Starfire Feed Wheat
• A consistently high yielding winter feed wheat
• High yield potential under early sowing and irrigation
• Well suited to Canterbury and Southland regions
• Wide planting window due to low vernalisation requirement
Description
STARFIRE is an established consistently performing feed wheat cultivar bred by Limagrain UK and further developed by PGG Wrightson Grain (PGW Grain). It has a compact efficient plant type with stiff short-medium straw. STARFIRE produces a plump soft endosperm grain with excellent grain quality characteristics.
Yield
STARFIRE has been a consistent performer in FAR CPT trials since 2012 across a range of sites throughout Canterbury and Southland. Although it is no longer topping as many trials as it was six years ago, it remains a cultivar that will deliver top yields given appropriate management i.e. good, even plant establishment and disease control with appropriate fungicides. It has also been the leader in second year wheat in FAR trials and again given good establishment and foliar disease management should be the first choice in this situation.
CPT STARFIRE Autumn grain quality (4 year mean) |
Canterbury |
Southland |
Lower North Island |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kernel weight (1000 seed weight) | 43 | 43 | 36 |
| Test weight (kg/hl) | 74 | 72 | 66 |
| Protein content (%) (N% x 5.7) | 10.8 | 9.7 | 11.3 |
| Screenings (%) | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
Time of drilling
Speed of development
Month planted |
Typical heading dates for STARFIRE in Canterbury |
| Late March | Early November |
| Late May | Late November |
| Late June | Early December |
Seed rate and tillering characteristics
STARFIRE has moderate tillering capacity and a tight V-shaped tillering habit. Target plant populations should be at the higher end of the ranges. A good guideline is to increase your sowing rate by 25% above the standard PGW Grain wheat seed rate guidelines
Soil type, rotation and geography
STARFIRE has shown that it can perform well under a range of different soil types and environments in Canterbury, Southland and the lower North Island. STARFIRE has yielded extremely well under irrigation as well as many rainfed/dryland situations. It has also been the top yielding cultivar in the FAR second-year wheat trials for many years.
Disease resistance
STARFIRE has good resistance to stripe rust but is moderately susceptible to most other foliar diseases, especially Septoria leaf blotch and one powdery mildew race. Considering this disease profile, a robust fungicide programme (T0, T1, T2 and T3) is recommended. In the 2019/20-2022/23 PGW Grain fungicide trials, STARFIRE has produced one of the lowest untreated yields and high fungicide responses of 3.6-6.1 t/ha. Please contact your local PGW Representative for site specific recommendations.
Disease |
PGW Grain disease nursery ratings
|
| Stripe rust | 8 |
| Leaf rust | 5 |
| Septoria leaf blotch | 4 |
| Powdery mildew | 5 |
| Fusarium head blight | 5 |
