The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has published its recommended 2022 list of spring cereal varieties.

Spring cereal – wheat

The recommended spring wheat varieties are: Hexham and KWS Talisker.

Listed as provisionally recommended are KWS Helium and WPB Duncan.

Hexham is a high-yielding moderately later-maturing variety. It shows good resistance to lodging.

The variety is moderately susceptible to mildew and Septoria spp. However, it shows very good resistance to yellow rust. Hexham will deliver good grain quality. It also demonstrates good resistance to sprouting.

Talisker is a high-yielding, moderately later-maturing variety. It is moderately susceptible to lodging while also moderately resistant to mildew and Septoria spp. Talisker has demonstrated very good resistance to yellow rust. Good grain quality is another feature of the variety, as is its resistance to sprouting.

Helium is another high-yielding, moderately later maturing variety. It has demonstrated moderate resistance to both Septoria spp. and yellow rust. Very good grain quality can be expected from it also.

Duncan will deliver very high grain quality and it is relatively late maturing. The variety has demonstrated good resistance to yellow rust and sprouting.

Spring cereal – oats

The recommended spring oats varieties are: Barra,  Husky and WPB Isabel.

Barra  is a relatively low-yielding variety that is very susceptible to lodging and straw breakdown. It is also very susceptible to mildew and to crown rust. However, grain quality is excellent.

Husky is a very early-maturing, high-yielding variety with moderate resistance to lodging. It is also moderately susceptible to straw breakdown and mildew. The variety is also susceptible to crown rust. However, it demonstrates very good grain quality.

Isabel is a high-yielding oat variety demonstrating good resistance to lodging and very good resistance to straw breakdown. It is moderately susceptible to mildew and crown rust. Excellent grain quality can be expected from crops of Isabel.

Barley

The recommended spring barley varieties are: Gangway, RGT Planet and SY Errigal.

Provisional spring cereal varieties are Geraldine, Skyway and SY Amity.

Gangway is a moderately later-maturing variety, with moderate resistance to lodging. However, good resistance to straw breakdown an be expected. The variety shows good resistance to mildew and net blotch, with moderate resistance to brown rust.

Gangway is moderately susceptible to Rhynchosporium and delivers  excellent grain quality.

Planet is a high-yielding, moderately later-maturing variety.  It is moderately susceptible to lodging and susceptible to straw breakdown. The variety has demonstrated very good resistance to mildew. However, it is moderately  susceptible to Rhynchosporium, brown rust and net blotch.

Errigal is a high-yielding, moderately later-maturing variety. It demonstrates good resistance to lodging and moderate resistance to straw breakdown.

The variety will show good resistance to mildew, net blotch and brown rust. It is moderately susceptible to Rhynchosporium.

Geraldine, Skyway and SY Amity all have exceptionally high yield potential.