Munroe winter wheat for Scotland and the north

Article taken from ATN Magazine

John Blackman Agriculture is to launch Munroe, a new winter wheat variety aimed at growers in Scotland and the north of England. Munroe is bred from the same stable as the Belepi and Monterey varieties.
Breeders’ agents Ebbage Seeds, now part of Agrovista, is managing the development of Munroe in conjunction with Scottish Agronomy. Tom Nickerson of the company says: “Monroe has consistently outyielded the principal soft wheats grown in Scotland in trials at Scottish Agronomy for two years running, and has performed admirably throughout a number of trial sites in the UK National List
trials network in 2014 and 2015.

“Looking at quality, the variety is a soft endosperm winter wheat with a high specific weight which ensures yield is maintained in seasons of low sunlight. Uniquely, it has a
low Hagberg score but high sprouting resistance. It will undergo commercial tests for distilling following the 2016 harvest.

“Monroe also offers a sound package of disease resistance with no particular weaknesses. The variety is resistant to orange wheat blossom midge, minimising insecticide use. “Its maturity profile suits Scottish and northern growers as it can be drilled from early September and has no maturity issues. For comparison, it is similar to Horatio and noticeably earlier than Revelation. Scottish Agronomy is
currently undertaking detailed trials for 2016 harvest to determine the best management package to maximise yield.”