THERE are a record number of variety types and traits included in AHDB’s online edition of the Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds (RL) 2022/23 – which has just been released.

This latest edition introduced new traits for barley (including BYDV tolerance), an improved choice of spring and winter milling wheat varieties, as well as new options for brewing and distilling.

The RL 2022/23 also features improvements to cereal lodging resistance ratings and additional information on resistance to septoria tritici in winter wheat.

Paul Gosling, who manages the RL for AHDB, said: “Spread across the crops, dozens of new varieties are available. The improved choice includes many exciting new traits, which will help growers manage crops and target potential new markets.”

In 2020, a new disease rating system for cereal rusts was introduced to provide greater differentiation in scores. Similarly, the RL 2022/23 is based on an improved calculation approach for lodging resistance.

Mor Gosling said: “We revised the cereal lodging ratings to help pull apart varietal differences. This will make the ratings more representative of what is seen in the field and improve their consistency.

“Although ratings have fallen for some varieties, this is a consequence of calculation change, not an increased susceptibility to lodging.”

Following high levels of septoria tritici in the 2020/21 growing season and concerns about the breaking of resistance, AHDB issued the RL 2022/23 winter wheat disease ratings early back in September. This saw a rating fall for many varieties.

Two ratings were issued based on the standard three-year (2019–21) and a one-year (2021) data set. The latter ratings helped reveal last season’s impact and varieties most likely to benefit from closer monitoring.

New recommendations for winter wheat include varieties with an alternative genetic basis of resistance to septoria tritici, which should make useful contributions to the control of this important foliar disease.

The system for oilseed rape has also changed to make it easier to recommend conventional open-pollinated varieties.

Mr Gosling said: “Open-pollinated varieties remain popular. However, there was a danger that they would be completely lost from the RL in favour of hybrid varieties. Changes to our selection procedures should help maintain the recommendation of strong conventional options.”

Available for the major crop types, detailed variety comments illustrated how a greater diversity of options delivered by plant breeders had strengthened varietal traits for yield, agronomy, disease and quality characteristics.

The RL 2022/23 for wheat, barley, oats and winter oilseed rape, and variety comments, can be accessed online, alongside updated descriptive lists for spring oilseed rape, spring linseed, winter triticale and winter rye. The print edition will be available later this winter.

Comments for winter wheat

The milling industry has become increasingly reliant on a small group of varieties, but the RL 2022/23 features two new Group 2 winter wheat bread-making varieties with strong disease resistance which will help spread risk.

Group 3 biscuit-winter wheat varieties suffered disproportionately from increased susceptibility to septoria tritici in the 2020/21 season and the latest RL sees the inclusion of three new Group 3s.

These featured a different genetic basis for their resistance to septoria tritici, which should be more durable. Two new soft Group 3s, which had been rated good for distilling, had particularly good yields in the North region.

Two new hard Group 4s show strong yields, as well as good grain quality and disease resistance. These had already generated a lot of interest. A third Group 4 also displayed good disease resistance and untreated yield.

New varieties:

There are two new UKFM Group 2 milling wheat varieties.

• KWS Palladium is a high-yielding UKFM Group 2 variety recommended for the UK. It has high Hagberg (315) and has given good protein (13.1%) under a regime to achieve milling specification (based on limited data).

It is relatively early-maturing variety and has given high treated yields across a range of rotational positions. It is a short and relatively stiff-strawed variety. KWS Palladium has high resistance to yellow rust (9), mildew (8) and septoria tritici (7.4) resulting in a high untreated UK yield (90%).

• Mayflower is recommended for the UK. It is classified as a ukp bread wheat for export. Mayflower has high Hagberg (294) and specific weight (78.5 kg/hl). It has given good protein (12.9%) under a regime to achieve milling specification (based on limited data).

It is a medium-tall variety and has no major weaknesses to disease, with a high resistance to yellow rust (9), mildew (8) and the highest rating for resistance to septoria tritici for a bread-making variety (8.4). Yields in untreated UK trials are high (90%). Mayflower has moderate resistance to lodging but responds well to plant growth regulators.

Three new UKFM Group 3 varieties:

• KWS Guium is recommended for the UK and is rated as ‘medium’ for distilling. It is the highest yielding Group 3 on the new list (102%), with high Hagberg (255) and specific weight (78.1 kg/hl). It has shown high yield potential across a range of sowing dates and given high yields in a second-cereal position.

This is a medium-tall and relatively late-maturing variety that has high resistance to yellow rust (9) but is highly susceptible to brown rust (3). It is resistant to orange wheat blossom midge.

