Yield Improvement

There is an interesting presentation here -

http://www.ofc.org.uk/files/ofc/papers/maurice-moloney.pd

From the graphs presented there does appear to be a surge in yields in the UK late last century but his has since leveled off somewhat. I'm still going through it myself but there are some interesting points being made and I note the idea of total carbon harvest is being revisited.

That link wouldn't work for me but I think I found the Maurice Moloney paper under Papers on the OFC site.
Very interesting indeed a big challenge - getting wheat yields to 20t/ha by 2020.

As promised, I've spent a little time comparing spring barley and winter wheat yields over the last 10 yrs of Irish department of agriculture trials.

Not easy to get a good comparison, I need to use the same variety in each year as a control but the problem is that controls become outclassed and dropped after a number of years. Using absolute yields isn't useful as yields will vary from year to year.

Using a period of less than 10 years isn't useful either such is the slow and stepwise nature of variety yield improvement...
 
That link wouldn't work for me but I think I found the Maurice Moloney paper under Papers on the OFC site.
Very interesting indeed a big challenge - getting wheat yields to 20t/ha by 2020.

As promised, I've spent a little time comparing spring barley and winter wheat yields over the last 10 yrs of Irish department of agriculture trials.

Not easy to get a good comparison, I need to use the same variety in each year as a control but the problem is that controls become outclassed and dropped after a number of years. Using absolute yields isn't useful as yields will vary from year to year.

Using a period of less than 10 years isn't useful either such is the slow and stepwise nature of variety yield improvement...

Cork, I think a fairer comparison is to compare the base yield off which each variety is measured, I found the 2004 recommended list
W.W. for 2004 the base yield was 9.963T/ha @ 15% moisture
and for 2014 the base yield is 9.49tons
W.B. for 2004 the base yield was 8.11T/ha @ 15%
and for 2014 the base yield is 8.85tons
S.B. 2004 = 7.23ton
S.B. 2013 = 7.69ton

I think most farmers would relate to these figures, Barley is yielding better than 10 years ago, Wheat is not.
 
Thanks Gone. I'm still not sure if your approach is that reliable...

My gut feeling is that wheat variety yield potential has increased but this isn't being realised in the fields....
 
The genetics of Einstein have not improved in 10 years, but it is still holding its own. None of the barley varieties are lasting half as long.
This is not solely because of Einstein's greatness and a love of it like Barra, it is not alone other old wheat varieties holding their own.
 
From the presentation it looks as if all the low hanging fruit has been had as far as breeding is concerned and now it seems that they are really having to pick the plant apart to identify where improvements can be made. Much the same with fungicides where the fungal genomes are also being deconstructed to identify sites for future chemicals to attack. No miracles tomorrow it would appear.
 
From the presentation it looks as if all the low hanging fruit has been had as far as breeding is concerned and now it seems that they are really having to pick the plant apart to identify where improvements can be made. Much the same with fungicides where the fungal genomes are also being deconstructed to identify sites for future chemicals to attack. No miracles tomorrow it would appear.

I agree with you there TF.

Breeders have focused on the obvious things like, grains/ear, grain size, stems/m2 etc.
Developments in fungicides over the years may have somewhat lessened the focus on varietal disease resistance.

A breeder recently told me that they have relatively little knowledge of what happens under the soil surface. The whole region of the rooting zone needs a huge amount of research.
If one thinks about it, a wheat plant may only grow to 90cm in height. Whereas the roots can penetrate down to many many metres, so the root zone occupies a multiple of the space occupied by the leaves and stems.
 
quote=gone;243054]The genetics of Einstein have not improved in 10 years, but it is still holding its own. None of the barley varieties are lasting half as long.
This is not solely because of Einstein's greatness and a love of it like Barra, it is not alone other old wheat varieties holding their own.[/quote]

Some varieties are definitely more consistent than others. Einstein and Barra would be examples of that.

However, I would have to say that over the past 6-7 years trials (my own screening trials and official trials) have shown that newer varieties of wheat have more yield potential than Einstein and Cordiale.

