Husbandry Guidelines for Nickerson’s winter wheat varieties, Zebedee and Xi19 have been published and are now available to growers. The guidelines include comprehensive agronomic advice for cereal growers on how to achieve the best results from each variety.

• Zebedee is a soft endosperm, nabim Group 3 winter wheat with a very high yield potential. It has excellent resistance to yellow rust and is relatively early to mature. The variety has a high Hagberg Falling Number and is suitable for the biscuit, distilling, feed and export markets. Grain quality characteristics are similar to Claire and Robigus, and Zebedee may be safely stored with these varieties.

• Xi19 is the highest yielding nabim Group 1 wheat variety on the 2007 HGCA Recommended List, with average yields 10% above Malacca. Xi19's unique combination of high yield and quality give it the potential, when correctly managed, to produce excellent gross margins. In nabim tests Xi19 has performed consistently well and it is widely accepted by millers.

Nickerson introduced the concept of husbandry guidelines many years ago to enable growers to realise the genetic potential offered by each variety in their wheat portfolio. In addition to the newly-published Zebedee and Xi19, guidelines are currently available for Alchemy, Einstein, Solstice, Claire, Istabraq, Nijinsky and Deben.