Wheat trials - How reliably do wheat varieties perform under different organic farming conditions?

Summary

A major obstacle in the development of organic farming in the UK is the central problem of winter wheat production. At present, there is a substantial gap between the supply of home-grown organic milling wheat and demand, partially due to shortfalls in both wheat yield and quality. Progress is being made in organic wheat breeding programmes across Europe, although the varieties arising from these are not widely available in the UK. A crucial and unanswered question is how reliably varieties will perform under the diverse conditions that prevail on organic farms. Wheat trial results reported here indicate that the main effects of variety, location, year, or farming practice may often be more important than the complex interactions among these factors. Although these conclusions are limited by the number of varieties tested, they might help to increase the impact of organic breeding for improved productivity of wheat in the UK.