There are six new soft feed wheats and a raft of varieties with strengths for those in the North, while yellow rust ratings have been revised. CPM scrutinises what’s new on the AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended Lists.
They have the right combination of exactly what’s required – good disease ratings and stiff straw in a package with high yield.
By Tom Allen-Stevens and Lucy de la Pasture
Northern growers and those with a favouring for soft wheats will find plenty of choice on the new AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Recommended Lists. No fewer than six soft Group 4 varieties have joined the RL, along with five other newcomers, in a year that’s seen the number of recommended winter wheats swell to 41 in total.
The winter oilseed rape lists have shrunk, however, with 10 varieties removed and just four added across the East/West and North RL. But the lists keep their separate identities, despite selection criteria, notably for light leaf spot, now being uniform across the UK.
“There are some older varieties for which there’s no data for all of the UK, so it’s easier to keep them split,” explains AHDB’s Simon Oxley. “But in time that anomaly won’t be there for newer varieties.”
Likewise, there’s still no data for untreated yields on OSR varieties, but the work is now carried out in trials, he assures, and will be available from next year.
Three of the four new additions to the East/West OSR RL have an LLS rating of 7, while Aquila from Limagrain has a 6 for LLS and 8 for stem canker. “It’s good to see varieties on the E/W list with better LLS resistance, though some still require attention for phoma,” notes Simon Oxley.
Another notable newcomer is DK Secret – a semi-dwarf from Monsanto. “Its gross output is 10% below list leader Elgar, but it’s been compared with Troy, the other semi-dwarf on the RL, during selection. It boasts a good agronomic package.”
But the big news of the RL is the raft of soft feed varieties that have joined. Leading them is Bennington, from Elsoms Wheat. The breeder is itself a newcomer to the wheat RL, but all four of last year’s candidates have made the grade.
“Elsoms has introduced some wheats with decent agronomics, especially septoria resistance. They have the right combination of exactly what’s required – good disease ratings and stiff straw in a package with high yield,” says Simon Oxley.
Five of the incoming soft feed wheats perform well in the North, with distilling potential. Moulton from Elsoms Wheat is also suitable for export, while LG Motown from Limagrain is early maturing. “This is interesting as Leeds and Revelation are notably late, which can be a drawback in the North.
“But these days, it’s not just about yield. LG Sundance leads the list on disease ratings with a 7.3 for septoria – that’s a huge plus point.” Septoria ratings are now shown to one decimal point to help growers identify subtle differences that are noticeable in the field, he adds.
Four new hard feed types join the pack, with KWS Kerrin taking the crown as wheat list leader with an E/W yield score of 106. Shabras from Syngenta is a shade behind on yield, but has a UK-wide recommendation and is notably early to mature. Also new are Freiston and Dunston from Elsoms Wheat, both with septoria scores of 6.7, while Dunston has the highest untreated yield on the wheat RL.
Just one milling wheat joins the RL. “Group 1 addition KWS Zyatt is slightly higher yielding than Skyfall, but with a similar protein. There’s also good agronomics with an impressive untreated yield. Commercial samples will be tested by nabim with results expected in April.”
Three new winter barley varieties join the RL. Hybrid Sunningdale from Syngenta has a UK treated yield a fraction below list leader Bazooka, but the newcomer leads significantly in the North, notes Simon Oxley. “All three varieties have early maturity,” he adds.
“Funky from KWS is notable as it’s a conventional six-row feed with good specific weight, although does have higher screenings, which may be down to seed shape. But as a six-row conventional, it looks very strong and competes with the hybrids. The main reason two-row KWS Creswell is there is its high yield in the North.”
There hasn’t been a step change in spring barley this year, although Chanson from Saaten Union is the first Null-Lox variety on the RL. This genetic trait means it doesn’t produce the lipoxygenase enzyme, said to bring a staling taste to beer. Syngenta’s Dioptric is under test for grain distilling and yields well in the North, notes Simon Oxley.
“New winter oat varieties offer a significant yield advantage over the current standard, but growers need to manage their lodging risk. The challenge here is that the end user goes for the varieties with the quality it likes, so it’s difficult to know what uptake the new ones will have.”
New winter OSRs at a glance
New wheats at a glance
New barleys at a glance
New oats at a glance
New Race of yellow rust and major revisions to RL ratings
By all accounts, something ‘funny’ was going on with yellow rust in wheat last season. Varieties that were supposed to offer some level of resistance were succumbing to infection readily. Agronomists had to throw the RL ratings out of the car window as they issued fungicide recommendations in the midst of a yellow rust epidemic.
In response to the unusually high levels of the disease last season, AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds has made an early and major revision to yellow rust ratings. Disease ratings are normally calculated from data covering a period of three years but this year the AHDB has taken the unprecedented decision to base yellow rust disease ratings on 2016 trials data alone.
Dr Jenna Watts, who manages disease research at AHDB, says, “We made the decision because the 2016 yellow rust assessment data was so different to anything that had been seen before. We have to make sure that the RL reflects varietal performance in the field the best it can.
“We’ve seen disease ratings for seven varieties drop by two or more points. We consider anything more than a one-point change as highly unusual.”
The new ratings affect Groups 3 and 4 winter wheat varieties, with some ratings reduced by as much as four points (see table on pxx). No change in disease rating was recorded for 15 varieties and 14 varieties retained a strong resistance rating of 8 or 9. Candidate varieties also performed well, with most (11/19) achieving a rating of 8 or 9 and no varieties achieving a rating below 6, she adds.
So what’s been causing this major shift in varietal resistance? Earlier this year, the UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) announced that the ‘Kranich’ yellow rust race had been detected in the UK for the first time (from a field sample taken in 2014). They’ve since also confirmed the presence of Kranich in a mixed-race sample collected from East Lothian in 2015.
According to Dr Sarah Holdgate, UKCPVS project manager based at NIAB, multiple races can be present on the same leaf and this is becoming more common.
“This can make initial diagnosis difficult, so we adjusted some of our testing techniques and now know that Kranich was present in the UK in both 2014 and 2015.”
In March, UKCPVS also revealed that a group of yellow rust isolates, sampled in 2015, appeared to be similar to the old UK Solstice race. Further testing showed these isolates had a distinct pattern of virulence on a wider set of varieties and were genetically unrelated to the old race.
“Given these differences, we think it’s highly likely we’ve detected a new race. The provisional name ‘Invicta’ has been given to it, as it was first detected on the wheat variety with the same name,” explains Sarah Holdgate.
“We’re continuing to work with this new race to assess the potential impact in adult plant tests. We’re also working with the global rust community to establish how this race fits into the wider European population.
“It’s highly possible that Kranich, Invicta, or even an as yet undetected race, could have been behind the unexpected levels of yellow rust seen in 2016,” she believes.
Many more varieties are now susceptible at the seedling stage, but it’s the adult stage that really counts, adds Jenna Watts.
“It’s good news that many varieties, both established and new, continue to show solid resistance to yellow rust during the critical adult stages.
“But it’s a turbulent time and we must continue to expect the unexpected. The genetic defence of our crops is fragile and we all need to monitor crops and report unexpected findings to the UKCPVS.”
Varieties affected
Of the 32 recommended varieties in trials, the following varieties’ disease ratings dropped by two points or more.
- Group 3: Britannia (8 to 4), Spyder (8 to 6), Zulu (9 to 5) and RGT Conversion (8 to 6)
- Group 4 – Myriad (8 to 4), Reflection (6 to 3) and JB Diego (7 to 5)
