AHDB launches its 2026/27 recommended lists of cereals and oilseeds online

This comprehensive source of varietal guidance for farmers and agronomists includes a diverse set of cereal and oilseed varieties, with new options for mainstream and relatively niche markets.

With fewer varieties added than removed, the lists are more focused and include numerous varieties with big yield improvements.

For the third consecutive year, a new provisional UK Flour Millers (FM) Group 1 variety has been added to the winter wheat recommended list.

This list also features a strong new distilling soft group four feed variety and several new hard group four varieties.

Although some of these group fours are very high yielding, some come with agronomic compromises.

The new winter barley list sees just three new varieties added, with more than a quarter of varieties on the list now featuring breeders’ claims for resistance or tolerance to Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).

The 2026/27 recommended list also features several new dual-use spring barley recommendations with potential to break into the competitive malting market.

The new winter oilseed rape list sees new recommendations in all categories.

The majority have a UK recommendation, with some significant steps forward in yield and disease resistance.

Winter wheat

The winter wheat list has eight new varieties, which cover key milling sectors and provide strong steps forward in feed yields.

After stagnating for many years, UKFM Group 1 has been transformed over the last three years.

New addition Arlington from DSV brings the number of new varieties in this group to three in three years.

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.

Arlington is the highest-yielding Group 1 variety in the key East region and it has the second highest fungicide-untreated yield, which is bound to attract interest.

UKFM Group 2 has just one new addition.

KWS Grebe has yields just below the best Group 2s, but its chief attraction is likely to be its resistance to orange wheat blossom midge.

Spring wheat

The spring wheat list has three new varieties.

There are two group 4s, Merkawa from Senova and WPB Clifden from Limagrain, and a new Group 1, Charland from Blackman Agriculture.

Charland is a white wheat, which produces very white flour.

It will have several specialist end-uses and, unlike previous white-wheat varieties recommended, it has been given a Group 1 classification by UKFM, because of its very good milling and baking qualities.

Of the new spring wheats, it is the one most likely to stimulate the greatest interest.

Winter barley

After last year’s influx of new varieties to the winter barley list, the 2026/27 recommended listsees just three new options, with the overall list getting shorter.

Darcie from Senova is a two-row feed variety that has been recommended for the East and West regions.

It is slightly lower yielding but comes with resistance to Barley yellow mosaic virus strain 2 (BaYMV2), one of only three such varieties on the list.

The extent of BaYMV incidence is uncertain, but varietal resistance is the only option where the disease is problematic. Darcie offers a higher-yielding alternative to the other BaYMV2 resistant varieties on the list.

One new six-row hybrid has been added.

SY Barnabus is the highest-yielding, six-row hybrid, in both fungicide-treated and untreated trials.

Although its grain quality is good, it is slightly weaker strawed than some of the six-row hybrids.

LG Catapult is a new two-row feed variety with BYDV tolerance and a high fungicide-treated yield, which closes the gap with the non-BYDV-tolerant two-row feeds.

It also has a good fungicide-untreated yield.

However, its resistance to lodging is weaker than some of the other BYDV-tolerant varieties.

Spring barley

The spring barley list has four new varieties, with three under evaluation for both brewing and malt distilling by the Malting Barley Committee (MBC).

Trailblazer from Syngenta offers high treated yields across all regions, with good standing power and grain quality.

Roulette from Agrii has a slightly lower fungicide-treated yield but has the highest fungicide-untreated yield on the new list.

Shona, from Elsoms Ackermann Barley, has been recommended for the East, where it shows a very high fungicide-treated yield.

Nolan from Senova is the final addition.

It was proposed for recommendation in 2024 but was not added to the list due to problems during the GB and NI Variety Lists (VL) assessment stages.

With the issues resolved and good malting qualities, it has been recommended for the UK.

Its status in the Malsters’ Association of Great Britain MAGB testing system is being reviewed shortly.

Oats

One new winter oat variety has been added. Rannoch from Senova has very high yields and, with grain quality similar to Mascani, it may tempt some growers and end users.

Two spring oat varieties, Jacky and Neptun, both from Saaten Union, have also been added to this list.

Jacky is the higher-yielding variety, but Neptun has better grain quality.

