One of only five Group 1 varieties on the current AHDB winter wheat Recommended List, SY Cheer has now been confirmed as a full Group 1 variety by UK Flour Millers.

Matthew Bull, seeds technical manager for the variety’s breeder, Syngenta, says as well as bringing exceptional grain quality for growers, Cheer backs this up with consistent yields across the country and no major foliar disease weaknesses.

“The Group 1 winter wheat market hasn’t had a new recommended variety since 2017,” explains Matthew. “We see Cheer as a quality wheat made simple and expect it to gain significant interest, both from growers and millers.”

Milling spec

When grown for bread milling, its AHDB RL figure of 13% protein matches the threshold often required by millers, he adds. “And 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.

“Whereas for growers, Cheer brings disease resistance ratings of 7.4 for yellow rust and 6 for Septoria tritici on the RL, 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 RL.”

All-rounder

Syngenta seeds portfolio marketing manager, Kathryn Hamlen, says the combination of quality, yield and disease resistance makes Cheer a potential breakthrough variety.

“During 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,” she says. “Cheer could reinvigorate the Group 1 market to help stabilise domestic production.”

Kathryn believes that weather extremes can make achieving grain quality specifications a gamble. “The high quality of Cheer will hopefully bring reassurance to growers – the wet 2023 harvest illustrated the importance of a variety with an inherently high Hagberg.

“Similarly, with unpredictable disease epidemics, its resistance ratings and high untreated yield should give reassurance.”

Agronomics

Agronomically, Kathryn says 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 Cheer as a high quality variety for milling wheat growers to consider as part of their portfolio,” she concludes.