The Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) has just published the online edition of its Recommended Lists (RL) of cereal and oilseed rape varieties for 2024/2025.
They feature shorter lists for most major crops. Specifically included is the first Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV)-tolerant six-row hybrid winter barley.
The winter barley list has two new varieties. SY Buzzard is the first six-row hybrid with tolerance to BYDV, which will be of particular interest to growers who want to avoid insecticide use.
It also has relatively good resistance to lodging, although it is lower yielding than other six-row hybrids. The two-row feed variety, LG Capitol, has high treated and untreated yields, with a good disease resistance package.
The spring barley list has six new varieties, all under evaluation for malting; three for brewing only, two for brewing and malt distilling and one for malt distilling only.
In terms of yield, Bounty is the standout addition. Under test for brewing only, it offers good disease and lodging resistance. NOS Gambit and LG Aquarius, also under test for brewing only, are lower yielding than Bounty. However, disease resistance and standing are good.
Under test for both brewing and malt distilling are Belterand Olsen that feature treated and untreated yields above the current market leaders.
NOS Munro is under test for malt distilling only.
Other cereal varieties – wheat
The winter wheat list has five new varieties.
SY Cheer is the first provisional UK Flour Millers (UKFM) Group 1 variety since 2017, with its relatively high untreated yield and good resistance to rusts standout features.
The list also features two new recommended UKFM Group 3 varieties. Bamford has very high treated and untreated yields, which match up to the best Group 4 varieties, and good disease resistance and grain quality.
The only new Group 4 soft variety is Blackstone with good disease and lodging resistance and untreated yield. It also received a favourable distilling report and its high specific weight offers reassurance to feed growers.
The only hard Group 4 variety added is LG Beowulf. The spring wheat list has two new varieties.
UKFM Group 2 WPB Mylo is a short variety with good disease resistance. SEW19-3003SW is a very high-yielding hard Group 4 variety with good disease resistance and high specific weight.
Winter oilseed rape list
The winter oilseed rape list features information on verticillium stem stripe resistance for the first time.
Varieties are rated as either susceptible, moderately resistant or intermediate. Those rated as moderately resistant are significantly different to those rated as susceptible.
However, data is currently limited for most varieties. The need for this disease data was identified in the previous RL review and is the culmination of nearly a decade’s worth of research investment.
Phoma stem canker ratings have been ‘reset’ to correct a drift in the ratings over recent years. As a result, ratings have generally fallen. However, this does not reflect a change in varietal resistance, rather improvements to the rating calculation process, according to the AHDB.
The three new UK-recommended hybrid varieties – LG Armada, LG Academic and LG Adeline3 – have high yields and good disease resistance, including resistance to TuYV. They do not currently have a verticillium rating.
AHDB RL for Oats
The spring oats list features two new varieties. The husked variety, Asterion, offers good treated and untreated yields, good disease resistance and high kernel content.
Ovation is a new described naked oat, notable for its relatively high untreated yield. Once again, there are no new winter oat varieties.