• KWS Brium is recommended for the UK and also rated ‘medium’ for distilling. It has a high specific weight (77.3 kg/hl) and Hagberg (268).

But it is a late-maturing variety and is medium tall, having performed well across a range of soil types, rotational positions, and sowing dates. KWS Brium has high resistance to yellow rust (9) and mildew (7).

• RGT Rashid is recommended for the East region only, where it has performed well.

There is high resistance to yellow rust (8), septoria tritici (6.9) and fusarium ear blight (7), combined with resistance to orange wheat blossom midge. It is susceptible to mildew (4).

Two new soft feeders:

• RGT Bairstow is recommended for the UK and is rated as ‘good’ for distilling. It is the highest yielding soft-milling feed variety (103%) but has a low specific weight (75.9 kg/hl).

It has shown very high yield potential across a range of rotational positions and soil types. High resistance to yellow rust (7) and septoria tritici (6.4), combined with resistance to OWBM.

• RGT Stokes is recommended for the UK and is rated as ‘good’ for distilling. It has given very high treated yields in the West (105%).

This medium-tall variety has high resistance to yellow rust (7) and septoria tritici (6.9).

Hard milling Group 4s:

• Champion is a very high-yielding, hard-milling feed variety recommended for the UK. It is the highest yielding variety on the RL (106%), but it has a low specific weight (74.8 kg/hl).

• KWS Dawsum is recommended for the UK. It is very high-yielding (104%) with high Hagberg (304) and a high specific weight (79.4 kg/hl). KWS Dawsum has shown very high yield potential across a range of rotational positions, soil types and sowing dates.

• LG Typhoon is recommended for the UK. It has given high treated yields across the UK (102%). It is a relatively late-maturing variety that has given high untreated yields in UK trials (89%). Also, it has shown no major weaknesses to disease.

Winter barley – four new feed varieties.

The two, two-row varieties offer improvements to disease resistance and untreated yield. One of the two new six-row barleys is the first conventional variety added since 2017. It offers improved grain quality, as well barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) tolerance – the first barley on the RL to demonstrate this trait.

Comments:

• Lightning is a high-yielding, two-row feed variety recommended for the UK. It has performed well across all regions. This variety has moderate straw strength.

• LG Dazzle is a high-yielding, two-row feed variety recommended for the UK. This short-strawed variety has given high untreated yields (87%). It has high resistance to brown rust (8) and rhyncho (7), but may be susceptible to net blotch.

• SY Canyon is a very high-yielding six-row hybrid variety recommended for the UK. It has a very high specific weight (71.2 kg/hl), the highest for a six-row variety on the 2022/23 Recommended List.

• KWS Feeris is a six-row (non-hybrid) feed variety, with a specific recommendation for the UK for its tolerance to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). It has a high yield potential in the West of 105%.

Spring barley

Three new spring barley varieties, under test for brewing, offer treated and untreated yield increases over the current market leaders.

The spring barley list also sees a described Null-Lox variety added with specific quality traits of interest to some brewers. The success of such varieties will depend on their uptake by the brewing industry.

Comments:

• Jensen is a high-yielding variety recommended for the UK, with potential for brewing. It tends to give a low specific weight, but has given very high treated yields. It has high resistance to brackling.

• Spinner is a high-yielding variety recommended for the UK, with potential for brewing and has given a high treated yield in the East (103%) and limited data suggests it has a very high yield potential in the West (106%).

• CB Score is a Null-Lox 4G variety, lacking the genes for production of lipoxgenase and dimethyl sulphate, both of which can affect beer quality.

• Malvern is a high-yielding feed variety recommended for the West (106%, based on limited data). It has high resistance to brackling.

Winter oilseed rape:

The winter oilseed rape list has four new varieties in specialist categories, alongwith several hybrids and two conventional varieties for the UK, East/West and North regions.

Comments:

• PT303 has given a very high gross output in the East/West (108%) and the North region (104%). It is relatively tall, but has high resistance to lodging with good stem stiffness at maturity, and high resistance to both LLS and canker. Resistant to TuYV.

• LG Auckland matches PT303 on yield in the East/West (108%) and has resistance to stem canker and light leaf spot. It also possesses resistance to TuYV and is pod shatter resistant.

• LG Adonis is recommended for the East/West region (108%). It has high resistance to lodging with good stem stiffness at maturity.

Two conventional open-pollinated varieties:

• But only one, Amarone, is recommended for the North only. It has recorded a high treated gross output (105%) in the trials.