AT CEREALS it was revealed that Limagrain has seven out of a total of 11 wheat varieties up for recommendation in the 2019-20 AHDB Recommended List this season.

Particularly exciting is its new soft feed wheat, LG Skyscraper, which is the highest yielding wheat candidate at 109%.

This is a significant 4% increase over the control feed variety, KWS Santiago, in treated trials.

“LG Skyscraper offers a very high yielding soft wheat with good agronomic characters that compete with the high yielding hard feed wheat sector which has been the dominant sector for the last 10 years,” pointed out Limagrain’s Ed Flatman.

This exciting prospect has also been consistent across both seasons and regions.

It has good resistance ratings for mildew (7), yellow rust (8), brown rust (6) and a six for septoria tritici, plus it also has orange wheat blossom midge resistance, an important trait that is of increasing value in wheat varieties following the loss of some insecticides.

On grain quality, the variety has a Hagberg falling number (HFN) of 216 and a reasonably high specific weight of 77.7.

Also at Cereals, KWS said its new two-row barley, Gimlet, was a step forward for its type.

The leading AHDB-Candidate variety in 2018-19 official trials, KWS Gimlet is scheduled for addition to the AHDB Recommended List in the autumn of 2018.

A two-row feeder with barley yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) resistance, it is unlike any other two-row variety from KWS, according to sales and cereals manager, Will Compson. He said: “KWS Gimlet is high-yielding feed type with a range of appealing characteristics that will make management easy and support its appeal on farm.

“A treated yield of 107% of controls and the joint highest untreated yield thanks to its robust all-round disease resistance, suggests it will find favour with growers across the UK.”

A three-way cross between KWS Glacier and California cross Matros, Gimlet is taller than its parents at about 97cm, typically one to two days earlier to mature than KWS Glacier and higher yielding than KWS Orwell – the benchmark variety for yield and consistency.

“It has five to six more grain sites per ear than other KWS two-row varieties and demonstrates a faster growth habit that marks it out as being distinct from other two-row types,” he added.

KWS’ new wheats previewed at Cereals were KWS Firefly and KWS Extase – both are expected to be added to the AHDB Recommended List this year.

KWS Extase is a potential Group 2 with untreated yield that, at 133% of control, is 20% ahead of the best untreated yield on the current List. The French-bred KWS Extase has outstanding resistance to two principal foliar diseases, septoria tritici and yellow rust, and as a Group 2, it offers excellent protein, Hagberg falling number and specific weight.

Although a quality wheat, its impressive disease resistance package is likely to extend its appeal beyond the eastern counties and into the west and north.