Getting reliable yield improvement is the main catch.



I would take the following view; wheat varieties can be divided into two main groups currently:

Softer types: These are mainly feed varieties which the breeders have been more successful in breeding for high yield. They have a large seed size and given the right year, nothing can match them for yield. However, they can often have less resistance to sprouting and fusarium and can tumble in a wet year.

Hard types: These types have a smaller seed size and are usually less susceptible to sprouting. They are more consistent over wet and dry years but are usually a bit behind the soft types in terms of yield.

Einstein, Lumos, Cordiale and Diego would be examples of hard types. I would also consider them very reliable across many different years.


The main thing that most growers look at when choosing a new variety is yield and who can blame them. However, I think consistency of performance is just as important.
 
Funny, the first thing I look at when choosing a Wheat variety is now KPH.
I will not reject a variety for only having 95% yield on the list but will for having a low Kph.
 
I agree with you there TF.

Breeders have focused on the obvious things like, grains/ear, grain size, stems/m2 etc.
Developments in fungicides over the years may have somewhat lessened the focus on varietal disease resistance.

A breeder recently told me that they have relatively little knowledge of what happens under the soil surface. The whole region of the rooting zone needs a huge amount of research.
If one thinks about it, a wheat plant may only grow to 90cm in height. Whereas the roots can penetrate down to many many metres, so the root zone occupies a multiple of the space occupied by the leaves and stems.

Breeders were saying just that errr.... far too many years ago when I was but a spotty yoof! :D When do you reckon they'll actually get round to having a look?
 
Funny, the first thing I look at when choosing a Wheat variety is now KPH.
I will not reject a variety for only having 95% yield on the list but will for having a low Kph.

Probably not a bad way to choose them... a high kph usually means its a hard type that I mentioned above (not always!)
 
Breeders were saying just that errr.... far too many years ago when I was but a spotty yoof! :D When do you reckon they'll actually get round to having a look?

God only knows, it's always easier to make observations above ground than under it!
 
Probably not a bad way to choose them... a high kph usually means its a hard type that I mentioned above (not always!)

Not the only thing I look at but is the only thing I will reject a variety outright on and even if better than another variety in all other ways I will not consider it.
 
I have plenty of independent trials info from the dept of agri trials to show the yield improvement. I'll be in the office during the week and will collate some of it.

I also have my own plot data to show increasing yield in winter barley as seed rates increase, I'll present that also.


Well, managed to dig out the results that I found when I carried out a little Winter Barley seed rate trial from a few years ago. Quite interesting - yields rose as the seed rate increased. However, once I went over 385 plants/m2 the yield actually plateaued or even reduced.

The varieties used were Cassia and Saffron.

The trial was carried out using replicated plots and harvested using a trials combine. All quite accurate.



Date: 26/07/2011
YIELD at T/Ha (15%mc)



1 SAFFRON 220 plants/m2 9.1
2 SAFFRON 275 plants/m2 8.8
3 SAFFRON 330 plants/m2 9.9
4 SAFFRON 385 plants/m2 9.0
5 CASSIA 220 plants/m2 9.5
6 CASSIA 275 plants/m2 10.0
7 CASSIA 330 plants/m2 10.5
8 CASSIA 385 plants/m2 9.8
LSD (P=.05) 0.63
Standard Deviation 0.27
CV 2.79
 
Well, managed to dig out the results that I found when I carried out a little Winter Barley seed rate trial from a few years ago. Quite interesting - yields rose as the seed rate increased. However, once I went over 385 plants/m2 the yield actually plateaued or even reduced.

The varieties used were Cassia and Saffron.

The trial was carried out using replicated plots and harvested using a trials combine. All quite accurate.



