July 20, 2004

 

 

UK 2004-05 Soft Wheat Crop Quality Down On Rain

 

Recent wet weather is likely to have lowered the quality of the U.K. 2004-05 soft wheat harvest, with rains reducing Hagberg falling numbers, or HFNs, agronomists said Monday.

 

Prolonged wet weather in the latter stages of the crop-growing process is a catalyst for increased activity of the so-called alpha amylase enzyme, which in turn lowers Hagberg falling numbers, said John Garstang, agronomist from the ADAS Centre for Sustainable Crop Management.

 

Hagberg is a quality indicator for bread-making.

 

Exact HFN predictions were not possible at this stage, but Garstang said wheat that was expected to have HFN higher than 300 could be at just around 300, while wheat expected to have HFN around 300 could now easily fall to below 250.

 

The wet weather has also favored the pest orange blossom midge, said Mike Carver, managing director from The Arable Group.

 

"While farmers have sprayed, of course, there is evidence of low-level damage, which lowers the ability to produce a good-quality sample with a lower bread-making quality due to lower Hagbergs."

 

However, with harvest two to three weeks away, it is difficult to estimate how widespread damage is, he said.

 

The rain has also promoted weed growth in the fields, which also will slow the ripening process, agronomists said.

 

For barley, harvest has just started in some parts of the U.K. and is expected to get into full swing by the end of the week, while the recent rains do not appear to have had a significant negative effect on the crop.

 

However, while yields are good, Garstang said some samples indicated only moderate quality.

 

The U.K. is expected to produce 16.5 million metric tons of wheat, up from 14.3 million tons during the 2003-04 marketing year and 5.9 million tons of barley, down 500,000 tons on the year, according to the latest issue of the International Grains Council Grain Market Report.