How to ensure later drilled wheat crops reach full potential

• Select a variety suitable for delayed drilling
• Prepare a good seed-bed and increase seed rate
• Use a seed treatment to increase crop resilience

Cereal growers utilised the good weather towards the end of September to get crops in the ground. For many, delaying drilling until mid-October onwards is still the target.

Below are key considerations to ensure later drilled wheat crops perform.

Select a variety which is suitable for delayed drilling

SY Insitor and Gleam are preferred varieties in the delayed slot at 104% and 103% of controls respectively on the current Recommended List 2021/22.

SY Insitor has vigorous early root development which may help facilitate excellent late drilled performance.

More extensive roots can enhance crop resilience over winter, to provide a platform for high yield potential.

SY Insitor has:

• 12% extra root length
• Longer total primary root length
• Greater total lateral root length

© Syngenta

GLEAM is an extremely consistent variety with a very wide drilling window – safe for drilling right through to mid-February. GLEAM has high tiller potential and high tiller retention.

It has a relatively prostate over-winter development but with that it puts out a vast number of tillers before initiating stem extension which could help build the varieties stability in more challenging conditions.

Target even establishment with an increased seed rate

Seed-bed conditions can be a bigger factor than drill date on crop establishment so in later drilled crops, seed-bed preparation is key.

Planting into a colder seed-bed is likely to reduce establishment and plants will have less time to compensate through tillering so seed rates should be increased accordingly.

View seed rate table

Utilise Vibrance® Duo seed treatment

Vibrance Duo seed treatment not only manages common seed and soil-borne diseases, but is also proven to have crop establishment benefits, alongside root enhancement.

Read more here