THE North-East’s biggest cereal and oilseed rape variety trial takes place next week.

Farmway’s annual crop open day features 36 large commercial plots grown under true farm conditions at Croft Farms, Croft, near Darlington.

Fourteen wheat varieties include four new to the 2009/10 HGCA Recommended List – the Group 2 variety Panorama and Group 4 varieties Viscount, Cassius and Grafton.

Developed by Seed Breeders KWS, Grafton is said to perform well in first and second wheat situations. Its short stiff straw makes it ideal for heavy and very fertile soils where it is almost impossible to lodge.

Barley growers will be able to view the very high-yielding HGCA candidate 2-row barley Cassia, which is also bred by KWS.

Oilseed rape growers will view Excalibur, a vigorous hybrid which can be established over a wide sowing window – mid August to mid September – which made it the UK’s top variety last year.

On the pure lines, Catana has a gross output of 114 per cent and oil content of 45.1 per cent, putting it at the top of the HGCA Recommended list.

It suits the mid August/early September drilling slot.

DK Secure, newly added to the HGCA Recommended list, is the first of a new generation of low bio-mass hybrid varieties.

The open day is on Friday, June 19th, between 10am and 5pm, and features more than 20 seed breeders and suppliers.

Lancrop laboratories will offer a half price soil analysis for samples on the day, and a free Sinar moisture meter clinic will be available for farmers who buy a minimum of five tonnes of seed.