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When it comes to growing wheat, choosing the right variety can make a real difference. Yield potential, disease pressure, sowing timing, and how the crop fits into your rotation all come into play. While no two seasons are ever the same, having a variety that suits your conditions and management style can help set the crop up for a strong result.
Three popular winter feed wheat options to consider are Skybolt, Voltron and Graham. Each has slightly different strengths, so it’s worth understanding what they’re best suited for before making a decision.
Skybolt: Strong Yield and Solid Disease Package
Skybolt has built a reputation for consistently high yields across a wide range of growing environments. It has performed well in Canterbury and has also shown strong results in the lower North Island.
Because Skybolt has a strong vernalisation requirement, it tends to reach its full yield potential when it’s drilled early. The ideal drilling window is from early April through to mid-June. It isn’t a variety that suits late planting, especially in areas with mild winters, as heading can be delayed.
Skybolt has moderate tillering capacity, with a tighter V-shaped tillering habit. This means target plant populations generally need to sit slightly higher than standard recommendations, especially in higher fertility situations.
One of Skybolt’s real advantages is its disease resistance profile, particularly for stripe and leaf rust as well as powdery mildew. This can help reduce disease risk and allow for more flexibility when planning fungicide programmes. Skybolt also produces large grain and strong test weights, which adds to its appeal.
Voltron: Flexible Sowing and Reliable Performance
Voltron is both a biscuit and feed dual purpose wheat that has shown very strong yield performance, particularly in Canterbury and Southland. It has been a consistent performer across a range of trial sites and is known for its performance as a second wheat in trials (FAR) and commercially on farm.
Voltron performs best when drilled in the autumn (April/May) but being facultative in nature it can be planted throughout the winter and into early spring.
It has excellent tillering ability, so sowing rates can generally sit in the low to mid-range depending on planting date and paddock conditions.
In terms of disease, Voltron has good resistance to Stripe rust and medium resistance to Septoria leaf blotch and Fusarium head blight, although it is more susceptible to leaf rust and powdery mildew, so that’s something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Voltron has shown good yield responses to a moderate to high fungicide programme and benefits from an early application for sharp eyespot.
Graham: Dependable and Suited to Lighter Seed Rates
Graham is a well-known winter feed wheat that continues to be valued for its reliability. It has delivered consistent yields across the South Island and has performed well in Canterbury, Southland and the lower North Island.
Like Skybolt, Graham has a strong vernalisation requirement and is best suited to drilling between early April and mid-June. It isn’t recommended for late sowings in areas with mild winters, as heading may be delayed.
Graham has a high tillering capacity with a broad U-shaped growth habit, which makes it particularly good at compensating for poorer establishment. Because of this, it can often be drilled at the low to mid end of the target plant population range, especially from earlier plantings.
It also has good disease resistance overall, particularly for stripe rust and Fusarium head blight, although it should still be monitored for leaf rust and tan spot. Graham is known for producing heavy grain with good test weights, and it has a lower sprouting risk, which can be a valuable trait in unsettled weather near harvest.
The best variety choice often comes down to drilling timing, paddock history, fertility, and how much flexibility you need throughout the season. To find out more talk to your Ruralco Representative.
Read the full PGGW Seeds Cereal Seeds Guide here.