Grain maize lodging and brackling at the Shipdham grain
maize trial in 2010
The stormy conditions in late October and November, followed by recent cold weather, has provided valuable updates to variety lodging and brackling scores for the new 2011 NIAB Grain Maize Descriptive List.
Produced in conjunction with BSPB and the Maize Growers Association the 2011 List is the first in two years. “We lost trials in 2009 and with such a small dataset it was felt that the 2010 List should be deferred for a year, so we’re delighted that 2010 was such a good growing season for grain maize. Despite the late storms, which provided such good lodging data, the crops benefited from the favourable wet weather around flowering and a warm wet autumn period resulting in good cob filling,” explains NIAB maize specialist Don Pendergrast.
“The new lodging data reminds growers of the need to select grain maize varieties based on the intended usage. Varieties that fall over are a serious risk to grain maize production and don’t win favour with growers who will lose yield as a result of lodging and brackling. The lower the ‘harvestability’ score the better the variety stands up to wind pressure; in some cases a more flexible variety with a good wind resistance can be harvested later,” he says.
There are ten fully listed varieties on the new 2011 List showing a range of wind resistance. The best performer in this category remains the long established variety Baltis from Grainseeds. Established varieties ES Alanis (Grainseeds), ES Pallas (Grainseeds), NK Falkone (Syngenta Seeds) and PR39K13 (Pioneer) perform well which may be the key to their longevity in the market. The newly listed varieties MAS13L (Maisadour) and Coryphee (KWS) also show notably good resistance to wind damage.
Of the five newly listed varieties on the 2011 NIAB Grain Maize Descriptive List Mr Pendergrast highlights three in particular:
Coryphee from KWS has a very good balance of grain yield at 102% of controls and a grain dry-down score of 33.4%. This is comparable to Baltis at 34.0%, the List’s benchmark, with only a few varieties offering a better dry-down rate although those all show notably lower yields than Coryphee. The variety has very good resistance to wind damage.
MAS13L from Maisadour shows very good resistance to wind damage, 106% yield with a later dry-down score, and may be suitable as a multi-use variety where harvest date is not a concern.
KWS’s Salgado is the highest yielding fully listed variety at 110% without having too late a dry-down rate. It shows some moderate susceptibility to wind damage, but overall offers good potentials for use in grain maize production and crimping.
For further information
Don Pendergrast, Herbage and Forage Specialist, NIAB
T: 01223 342348
M: 07809 583459
E: don.pendergrast [at] niab.com
Issued by
Ros Lloyd, FrontFoot Communications
T: 01487 831425
M: 07711 568164
E: ros.lloyd [at] frontfoot.uk.com