SY Cheer has been confirmed as a full Group 1 variety by UK Flour Millers and offers growers the chance to reduce some of the risks of growing wheat for breadmaking, claims breeder Syngenta.
As well as bringing exceptional grain quality for growers, SY Cheer backs this up with consistent yields across the country and no major weaknesses to the common foliar wheat diseases, including plugging an important gap against rust, explains Matthew Bull, seeds technical manager. “The Group 1 winter wheat market hasn’t had a new recommended variety since 2017, and was in desperate need. We see SY Cheer as a quality wheat made simple and expect it to gain significant interest, both from growers and millers.
“When grown for bread milling, its AHDB RL figure of 13% protein matches the threshold often required by millers. Its other quality characteristics on the independent AHDB RL, of 299 Hagberg and 79.5 kg/hl specific weight, far exceed the other typical requirements of 250 Hagberg and 76 kg/hl.
“Also, SY Cheer brings disease resistance ratings of 7.4 against yellow rust, 6.0 against septoria tritici and 5.5 against brown rust. This balanced foliar disease resistance profile underpins its high and stable yields; it has the highest untreated yield figure among Group 1 varieties on the current AHDB winter wheat RL.”
Syngenta seeds portfolio marketing manager, Kathryn Hamlen, suggests SY Cheer is a potential breakthrough variety for growers. “Over recent years the percentage of the UK wheat area planted with Group 1 varieties has dropped, yet demand for Group 1 breadmaking wheat remains high. SY Cheer could reinvigorate the Group 1 market to help stabilise domestic production.
“We know that weather extremes can make achieving grain quality specifications a gamble. The high quality of SY Cheer will hopefully bring reassurance to growers. The wet 2023 harvest illustrated the importance of a variety with an inherently high Hagberg.”
Mrs Hamlen believes growers will be further reassured with its disease resistance ratings and high untreated yield given unpredictable disease patterns with ongoing climate volatility.
Agronomically, SY Cheer has wide drilling date flexibility from mid-September to late January, and offers good lodging resistance with relatively long straw and medium maturity. “Overall, we see SY Cheer as a high quality variety for milling wheat growers to consider as part of their portfolio.”
