Starfire Feed Wheat

Starfire product logo

• A consistently high yielding winter feed wheat
• High yield potential under early sowing and irrigation
• Well suited to Canterbury and Southland regions
• Wide planting window due to low vernalisation requirement

 

 

Description

STARFIRE is an established consistently performing feed wheat cultivar bred by Limagrain UK and further developed by PGG Wrightson Grain (PGW Grain). It has a compact efficient plant type with stiff short-medium straw. STARFIRE produces a plump soft endosperm grain with excellent grain quality characteristics.

Yield

STARFIRE has been a consistent performer in FAR CPT trials since 2012 across a range of sites throughout Canterbury and Southland. Although it is no longer topping as many trials as it was six years ago, it remains a cultivar that will deliver top yields given appropriate management i.e. good, even plant establishment and disease control with appropriate fungicides. It has also been the leader in second year wheat in FAR trials and again given good establishment and foliar disease management should be the first choice in this situation.

CPT STARFIRE Autumn grain quality (4 year mean)

Canterbury

Southland

Lower North Island

Kernel weight (1000 seed weight) 43 43 36
Test weight (kg/hl) 74 72 66
Protein content (%) (N% x 5.7) 10.8 9.7 11.3
Screenings (%) 1.1 0.9 1.3

Time of drilling

The full yield potential of STARFIRE is most likely to be achieved from an early drilling window of early to late April. It will also produce good yields from May and early June plantings due to its low vernalisation requirement and plant growth characteristics.

Speed of development

Month planted

Typical heading dates for STARFIRE in Canterbury

Late March Early November
Late May Late November
Late June Early December
STARFIRE is an intermediate maturing cultivar. It is notable for its rapid development and grain fill after ear emergence.

Seed rate and tillering characteristics

STARFIRE has moderate tillering capacity and a tight V-shaped tillering habit. Target plant populations should be at the higher end of the ranges. A good guideline is to increase your sowing rate by 25% above the standard PGW Grain wheat seed rate guidelines

Soil type, rotation and geography

STARFIRE has shown that it can perform well under a range of different soil types and environments in Canterbury, Southland and the lower North Island. STARFIRE has yielded extremely well under irrigation as well as many rainfed/dryland situations. It has also been the top yielding cultivar in the FAR second-year wheat trials for many years.

Disease resistance

STARFIRE has good resistance to stripe rust but is moderately susceptible to most other foliar diseases, especially Septoria leaf blotch and one powdery mildew race. Considering this disease profile, a robust fungicide programme (T0, T1, T2 and T3) is recommended. In the 2019/20-2022/23 PGW Grain fungicide trials, STARFIRE has produced one of the lowest untreated yields and high fungicide responses of 3.6-6.1 t/ha. Please contact your local PGW Representative for site specific recommendations.

Disease

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

Stripe rust 8
Leaf rust 5
Septoria leaf blotch 4
Powdery mildew 5
Fusarium head blight 5

Straw strength and height

STARFIRE is a medium height cultivar with good standing power. It responds well to moderate plant growth regulator (PGR) programmes. The actual programme is 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.