New VCU experimental system for national listing of common winter wheat varieties
As from August 2019, breeders will have the choice between three experimental networks instead of two for the registration of new winter common wheat varieties. Furthermore, the rules for the choice of control varieties and the rules of admission after the 1st year of study have been reviewed.
The 3 networks have been constructed according to ear emergence earliness which is one of the key points for suitability to pedoclimatic conditions, in addition to stem elongation earliness, winterhardiness, resistance to lodging and diseases, tolerances to water, temperature and nitrogen stresses, grain filling speed.
- Late network for earliness 5.5-6:
- Semi-early network for earliness 6.5-7:
- Early network for earliness ≥7 :
INRA, GEVES, Arvalis, breeders (UFS) and some cooperatives, in particular those coordinated by Semences de France, support this new experimental system. This evolution with 3 zones will be better suited to production areas, thanks to the establishment of new locations in regions lacking CTPS trials.
To allow the registration of varieties outside the main targets of the French national list, the yield of the latest varieties (≤ 5) will be judged in the Northern locations of the late network. Similarly, the yield of the earliest varieties (≥ 7.5) will be assessed in the Southern trials of the early network.
Additionally, the rules for the choice of control varieties have been reviewed with stricter requirements for disease tolerance. Within each network, the yield reference will be composed of 2 standards corresponding to the target of the zone, 1 later standard and 1 earlier standard. There will be common control varieties between 2 zones.
There will still be a threshold for admission in the 2nd year but the number of admissions will no longer be limited.
| Quality group | Admission threshold after 1st year en % control (T+UT)/2 | Registration threshold (after 2 years) en % control (T+UT)/2 |
| BPS | 99 | 102 |
| BP & BB | 101 | 104 |
| BAU | 104 | 107 |
| BAU imp | 106 | 109 |
| A, A’, Bio | No threshold | Cf. registration rules |
Table: Admission threshold in 2nd year and registration threshold for yield
(T: treated with fungicides, NT: no fungicides treatment – no regulator in T and NT)
The admission threshold after 1st year is inferior to registration threshold in order to take into account the possibility of better results in the 2nd year and possible bonifications for characteristics other than yield.
Contacts:
Anne-Lise Corbel, CTPS Technical Secretary for Cereals anne-lise.corbel@geves.fr
Aurélie Mailliard, Head of VCU Testing for Soft Wheat aurelie.mailliard@geves.fr
