Newly recommended varieties for cereal and oilseed growers

Wheat

The first provisional UKFM Group 1 winter wheat variety since 2017 makes its appearance on the 2024/25 Recommended List – courtesy of seed breeder Syngenta.

SY Cheer has relatively high untreated yield and good resistance to rusts standout features, says the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board. Baking quality test results are good, including gluten strength. The Group 1 classification is expected to be confirmed in March.

Two new recommended UKFM Group 3 varieties appear on the list. Bamford from Elsoms has very high treated and untreated yields, good disease resistance and grain quality. It is approved for distilling and export.

Almara from Senova is recommended only for the north region. It has good treated and untreated yields. It has approval for export. Its favourable distilling report marked it out as a good variety for this region.

New Group 4 soft wheat Blackstone from Elsoms has good disease and lodging resistance and untreated yield. It has a favourable distilling report and high specific weight. Hard Group 4 LG Beowulf has consistent high yields, resistance to lodging and good grain quality.

The spring wheat list has two new varieties. They are UKFM Group 2 WPB Mylo from LSPB – a short variety with good disease resistance. SEW19-3003SW2 is a very high-yielding hard Group 4 with good disease resistance and high specific weight.

Barley

SY Buzzard is the first six-row hybrid with tolerance to BYDV. It also has relatively good resistance to lodging, but yields less than other six-row hybrids. Two-row feed variety LG Capitol has high treated and untreated yields, with a good disease resistance package.

Six new spring barley varieties are all under evaluation for malting by the Malting Barley Committee. Three are for brewing only, two for brewing and malt distilling and one for malt distilling only.

Bounty from Agrovista is the standout addition in terms of yield, especially in the eastern region. It offers good disease and lodging resistance. NOS Gambit from Senova and LG Aquarius, also under test for brewing only, yield less than Bounty but have good disease resistance and standing.

Under test for both brewing and malt distilling are Belter from Agrii and Olsen from Limagrain. Both feature treated and untreated yields above the current market leaders. NOS Munro from Senova is under test for malt distilling only and is high yielding in the north region.

Winter Oilseed Rape

The three new UK-recommended hybrid varieties – LG Armada, LG Academic and LG Adeline – have high yields and good disease resistance, including resistance to TuYV. They do not currently have a verticillium rating.

Recommended for the East/West region, hybrid variety Dolphin from DSV has a high yield. It has good disease resistance and is one of only seven varieties to be rated as moderately resistant to verticillium.

New conventional variety Pi Pinnacle from Grainseed has good light leaf spot resistance and particularly good yields in the east/west region. Miraculix CL from DSV is a new Clearfield variety for the north region, where it has relatively high yields.

Oats

There are no new winter oats but two new spring varieties. Husked variety Asterion from Saaten Union offers good treated and untreated yields, good disease resistance and high kernel content. Ovation from Senova is a naked oat with a relatively high untreated yield.

A booklet edition of the 2024/25 Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds will be available from mid-January. For full details, visit www.ahdb.org.uk