- Hybrid wheat to enable higher and more stable performance in yield and quality for farmers and the value chain to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population
- Globally-driven, locally-tailored wheat breeding platform to meet grower’s agronomic and economic needs
- Ideltis hybrid wheat will be available in the mid-2020s in key wheat growing regions in Europe and North America
As UK growers pour over the latest varieties in the crop plots at Cereals, BASF announces its new brand name for hybrid wheat seeds, Ideltis. It demonstrates the company’s commitment to transition wheat for long-term success through innovative hybridization.
BASF’s hybrid wheat is intended to provide farmers with higher and more stable performance in yield and quality to advance one of the world’s most important crops. “Ideltis stands for our commitment to hybrid wheat and the transition of the wheat crop system in the longterm,” said Vincent Gros, President BASF Agricultural Solutions. “With Ideltis, we are unlocking the full potential of wheat. Through our global research platform, we provide growers and the entire value chain with hybrid wheat that is tailored to their local needs and consistently delivers better, more stable yield.”
Ideltis in the UK
BASF has early stage material in small plot trials in the UK and Sarah Middleton, BASF Market Manager for seeds in UK and Ireland, says she’s already observing characteristics that will bring yield improvements.
“While we’re seeing plants with more tillers, bigger ears, more grain sites and better roots, these hybrids have been developed with more than yield in mind.
“Through our grower communities, like the Real Results Circle, we know farmers are increasingly facing weather extremes – wetter autumns and drier springs, for example – and it’s becoming harder to produce consistently good wheat crops. With the potential to uptake water and nutrients more efficiently, we expect Ideltis hybrid wheats to be more resilient to our increasingly variable weather patterns.”
Plant breeding is very much a long-term activity and Ideltis has been developed with the future in mind.
“As we look ahead to producing crops more sustainably, Ideltis is likely to be a significant part of that bigger change to cropping systems,” explains Sarah. “Hybrids will inherently bring more genetic diversity and tolerance to the biotic and abiotic changes we’re predicted to face. With more durable disease resistance, for example, we can be more targeted with our inputs. And with stronger growth habits, there’s potential for these seeds to expand growers‘ IPM options, allowing them to better adapt to a changing portfolio of weeds.
“As we get closer to market, we will be working with our community of growers to trial the new seeds. Those trials will be about optimising the agronomy for the unique conditions we face here, in the UK.“
New opportunities through hybrid wheat
“Hybrids are already used in many crops, but wheat and the production of hybrid wheat seeds is complex. This is why it took time to develop breakthrough technologies that enable future widely commercialization of hybrid wheat,” said Prof. Dr. Jochen C. Reif, Head of the Department of Breeding Research at Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Gatersleben, Germany, one of the world’s leading institutions in this field. “To feed a growing population, we need to significantly increase wheat yield. Both, public as well as private breeding initiatives for hybrid wheat, like the one of BASF, are essential to achieve this,” said Prof. Stephen Baenziger, Professor Emeritus of Agronomy at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, US, who is an internationally acclaimed expert in plant breeding and specialized in wheat cultivar development. “With Ideltis hybrid wheat, farmers will have new promising seed choices.”
Ideltis hybrid wheat will be available from the middle of the decade, initially for farmers in key wheat growing regions in Europe and North America.
More information on Ideltis hybrid wheat is provided under www.ideltis.com.