DSV Champion is the highest yielding winter wheat on the new 2022/23 AHDB RL combining a comprehensive disease package, outstanding untreated yield and real world versatility, says the company’s Sarah Hawthorne.
“Whatever the soil type, whenever the drilling date and whether it’s grown with full agronomic support or with minimal inputs, DSV Champion has delivered consistently over its five years of trials,” she explains.
“DSV Champion is a fully-featured hard Group 4 wheat bred at our breeding station in Oxfordshire and is a great example of our determination to develop high output varieties capable of meeting the challenges of modern UK production.
“Its 105.9% of control in the latest RL represents a yield of over 11.4t/ha with data showing it achieves this consistently whether in the early (before 25th Sept.), medium (between 26th Sept. and 31st Oct.) or late (after 1st Nov.) drilling slots.
“Exceptional establishment characteristics mean DSV Champion is an ideal late-drilling choice with a latest sowing date recommendation of the end of February.
“It performs consistently on all soil types too, delivering 105% of control yield on light soils and 106% on heavy land plus it performs to its full potential in both first and second wheat slots at 105% and 107% of controls respectively.
Furthermore, DSV Champion’s untreated yield is impressive at 90% of treated control, equivalent to a yield of over 9.7t/ha, she says.
“This is largely down to 8s for both septoria tritici and yellow rust resistance, a 5 for brown rust and orange wheat blossom midge (OWBM) resistance. We’ve seen very little lodging over 5 years of trials, too.”
Exceptional resilience
DSV Champion breeder Dr. Matt Kerton says the variety is one of only a handful to have successfully addressed the yield-resistance trade-off.
“DSV is the only company breeding wheat in the West of the UK where the threat of disease is much higher than in other parts of the country.
“This means our varieties are being developed in conditions with greater agronomic challenges which ensures they have robust disease resistance and resilience at their heart.”
As well as DSV Champion’s list-topping performance, DSV Theodore retains its reputation as the UK’s ‘cleanest wheat’, he says, with the variety having the best Septoria resistance score on the new RL, he points out.
“Added to the RL for the West last year, Group 4 DSV Theodore is another high yielding hard feed winter wheat with outstanding disease resistance across the board.
“It’s the only variety on the new RL to get a 9 for septoria resistance, plus it’s got a 9 for yellow rust and an 8 for brown rust.”
Oilseed rape firsts
DSV also has three new hybrid oilseed rapes joining the 2022/23 AHDB RL combining high yields with a range of layered traits including multi-faceted yield protection technology, says Sarah Hawthorne.
DSV Matrix CL is the highest yielding Clearfield variety on the new RL, DSV Crossfit is the only new clubroot resistant variety to join the list whilst DSV Dart is the first variety to include HarvestMax technology in its trait set, she explains.
“These are all high performance new varieties designed to help growers make full use of the new-found confidence in oilseed rape production, wherever they are in the UK.”
DSV Matrix CL is DSV’s first quad-layered variety to join the RL combining Clearfield technology with turnip yellow virus (TUYV), RLM7+ phoma stem canker and pod shatter resistances, she points out.
“Recommended for the whole of the UK, the variety achieves 99% of full control yield giving it a treated gross output of just over 5t/ha which is exceptional for a Clearfield variety, especially as it also delivers an oil content of 45.8%.
“DSV Crossfit CR is the first ever variety on the RL which has strain specific resistance to clubroot and also has RLM7+ phoma stem canker and TuYV resistance.
“With the addition of pod shatter resistance too, DSV Crossfit CR is the only quad-layered CR variety on the new RL.”
DSV Dart is the first oilseed rape variety to be listed that includes the company’s new HarvestMax technology, Sarah Hawthorne adds.
“Recommended for the East/West region, DSV Dart has one of the highest yields on the new 2022/23 RL at 106% of control.
“It’s got a solid agronomic performance featuring 7s for resistance to light leaf spot and phoma stem canker, thanks to the inclusion of RLM7+, and it’s got TuYV resistance too.”