Grafton

Sow Early – Harvest Early

Agronomically, Grafton is one of the most versatile feed wheats available to UK growers.  Fully Recommended by the HGCA, it has been quick to gain mainstream acceptability and appeal in a wide range of positions on farm.

Last autumn Grafton sold out. Viewed by growers and agronomists as an ideal partner for Oakley in all wheat production systems, particularly for early drilling and the second wheat slot.

End Use

A hard Group 4 wheat, Grafton has the highest specific weight in its class with exceptional Hagbergs and a good level of protein.

In addition, Grafton is a non 1B1Rwheat and so will suit all animal feed uses.

Early to Drill and Early to Harvest

Grafton has precisely the characteristics needed for those looking to make an early start to their wheat drilling campaign.

One of the slowest varieties to develop, short, stiff, exceptional eyespot resistance and high specific weight, it can be drilled at least as early as Claire.

As a result, Grafton will allow you to spread your workload with little risk of the variety being damaged by frost or becoming over-proud and unmanageable.

When it comes to maturity, Grafton is just one day later than Cordiale and will be one of the first to harvest. This allows for a timely oilseed rape entry or a stale seed bed.

Growth Characteristics

Grafton is one of the last varieties to reach GS31; indeed experience suggests it is a full week behind most varieties when early sown.

As a result, when early drilled, Grafton won’t produce lush growth going into winter and through into the early spring, ensuring that disease and lodging control won’t be compromised.

However, not surprisingly with Cordiale in its parentage, Grafton picks up speed during later stages of growth and can be one of the earliest to harvest even from a mid-season drilling.

Nothing is shorter or stiffer than Grafton. With a perfect double-9 rating for straw strength – with and without a PGR – combined with a mean height of just 79cm, it’s extremely difficult to lodge.

Unless grown in highly fertile situations, a chlormequat-based PGR programme will normally suffice.  High doses of late PGRs, particularly in stressful growing situations, can curtail its yield potential.

As Grafton has the Pch-1 Rendezvous gene for eyespot, its resistance rating of 7 is robust, further ensuring its standing ability isn’t compromised.  And with an inherently high specific weight there is a minimal risk of producing a poor sample.

Finally, because of its short, stiff straw and early maturity, Grafton can be harvested easily and quickly buying you time and saving you money. 

Ideal Second Wheat

Grafton’s combination of excellent eyespot and Septoria tritici resistance combined with an exceptional specific weight make it an outstanding second wheat. 

Grafton also has good resistance ratings to most foliar diseases. However, when early drilling it is essential to keep on top of fungal pathogens at T0 and T1 timings and, with low resistance to brown rust, this disease needs targeting.

Grafton	Score
Mildew	7
Yellow rust	8
Brown rust	3
S. nodorum	6
S. tritici	6
Eyepsot	7
Fusarium	5

Data source:  HGCA Recommended List, 2011/12

So, while setting new standards for early drilling and slotting in nicely as a second wheat, Grafton is a variety that ticks many other boxes on-farm and is one to test on your most fertile of fields in the main wheat slot.

Grafton is susceptible to chlorotoluron.