 6.4 for septoria and 9 for yellow rust, he points out.

“Such overall versatility is going to be a really big advantage to growers, especially as this agronomic package means you can drill it earlier, if needed, without yellow rust, septoria or poor standing becoming issues later.”

Top performer

Northumberland grower Jim Lang harvested his first crop of KWS Dawsum at West Ord Farm, Berwick-upon-Tweed during 2022, achieving the farm’s top yield of 12t/ha with a specific weight of 83kg/hl.

So well did it perform that he has increased the area for 2023 harvest by fifty percent.

A key factor in the decision to grow the high-yielding Group 4 hard feed is its suitability for early drilling, a vital consideration in an area where the weather can turn harsh very quickly in the autumn, he says.

“For the last five years all my winter wheat area has consisted of Group 4 hard feed varieties,” says Jim, who joined the YEN (Yield Enhancement Network) in 2021.

“That is because it is difficult to consistently achieve sufficient protein or Hagberg levels for other uses, and this approach simplifies storage.

“All the wheats yielded fantastically well this year and the average yield was significantly higher than the 10t/ha achieved in 2021.

“KWS Dawsum was our highest yielding variety and averaged 12t/ha, which was very pleasing, followed by Grafton at 11.7t/ha.”

The KWS Dawsum was very clean coming out of winter, even on the light land following spring oats, looked well throughout the season and produced the goods at harvest, he says.

“I usually aim to start drilling on 5 September and get all of the first wheats in by 20 September, because if the weather does break it can get very wet, very quickly.

“This year, the ground was so dry that it was not possible to start drilling during the first week of September.

Eventually we had a 30mm rain event which allowed us to begin on 13 September and all winter crops were in the ground by 25 September.

“The seed rate on our light land was 255/m2 and I went up to 400/m2 for second wheats, but for the KWS Dawsum it was 325/m2.

“KWS Dawsum is a variety with all the qualities I look for in a winter wheat and one which I think it will be around for many years.”

Perfect fit

David Robinson, head of innovation and knowledge transfer at Frontier Agriculture Ltd and founder of the company’s Crop Dynamics division, which Jim is a member of, says KWS Dawsum has proven a very a good fit for the farm.

“I have worked with Jim on agronomy for almost 35 years and know how passionate he is about variety choice.

“With the weather patterns in the Borders as they are, standing power, bushel weight and disease profile are the fundamental building blocks for a variety to be successful.

“Because of the geographical locality of the farm, Septoria and yellow rust can be problematic in many seasons, too.

“We looked at a number of trials and identified that the key attributes of KWS Dawsum would be idea for his farm circumstances.

“The trials also indicated th

at the variety would have a medium to strong tillering capacity, which would also be an asset.”

In Frontier’s own trials when drilled in September, October and at the end of November it yielded 108%, 104% and 104% respectively.

© KWS UK LTD

Why KWS Zealum is a great big softy

New for farmers in autumn 2023, KWS Zealum is a super stiff, super versatile, soft Group 4 wheat that has a resilient combination of characteristics delivering performance in a range of challenging growing conditions and locations, Jamie Kirkwood says.

“With just under 40% of the soft Group 4 market sown in the AHDB north area, KWS Zealum brings all of the key characteristics needed for a northern wheat to perform on farm.

“It’s fully approved for distilling, giving access to the 400,000 tonne distilling market in that region and delivers the very best performance in very early and early sown trials, along with a good disease package including a 7 for mildew and 6 for resistance to sprouting.

Whilst it is a first choice variety for growers from the east through to Scotland, its advantages don’t stop there, he says.

“The majority of soft Group 4s are sown in the east and west, serving the UK’s bioethanol and soft milling homes, so KWS Zealum’s great overall package will be of benefit to growers here too.

“It has good resistance to sprouting, coupled with excellent resistance to fusarium and yellow rust, complemented by OWBM resistance too.

“Furthermore, thanks to its stiff straw, it’s a useful wheat on heavier land or more fertile soils. So if you are looking for a wheat that performs in the most challenging of conditions, then take a closer look at KWS Zealum for your farm this autumn.”