Wheat crops hit worst by BYDV last autumn - agronomist
Wheat took the brunt of the Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) attacks that hit freshly planted winter cereal crops last autumn.
This is according to Goldcrop agronomist, John Dunne.
He made the assertion while speaking at an open evening hosted by the seed company at its trials site in Co. Louth yesterday (June 8).
Dunne added that septoria remains the biggest disease threat for winter wheat, and highlighted that the new variant of yellow rust that rose to prominence in 2025,is now present in Ireland.
He said: “The disease is most likely to have its greatest impact in drier areas of the country, close to Ireland’s east coast.
“The reality is that the new variant of yellow rust arrived in this country courtesy of wind-borne spores that came across from Britain.”
The Goldcrop agronomist referenced yellow rust as a "nuisance disease", adding that its impact on final yields cannot be overlooked.
He explained: “Taking action against yellow rust early in the season is a priority. But it can come back again.
"This is why specific fungicide chemistries to deal with yellow rust were included in all the T1, T2 and T3 spray mixes applied to our wheat trials this year."
New varieties
Where new wheat varieties are concerned, Irish growers can look forward to a suite of new options becoming commercially available, that will have inherently higher resistance to septoria, yellow rust, and lodging.
Dunne advised: “Growers should also take note of a crop variety’s specify weight, or KPH (kilogrammes per hectolitre) value.
In those years when the weather at harvest is poor, varieties with a high KPH value can retain their quality for longer.”
The Goldcrop representative specifically highlighted the potential of the new variety, WPB Fairview, as being a winter wheat option with the potential to deliver under Irish growing conditions.
Under two years of Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine trial conditions, the variety has generated high yields, excellent KPH values, top class straw quality and inherently high lodging and disease resistance ratings.
On the back of these performance levels, Goldcrop will be making small quantities of Fairview available later in the autumn.
Another new winter wheat variety with significant potential is KWS Checkmate.
It has been specifically identified courtesy of Goldcrop’s extensive winter wheat screening programme which assesses 2,000 new varieties on an annual basis.
John Dunne believes Checkmate to be a variety that is uniquely suited to Irish growing conditions.
However, seed will not be commercially available for another two years, at least.
