Two new spring cereals varieties are on the recommended lists for 2017. These are RGT Planet spring barley and Keely spring oats and both are provisionally recommended.

Both come on with very high yield potential, with RGT Planet rated at 105 for yield, with average straw and good disease ratings. Kelly has a yield rating of 108, with average straw and disease resistance characteristics.

The major changes are on the spring barley list, where the arrival of RGT Planet brings the highest yield rating for 2017. Frontier, Soldo and SY Taberna have been dropped from the barley list and Planet has been added.

There are six varieties recommended for 2017. These are KWS Irina (103), Mickle (101), Paustian (101), Propino (99), Sanette (102) and RGT Planet (105). All are fully recommended except for Planet, which has just been introduced.

Spring wheat has no changes on the recommended list. Three varieties are fully recommended: Quintus (106), RGT Doubleshot (102) and Sparrow (98). Quintus is rated slightly higher on yield than last year, but such changes are always inevitable because all ratings are based on a three -year average.

The spring oat list has a welcome addition with the introduction of Keely with provisional recommendation. Four varieties are recommended: Barra (94), Binary (109), Husky (106) and Keely (108). The new introduction from German plant breeder Nordsaat stands out due to its quality ratings where its specific weight is closest to Barra, a characteristic noted in this variety during its evaluation. And it has very high yield potential also.