Date: 26/07/2011
YIELD at T/Ha (15%mc)



1 SAFFRON 220 plants/m2 9.1
2 SAFFRON 275 plants/m2 8.8
3 SAFFRON 330 plants/m2 9.9
4 SAFFRON 385 plants/m2 9.0
5 CASSIA 220 plants/m2 9.5
6 CASSIA 275 plants/m2 10.0
7 CASSIA 330 plants/m2 10.5
8 CASSIA 385 plants/m2 9.8
LSD (P=.05) 0.63
Standard Deviation 0.27
CV 2.79
I heard a researcher say recently that his view was that to increase wb yields we should sow at a very high seed rate, then let it starve in the spring until only one tiller and main stem remained. he reckoned we still needed the same ear count and this could lead to increased yield on a commercial basis. thoughts?
 
I heard a researcher say recently that his view was that to increase wb yields we should sow at a very high seed rate, then let it starve in the spring until only one tiller and main stem remained. he reckoned we still needed the same ear count and this could lead to increased yield on a commercial basis. thoughts?

Interesting and probably agrees with what I observed. A thick crop won't produce as many tillers in the first place anyway.

While a thinner crop may produce lots of tillers, my feeling is that the plant can only properly feed a certain number of stems/ears. Therefore you need to have a certain number of plants/m2 for maximum yield.

Wheat behaves differently though from what I've seen.

Not sure about starving a crop though...
 
God only knows, it's always easier to make observations above ground than under it!


I should imagine the other problem is that there are many more variables underground. A field of wheat will experience the same climate but probably not the same soil conditions over it's whole area.
 
Always think the untreated yields and plots are the most interesting things to look at in trials. I look on it as a natural platform to stand yield up on. I think @bogman s points above are very valid. The disappearance of mixed farming, long term tilling, lack of rotation and organic manures have stalled yield progress imv. I honestly think the more important challenge will be building tougher and more resilient consistent performers than high potential show ponies. I'd love to see varieties scored for their rooting aggressiveness...early vigour....drought tolerance.....and on
Looking at the yield on rl is a waste of time. As gone says kph and disease scores are more important imv. To get to multiplication, the have to be within an ass's roar of each other anyway.
I at frustrated with how rl varieties drop as well. There can be things that perform well locally or in certain conditions.
 
Always think the untreated yields and plots are the most interesting things to look at in trials. I look on it as a natural platform to stand yield up on. I think @bogman s points above are very valid. The disappearance of mixed farming, long term tilling, lack of rotation and organic manures have stalled yield progress imv. I honestly think the more important challenge will be building tougher and more resilient consistent performers than high potential show ponies. I'd love to see varieties scored for their rooting aggressiveness...early vigour....drought tolerance.....and on
Looking at the yield on rl is a waste of time. As gone says kph and disease scores are more important imv. To get to multiplication, the have to be within an ass's roar of each other anyway.
I at frustrated with how rl varieties drop as well. There can be things that perform well locally or in certain conditions.

Would it be fair to say that on average the performance of trials around the country will give a representative performance for the varieties in the same climate & soils that we deal with on farms?
The varieties with the greater ability to yield in our conditions (which is what we are paid for) will generally rise to the top?
Granted if like me, you have pet hates like Yellow Rust or sprouting you can then filter down to the varieties which come close to what you want?
 
Would it be fair to say that on average the performance of trials around the country will give a representative performance for the varieties in the same climate & soils that we deal with on farms?
The varieties with the greater ability to yield in our conditions (which is what we are paid for) will generally rise to the top?
Granted if like me, you have pet hates like Yellow Rust or sprouting you can then filter down to the varieties which come close to what
It's never going to be perfect. RL screening does a fair but brutally simple job I think. But if you wanted to build a system for blowing up say fungicide actives you would have 3 main varieties of say wheat for multiplication....all sown within a few weeks all sprayed with the same Actives at the same time....selecting for the same resistant strains.......blah blah
Maybe we need a bit more diversity and longevity in seed varieties. Practically impossible for all manner of reasons I know.
I have seen some hippy madness about increased yields with mixing varieties in field.
The stuff of @CORK nightmares
 
We entered a WOSR crop for the YEN this year. It is mainly entered by UK growers but also some from Ireland and a couple of continental countries.