Winter oilseed rape

New winter oilseed rape recommendations have been made across the categories, giving new options for different situations.

Three new hybrids are recommended for the UK.

Dompteur from DSV is the highest-yielding variety on the new list, in both the East/West and North regions.

It also has resistance ratings of 8 for both light leaf spot and phoma stem canker, as well as having pod shatter and TuYV resistance.

Karat from NPZU matches Dompteur for yield in the East/West region and has disease resistance ratings of eight for both light leaf spot and phoma stem canker.

It is moderately resistant to verticillium but is lower yielding in the North region.

KWS Domingos is slightly lower yielding in both regions and has resistance ratings of seven for light leaf spot and eight for phoma stem canker.

Bachus, from Jennaway Consulting, is a new conventional variety with a UK recommendation.

It has the highest yields in both RL regions for conventional varieties.

It has a similar disease resistance package to existing conventional varieties.

LG Clavin CL is a new herbicide tolerant variety that has been recommended for the UK.

It is the highest-yielding variety in both regions and has good light leaf spot resistance for this group, but it is susceptible to verticillium (based on limited data).

Yellow Rust

Meanwhile, AHDB has also carried out a ‘root and branch’ review of yellow rust resistance ratings for wheat varieties featured within recommended lists (RLs).

The end result has been some very large falls in recorded values for some widely grown wheat options.

In addition, the RL yellow rust disease resistance ratings have been published earlier than usual.

This is to facilitate the adaptation of management strategies for harvest 2026.

All of this follows the unexpected appearance of yellow rust in some varieties in RL trials in early spring.

As a consequence, AHDB advised farmers not to rely on the RL 2025/26 yellow rust ratings when setting fungicide programmes.

RL adult plant disease resistance ratings use a numerical scale: from one (least resistant) to nine (most resistant).

Usually, disease ratings for rusts (yellow and brown) are based on data from three trial years.

Since RL 2021/22, the data has been weighted to give more recent data a greater influence on the ratings.

This makes them more sensitive to changes in the rust population.

Because of the sudden widespread emergence of the new yellow rust strain, its specific ratings have been limited to harvest 2025 data that best represent the current situation.

This follows a rigorous validation process.

At the heart of the yellow rust flare up has been the breakdown of a specific Yr15 gene, which may feature in about a third of RL wheat varieties.

A dozen varieties have seen ratings fall by two to five points in the new RL data release.

Some other varieties believed to contain the Yr15 gene carry other effective yellow rust resistance genes and have recorded relatively little change in their ratings.

Varieties that do not carry Yr15 are unaffected directly by this new virulence.

As a result, about half of the winter wheat varieties on RL 2025/26 have the same disease resistance rating or a fall limited to one rating point.

Some varieties even recorded a small rating increase, due to declines in the yellow rust strains that they are susceptible to.

Significantly, several candidate varieties are susceptible to this new yellow rust strain, which will impact their chances of being recommended for inclusion on the winter wheat list later this year.

However, some performed relatively well, including some with a yellow rust disease resistance rating of 8.0.

Improved varietal disease resistance

AHDB has highlighted the role for wheat varieties with inherently improved resistance to disease.

The reality is that varieties with higher levels of disease resistance allow greater flexibility in fungicide programmes.

This includes the omission of sprays and the use of reduced doses, while still maintaining acceptable yield and quality.

But even with stronger disease resistance, AHDB analysts point out that environmental factors, disease pressures and crop management practices still influence the effectiveness of reduced-input strategies.

However, if varietal resistance is high, weather is not conducive to disease and fungicide applications are well-timed, lower-input approaches could help increase crop profitability.

In some cases, skipping T0 is feasible for resistant varieties, unless early disease pressure is high.

But T1 and T2 applications remain crucial, especially for septoria tritici and rust management.

Meanwhile, the need for a T3 spray depends on fusarium and brown rust risks, as well as market requirements.

So, what is the general economic result of this crop management approach?

In overall terms, the higher the disease resistance ratings score for a specific wheat variety, the lower the risk of unacceptable losses.

Wet and humid weather conditions tend to drive disease pressures, which may require a more robust fungicide programme.

Many farm-specific risk factors affect crop susceptibility, including cultivation, rotation, drilling date, regional disease trends and spraying capacity.