Blackstone: A versatile winter wheat variety for 2024

When it comes to selecting soft winter wheat varieties, Blackstone is one to add to the shortlist. A new addition to the AHDB Recommended List for 2024/25, this Soft Group 4 variety combines high yields with robust disease resistance and excellent grain quality. 

In this blog, we dig into Blackstone's performance so far during what has been a rather challenging growing season. 

Thriving in the north and beyond 

With a treated yield of 103%, Blackstone is one of the top three soft wheat performers for the north in this year's Recommended List, putting it ahead of market favourites such as LG Skyscraper.

It has an untreated yield of 87% which gives it a considerable advantage over its competitors. Part of the reason for this is its excellent combined mildew and yellow rust resistance scores, along with a very respectable 6.2 for Septoria.

Blackstone is also very stiff-strawed whilst retaining some height, which should make it a popular choice for mixed farmers.

Wide sowing window for flexibility

One of Blackstone's standout features is its wide sowing window. As the winter has proven, our climate is becoming less predictable and therefore retaining a flexible drilling window is key.

Blackstone has the growth habit to be able to be sown early, but we have been particularly interested in its strong late sown performance of 105%.

Although most northern growers will want to get wheat crops established in good time, autumn 2023 has demonstrated that this is not always possible and Blackstone, with its low vernalisation requirement, provides an option that can be sown right up until the end of February, while still maintaining a consistent performance.

This variety has also been shown to fit well into various rotation positions, excelling as a first and second cereal option.