Velcourt Crop Plots at Cereals

Velcourt has an innovative set of attractions including the ‘Cereals Challenge’ awarded in conjunction with HL Hutchinsons to one of six colleges (Askham Bryan, Harper Adams, Royal Agricultural College, Hartpury, Riseholme and Writtle) taking part in a challenge to grow a plot of wheat. The colleges pitched to take a plot and enter the competition which will be judged at Cereals. The variety is Glasgow and the students have needed to manage the plot all year for agronomy (fungicides, PGRs, nitrogen, herbicides etc.) “The ‘best’ plot will be judged on head counts, the approach the team took to managing the plot, the decisions they made. The winning team will receive a cash prize and a trophy.

Velcourt will also have small plot variety trials with half the plot left to the elements, half treated with Bayer’s new fungicide 869, a mix of the new carboxamide bixafen and prothioconazole. The varieties in the plots are Duxford, Oakley, Robigus, Zebedee, Panorama, Cordiale, Hereward and Gallant
The Centre piece of Velcourt’s stand will be a block of wheat and sacks of wheat representing the yields 25 years ago, the yields last year and the yields needed in 25 years to feed the growing population. This display will outline technology change, innovation and developments and will include facts and figures on prices, costs of oil, cost/use of labour, machinery requirements and mechanisation changes.