The Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) is currently listing six new malting barley varieties.
All are under evaluation by the organisation’s Malting Barley Committee (MBC) – three for brewing only, two for brewing and malt distilling, and one for malt distilling only.
The list now makes it easier to identify which varieties have full MBC approval or are under test.
In terms of yield, Bounty, from Agrovista, is the standout addition. Under test for brewing only, it offers good disease and lodging resistance. according to the AHDB.
NOS Gambit, from Senova, and LG Aquarius, also under test for brewing only, are lower yielding than Bounty, although disease resistance and standing are good.
Under test for both brewing and malt distilling are Belter, from Agrii, and Olsen, from Limagrain, that feature treated and untreated yields above the current market leaders.
NOS Munro, again from Senova, is under test for malt distilling only and is high yielding in the north.
The new additions offer improvements in yield and/or disease resistance compared with the current market leaders, RGT Planet and Laureate.
However, AHDB also points out that the brewing/malting market is tough to break into and the new varieties may still fail to achieve full MBC approval.
The new AHDB winter oilseed rape list features information on verticillium stem stripe resistance for the first time.
Varieties are rated as 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 recommended list (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.
The three new UK-recommended hybrid varieties are: LG Armada, LG Academic and LG Adeline.
They have high yields and good disease resistance, including resistance to Turnip Yellow Virus (TuYV). They do not currently have a verticillium rating.
Recommended for the east/west region of the UK only, is the hybrid variety Dolphin, from DSV. It has a high yield and shows good disease resistance.
It is one of only seven varieties to be rated as moderately resistant to verticillium.
A new UK-recommended conventional variety, Pi Pinnacle from Grainseed, has demonstrated a high yielding capacity and good light leaf spot resistance.
Miraculix CL (from DSV) is a new Clearfield variety.