Graham Feed Wheat

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  • Average yielding winter feed wheat

  • Has a wide sowing window from early April until mid June
  • Good disease resistance profile but responds well to fungicides
  • Heavy grain and high test weights, plus low sprouting risk

Description

GRAHAM winter wheat is an average yielding feed wheat cultivar bred by Syngenta in France and developed in New Zealand in conjunction with Cropmark Seeds Ltd as head licensee and PGG Wrightson Grain (PGW Grain). In the past four seasons in FAR Cultivar Performance Trial (CPT), GRAHAM has produced consistent yields across all environments. It has a good disease package and produces an intermediate hard/soft grain with high kernel weights, good test weights and high  falling numbers.

YIELD

GRAHAM has consistently produced reliable yields across a wide range of sites, with adjusted 4-year mean yields of 98%-100% across all South Island regions. 

 

CPT GRAHAM Autumn grain quality (4 year mean)

Canterbury

Southland

Lower North Island

Kernel weight (1000 seed weight) 49 49 45
Test Weight (kg/hl) 74 73 71
Protein content (%) (N% x 5.7) 10 9 11
Screenings (%) 0.7 1.0 1.6
Falling number (sec) 323 314 316

TIME OF DRILLING

Due to its strong vernalisation requirement, the full yield potential of GRAHAM is most likely to be achieved from an early drilling window of early April to mid June.

SPEED OF DEVELOPMENT

Month planted

Typical heading dates for GRAHAM in Canterbury

Late March Early November
Late May Mid-Late November
Late June Early-Mid December

From autumn plantings, GRAHAM is an early-medium maturing cultivar. However, it should not be planted after the end of June in areas with mild winters as its high vernalisation requirement may result in excessively delayed heading.

SEED RATE AND TILLERING CHARACTERISTICS

GRAHAM has a high tillering capacity and a broad U-shaped tillering habit making it excellent at compensating for poor establishment and suited to lighter seeding rates, especially from earlier plantings. Target plant populations should be at the low to medium end of the range for autumn cereals.

SOIL TYPE, ROTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

GRAHAM has shown that it can perform well under a wide range of different soil types and environments in Canterbury, Southland and the lower North Island.

DISEASE RESISTANCE

GRAHAM has good resistance to most cereal diseases in New Zealand, especially stripe rust and Fusarium head blight but monitor for tan spot and leaf rust. Considering this disease profile and previous work conducted by Cropmark Seeds Ltd, a moderate to high fungicide programme is recommended. In the 2019-2025 PGW Grain fungicide trials, GRAHAM has produced one of the  lowest untreated yields and high fungicide responses of  2.7-6.2 t/ha. Please contact your local PGW Representative for  site specific recommendations.

 

Disease resistance results:

Disease

PGW Grain disease nursery ratings
(9 highly resistant, 1 highly susceptible)

Stripe rust 9
Leaf rust 5
Septoria leaf blotch 6
Powdery mildew 7
Fusarium head blight 7

STRAW STRENGTH AND HEIGHT 

GRAHAM is a medium height cultivar with stiff straw. Use of plant growth regulators is generally recommended, with the actual programme determined by a combination of sowing date, seed rate, nitrogen use, crop thickness and yield potential. As with any cultivar, do not apply if the crop is under any form of stress. Please contact your local PGW Representative for site specific recommendations.