For Hendrik Hanekamp, advisor to the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture, resistant varieties are the basis for an integrated crop protection. They contribute to the use of fungicidesto reduce n.
For him, a lack of acceptance of particularly healthy varieties is related to quality parameters such as the crude protein content, the falling number and the stability of the falling number. For the mills, these are still the essential remuneration criteria, for the grower the absolute yield in dt/ha is decisive.
A one-off application of fungicides is often worthwhile in order to close specific resistance gaps. Hanekamp notes that for yellow rust and powdery mildew, for example, winter wheatrange has become healthier in recent years and this progress in breeding is also well received by practitioners.
Nevertheless, the highest-yielding varieties with selective resistance weaknesses are often chosen in order to counteract them with fungicides. “It just pays off,” says Hanekamp.