Farmers will find a leaner but more finely tuned set of combinable crop varieties choices in the newly released recommended list for 2026/27.
Updated AHDB guidance for cereals and oilseeds places emphasis on clearer differentiation, stronger yields and a tightening focus on disease resistance after a turbulent year for winter wheat genetics.
The latest edition contains fewer additions than removals, resulting in shorter lists across several crop groups. AHDB says this has helped sharpen the focus of the recommendations.
Many of the new entrants offer notable yield gains, although not always without trade-offs. Particular attention has already focused on the potential susceptibility of some varieties to disease such as yellow rust.
Good potential
Winter wheat remains the centre of attention. For the third year running, a new provisional UKFM Group 1 variety secures a place on the list. DSV Arlington follows KWS Vibe and SY Cheer. Its status will be confirmed this spring.
Soft feed variety Sparkler from Elsoms has distilling potential. It is a cluster of new hard Group 4 wheats. While several of these options deliver high output, the AHDB acknowledges that some arrive with agronomic compromises.
This year’s wheat ratings have been shaped heavily by the breakdown of a major yellow rust resistance gene during the 2025 harvest trials. Revised disease scores issued earlier in the year lowered ratings for several established varieties.
Even so, AHDB analysts stress that a number of varieties – including some of the new recommendations – still maintain strong disease resistance levels, with ratings between 7 and 9.
‘Quieter year’
Paul Gosling, who manages the RL at AHDB, said the quieter year for new varieties had not diminished the complexity of the recommendations.
“It’s been a relatively quiet year for new varieties and several of the new lists are shorter. The new release includes some niche varieties. Although these won’t appeal to everyone, they will fit some situations.”
Winter wheat, acknowledged Mr Gosling, posed the greatest challenge. “Winter wheat recommendations were particularly tricky this year, after the shake-up to yellow rust resistance.
“We have recommended some new hard group 4s that are susceptible to yellow rust. Many varieties in this group are now susceptible to the disease. However, the recommendations are justified, due to [their] yield advantage.”
Shifting priorities
Winter barley options are pared back to just three new additions, but the list reflects shifting breeder priorities. More than a quarter of all winter barley varieties now carry claims for resistance or tolerance to Barley yellow dwarf virus.
Spring barley producers will find several new dual-use varieties with potential to enter the malting market, though this remains a highly competitive space. In oilseed rape, new varieties show good progress in both yield and disease resistance.
A printed RL booklet will follow in January, with updates to the RL digital tools – including the app – released shortly afterwards. The lists are expected to guide seed choices well into the 2026 drilling season.