KWS highlighted its new star baker, Group 1 bread-making wheat, KWS Zyatt, at Cereals 2018. Claiming the Group 1 top spot for yield on the 2018/19 Recommended List (RL), KWS Zyatt offers UK yields 2% higher than Skyfall, is earlier to harvest, and has high protein levels.
Thanks to KWS Zyatt’s parent varieties, Hereford and KWS Quartz, it offers farmers good options for rotational positions, particularly with its excellent performance in the popular second wheat slot.
A good disease profile with the joint highest untreated yield adds to its appeal, including good resistance to Yellow Rust, Brown Rust, Septoria tritici and Take-all as well as Fusarium.
It grows well in both the East and West of the country, it also performs well in both light and heavy soil, providing more flexibility and choice for farmers. An additional benefit is Zyatt’s short, stiff straw which has good resistance to lodging.
Shaun Taylor, technical director, Rank Hovis Milling said: “KWS Zyatt is a solid Group 1 variety. It has some unique qualities that extend its appeal to those categories that are growing, such as sandwich thins, brioche and bagels. We need varieties that perform across all applications rather than just the white loaf that we are used to.”
William Compson, KWS Cereals and sales manager said: “In our trials, KWS Zyatt has performed better than the market leader in terms of dough rheology thanks to its high wet gluten which results in a very functional protein for use in the bakery. It also has the best combination of yield and protein in AHDB studies over the past five years. The fact that it performs well in a wide variety of bakery products makes it a very exciting variety for the supply chain.
He continues: “A premium bread-making variety, KWS Zyatt can open up additional market opportunities though end-use flexibility, including export options as UKP.”
KWS Zyatt was launched at Cereals 2018 by a real-life star baker, Paul Jagger, famous for his lion bread in the Great British Bake Off television series in 2015. To celebrate the launch, Paul baked the KWS astronaut logo using Zyatt. He explained to visitors on stand the importance of using the best quality products when baking and then took part in a panel discussion with the KWS team about the key benefits of the varietal and how those key benefits were achieved. He also entertained the audience with anecdotes from his experience on the Great British Bake Off.