It's an interesting process.

Here is the report for those that might be interested.
 

Attachments

  • OF00267_Oilseed YEN.pdf
    2.7 MB · Views: 89
The improvements in spring barleys have surpassed all the improvements of the other cultivars tho. Is this because there is more time and money put into it due to malting etc or is it the lower disease issues have allowed it push in rather than say winter wheat where septoria messes up the 6 tonners very quickly. ?They get well north of the 6 every year in Wexford according to Twitter.
There’s certainly a view that wheat yields have stagnated across Europe.
I’d say there’s more money going into wheat breeding than spring barley breeding.

I doubt if there’s a single reason why wheat yields aren’t rising as quickly as we would like. I don’t know for sure what all the reasons are but in the case of Ireland, Septoria would certainly be a big factor.
In many situations, wheat crops receive an awful dose of herbicide for Blackgrass/Brome etc.
I don’t even like the likes of Alister for this reason.

I attended an agronomy course in Cambridge during the week. The lecturer was an agronomist from Shropshire. They have Blackgrass as you’d expect and now resistant Italian ryegrass is becoming a more serious issue. He was suggesting a “stack” of herbicide actives to tackle the grass. I’ve no doubt that this level of herbicide will hit the yield of the wheat. 4tn/ac was the go of it for them, they weren’t using enough nitrogen either.

Years ago, wheat could be sown earlier and grass weeds and Septoria weren’t so difficult to control. This gave great establishment and I’m sure full fields and big well developed root systems gave a lot of yield.
If I had to pick the biggest yield constraint in winter wheat on our farm over the years, establishment would certainly be it.

The same agronomist was discussing WOSR also. Going back the years, 5tn/ha was a regular enough occurrence in his region but 4tn/ha is now more like it. I asked him why the yield had come back so much. He said Clubroot was a common problem from tight rotations. Flea beetle was an issue too.
5tn back to 4tn is a 20% drop. It’s actually more because the yield potential of the WOSR varieties has been rising at the same time….

He wasn’t a fan of “regen ag”; I liked him.
 
Last edited:
There’s certainly a view that wheat yields have stagnated across Europe.
I’d say there’s more money going into wheat breeding than spring barley breeding.

I doubt if there’s a single reason why wheat yields aren’t rising as quickly as we would like. I don’t know for sure what all the reasons are but in the case of Ireland, Septoria would certainly be a big factor.
In many situations, wheat crops receive an awful dose of herbicide for Blackgrass/Brome etc.
I don’t even like the likes of Alister for this reason.

I attended an agronomy course in Cambridge during the week. The lecturer was an agronomist from Shropshire. They have Blackgrass as you’d expect and now resistant Italian ryegrass is becoming a more serious issue. He was suggesting a “stack” of herbicide actives to tackle the grass. I’ve no doubt that this level of herbicide will hit the yield of the wheat. 4tn/ac was the go of it for them, they weren’t using enough nitrogen either.

Years ago, wheat could be sown earlier and grass weeds and Septoria weren’t so difficult to control. This gave great establishment and I’m sure full fields and big well developed root systems gave a lot of yield.
If I had to pick the biggest yield constraint in winter wheat on our farm over the years, establishment would certainly be it.

The same agronomist was discussing WOSR also. Going back the years, 5tn/ha was a regular enough occurrence in his region but 4tn/ha is now more like it. I asked him why the yield had come back so much. He said Clubroot was a common problem from tight rotations. Flea beetle was an issue too.
5tn back to 4tn is a 20% drop. It’s actually more because the yield potential of the WOSR varieties has been rising at the same time….

He wasn’t a fan of “regen ag”; I liked him.
Talking this week to 1 guy and he said his osr yields have gone up over 10%from just having a few bee hives near the fields🤷‍♂️
 
Talking this week to 1 guy and he said his osr yields have gone up over 10%from just having a few bee hives near the fields🤷‍♂️
I’ve heard similar reports before. Not sure how he knows for definite that they went up 10% because of the hives?
 
Back
Top