New KWS varieties could take 25% of winter wheat area

New wheat varieties exceptionally popular

One in four wheat crops sown in autumn 2025 could be one of the new KWS wheat varieties added to the AHDB Recommended List (RL) for the first time this year, the company announced at Cereals 2025.

Seven new KWS winter wheat varieties were included in the 2025/26 RL with demand from growers and trade alike suggesting 20-25% of this year’s winter wheat area could be down to the new varieties.

“This is quite an achievement for such new varieties,” says KWS wheat product manager Olivia Bacon says. “We’ve worked hard to ensure good supplies of seed are available and interest in the new varieties has been significant across all Groups.

Great reception

“The new Group 1 milling variety KWS Vibe, Group 2 KWS Arnie, Group 3 KWS Solitaire and Group 4 KWS Scope have been particularly popular. Alongside established farm favourites such as KWS Extase and KWS Dawsum, we expect 40% of all winter wheat sown this year to be KWS varieties.”

KWS Vibe has had a great reception from growers and millers with its high protein production potential and consistent yield performance across the rotation and different growing conditions, says Ms Bacon.

“With the best combination of protein and yield available in Group 1 plus a strong agronomic package, we expect KWS Vibe to account for around 6% of the winter wheat area this year rising to potentially 10% for 2026.

“It has great agronomics too, making it a significant step forward for the Group and baking tests have confirmed its superior performance over the other options.”

Big hitters

Group 2 KWS Arnie is expected to take 5.5% of this year’s winter wheat area rising to 9% next year while Group 3 Solitaire current sits at 3.5% with the potential to increase to 5% in 2026, Olivia Bacon believes.

“Group 4 KWS Scope is the other big hitter with its predicted 6.5% market share this year expected to rise to 10% next year.

“It’s the highest yielding variety on the current RL at 108% of controls and fills the need for a dependable barn filler with good grain quality and high specific weight of 78.9 kg/hl, making it a highly marketable option.

“KWS Scope’s Recommended List yield rises to 111% in West plus it’s got a high untreated yield on par with the best in the Group with strong agronomics across the board with OWBM resistance too.

“Our other new varieties, including KWS Equipe, KWS Newbie and KWS Flute, will add to these market share figures, presenting a very healthy commercial position for the new winter wheat additions as a whole.”

Barley options

On the barley front, KWS UK head of product management and agroservice Kate Cobbold believes the new RL-listed variety Inys could revitalise growers’ faith in hybrid barley.

“Inys is the highest yielding winter barley on the RL with excellent consistency seen over its years in trials combined with very good untreated yield and a strong all round disease package.

“It has the lowest brackling percentage of all hybrid barleys plus it has noticeably better ground cover over winter. Trials have shown this to be up to 10 – 15% more than other popular hybrid barleys, adding significantly to its appeal.

“KWS Valencis – the highest yielding conventional barley on the RL – and KWS Heraclis also offer growers high performance options.”

With excellent consistency across the years and a strong disease profile, KWS Valencis performs particularly well in the East, with a yield 107% of RL controls – and also on both light and heavy soils, says Ms Bacon.

“KWS Heraclis is a strong
contender for the North with 108% of controls, a high untreated yield
of 91% and very good agronomics
supported by low levels of brackling and a high specific weight of 69.4kg/hl.”