Following the YR15 breakdown, a number of varieties have seen a significant shift in their yellow rust rating with the launch of the Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds (RL) 2026/27.
With fewer varieties added than removed, the AHDB describes the winter wheat list as more focused and includes numerous varieties with big yield improvements. The organisation points out that the list still contains varieties with good yellow rust ratings (7 to 9), including several new entrants.
Paul Gosling, who manages the RL at AHDB, says: “The winter wheat recommendations were particularly tricky this year, after the shake-up to yellow rust resistance. We have recommended some new hard group 4s that are susceptible to yellow rust. Many varieties in this group are now susceptible to the disease. However, the recommendations are justified, due to the yield advantage of the new varieties over the current ones.”
New Group 1
For the third consecutive year, a new provisional UKFM Group 1 variety has been added to the winter wheat recommended list. Following KWS Vibe and SY Cheer, DSV’s Arlington has been listed as a provisional Group 1 by UKFM. Its status will be confirmed in the spring after UKFM completes analysis of commercial quantities of harvest 2025 grain.
In small-scale testing over the last three years, the variety has shown good grain and baking quality, with good protein levels recorded. It is the highest-yielding Group 1 variety in the key East region with good septoria and yellow rust resistance scores. It also comes with a combination of Pch1 eye spot and Sm1 orange blossom midge resistance.
Only one new Group 2 made the list, KWS Grebe. KWS Arnie has the edge on yield but an attraction is orange wheat blossom midge resistance.
Feed varieties
Sparkler from Elsoms is a soft feed variety offering the top fungicide-treated yield for soft varieties. It is rated high quality for distilling and also comes with good yellow rust and septoria scores.
Five hard group 4 varieties have been recommended and the AHDB accepts that some might prove controversial.
Several new high-yielding varieties are topped by KWS Aintree, offering a 4% yield increase over KWS Scope and Champion. However, it will need careful management with a yellow rust disease rating of just 3.
Although lower-yielding, KWS Fowlmere might be a better option for rust-prone areas. Its key trait is its earliness, with a -2 for ripening, the earliest variety on the list by some margin.
LG Defiance is just 1% lower yielding than KWS Aintree, but it has good yellow rust resistance and the highest fungicide-untreated yield on the new list. A possible weakness is its straw strength.
LG Challenger is lower yielding than LG Defiance, in both fungicide-treated and untreated trials, but offers good lodging resistance and has no other weaknesses.
RGT Guardsman makes up the new entrants. It doesn’t offer the same output scores but is considered the first BYDV resistant variety to be competitive.
