Serving the farming industry across East Anglia for over 40 years
• Choice across major crop types • Strong pipeline of new varieties • Balance of key traits and yields An expansive new variety line-up... ‘Magnificent seven’ new varieties from Elsoms

• Choice across major crop types

• Strong pipeline of new varieties

• Balance of key traits and yields

An expansive new variety line-up demonstrates the strength and depth in Elsoms Seeds breeding programme, says the company.

Seven new Elsoms varieties on the Recommended List for 2025/26 include three winter barleys, a spring wheat, an oilseed rape, a hybrid rye – and the list’s highest yielding spring oat variety.

“Beyond the ‘magnificent seven’ newcomers, what’s most pleasing is the wide choice of competitive varieties we now offer UK farmers across all the major crop types,” says Elsoms head of agriculture Toby Reich.

Winter barley varieties available for drilling in autumn 2025 include SU Arion – a variety offering novel genetics and a robust disease package including 6.3 for Rhyncosporium, 7 for net blotch and 8 for mildew.

With regional recommendations supported by yields of 105 in the East and 107% in the North, Mr Reich says Arion offers a balance of positive traits including a big, bold grain. “We’re confident of its future success,” he adds.

“Also recommended for the North, winter barley Rosemary is well suited to early drillin, says Mr Reich. “With a treated yield of 106%, it looks a step ahead of its competitor.”

Six-row winter barley Sixy completes the Elsoms line-up. It has Barley Yellows Dwarf Virus (BYDV) tolerance and a full UK recommendation. Mr Reich says it will be a strong addition in what looks to be a competitive new winter barley line-up.

Spring wheat

Turning to spring wheat, Elsoms says it has found another new variety with great potential in Ophelia. It has excellent grain quality and offers a high specific weight of 80.3kg/hl.

“Early maturing and offering good early vigour with very stiff straw, Ophelia responds well to high seed rates and a split fertiliser application strategy.

Oilseed rape

Elsoms secured another regional recommendation with Powerhouse oilseed rape – the highest yielding conventional variety for use in the North. Its solid set of disease scores includes 7 for light leaf spot resistance.

Elsoms oilseed rape breeder Mark Nightingale says: “Powerhouse is a big variety that offers conven-tional growers the lowest relative risk for the North, very strong disease resistance and high seed yields.”

Spring oats

With Caledon, Elsoms now also offer growers the highest yielding spring oats variety on the new list.

With a treated yield of 105%, 4% ahead of the next best variety, plus the highest untreated yield at 98%, Caledon offers outstanding disease resistance and a positive balance of agronomic features.

Early ripening plus an impressive kernel content make it highly suitable for milling, says Mr Reich. “It it looks a variety to follow.

Hybrid rye

“On the new AHDB Descriptive List for hybrid rye, SU Thor was the highest yielding new variety with a treated yield of 108%.

“It is dual-purpose – grown for both grain and biogas – and looks to be the ‘go-to’ hybrid rye for those growers going for out and out yield.”