United Kingdom
April 2020
With the top Septoria resistance score and the highest scoring overall combination of disease resistance features on the AHDB 2020/21 RL, DSV’s new group 4 winter wheat Theodore is the cleanest wheat on the market, says the company’s Mike Mann.
“Theodore gets an 8.2 for Septoria resistance and its combined resistance scores to the most common foliar diseases also tops the list.
“With an untreated yield of 90% of the 11.2t/ha UK control, its untreated yield is over 10.0t/ha in the RL which is pretty impressive for a wheat crop with no agronomic inputs.”
Its inclusion on the RL follows a year where strikingly clean crops of the variety were seen up and down the country resulting in considerable comment, he explains.
“It’s an unavoidable fact that many of the highest yielding recommended varieties only achieve their output with a lot of agronomic support – many of the untreated yields on the new RL are in the 70% and 80% region compared to Theodore’s 90%.
“As well as the highest Septoria resistance score, Theodore also scores a 9 for yellow rust, a 7 for brown rust and a 6 for fusarium ear blight which contribute to its overall top spot for combined disease resistance score.”
The variety’s development gives hope that genetics will be able to replace the sprayer to a large degree in the future, Mike Mann adds.
“More and more farmers are sensibly looking at the economics of a variety rather than just its potential yield. Theodore is very much a variety for today and a great choice for the conscientious grower.
“The genetics of Theodore are able to control disease when the weather and other commitments prevent perfect timings of fungicide applications.
“In addition, its superb combination of disease resistance and agronomic properties points the way to genuinely lower cost wheat production in the future.”