With the country opening up again, there have been some opportunities to view existing and new varieties. In recent weeks, I visited trials at the Department’s research centre in Backweston, in Goldcrop in Shanagarry and the new Seedtech site at Faithlegg in Waterford.
My main focus at these visits was to view the candidate varieties for recommendation for next season and to see what else looked particularly interesting for the years ahead. The comments here are based on what I saw at the three sites and the information and comments provided by Angela Ryan at Backweston, John Dunne at Goldcrop and Tim O’Donovan at Seedtech.
There are five candidates for recommendation on next year’s recommended list. These are Normandy, KWS Hawking, KWS Higgins, KWS Patriot and NOS 911.015-57, but Patriot is the only one with adequate seed availability to be recommended.
Normandy is a California x Zirene cross which yielded 101 and 99 in 2019 and 2018, respectively. There is no native seed available.
KWS Hawking is from a Tower cross with a California pre-cross. Recent yield levels were 97 and 101. No seed availability.
KWS Higgins is a conventional six-row with previous yields of 113 and 104. It is prone to brackling. There is no seed availability.
KWS Patriot is a nice-looking two-row with Infinity, Tower, and California in its parentage. Yield in the last two years was 100 and 102. This variety accounts for 5% of the seed availability in 2020.
NOS 911.015-57 is also a California x Zirene cross. Previous yields were 98 and 99, which make it an unlikely candidate.
While not yet a candidate for recommendation, the variety KWS Joyau is interesting because it carries BYDV tolerance and so could suit an earlier sowing slot. It is a conventional six-row variety which yielded 121 last year. A bit susceptible to mildew and straw is being questioned. It is very early maturing. There is 5% seed availability.
Spring barley
There are seven candidate varieties for recommendation but the only one that has seed availability is Highway (1%) and so it is the only one that is really in contention for recommendation.
Highway is a Sparkle x Quench cross with relatively modest yield at 101 and 102 in the past two years. It has big grain but there is a question as to its straw strength.
Rockway is from the same breeder as Highway. This is a Planet cross with previous yields of 104 and 105.
Riverhead, again from the same breeder, had previous yields of 103 and 105.
KWS Abbie is a three-quarter Planet cross with yield of 103 and 106. It has a good agronomic package but KPH is on the low side.
SJ Geraldine has Irina, Planet and Laureate in its parentage. It yielded 105 and 102 in recent years. It is a low GN variety, targeted at malting, with good straw characteristics.
SY Febo has Irina, Sanette and Planet in its parentage. Recent yields were 104 and 104. It has strong straw but will not be available commercially until 2022.
NOS 112.512-05 is a Quantum x Planet cross with previous yields of 103 and 103.
Other varieties that are coming in on the malting side include SY Tungsten, SY Splendor.
Winter wheat
There are three candidate varieties up for recommendation on the winter wheat list but only SY Insitor has seed availability for the coming season.
LG Skyscraper is out of a Santiago cross with recent trial yields of 103 and 104. It is moderately tall and moderately susceptible to septoria. No seed multiplied.
SY Insitor is relatively tall and comes with previous yields of 105 and 104. It is from a Hereford cross and is a bit prone to mildew. There is 1% seed availability.
Chevignon had yields of 100 and 103 in the past two years. This is quite a tall variety with a vibrant green colour. No seed multiplication.
Other varieties that caught my eye for their good combinations of yield potential, cleanliness and straw include:
LG Illuminate had a yield of 108 in trials last year. It is Cougar x Leeds cross, crossed with Brittania. It looked well at all locations and seems to have very strong straw.
KWS Dawsum is a nice-looking variety. It yielded 104 last year. It is a Kerrin x Costello cross so one might expect it to have good specific weight. It has short, strong straw, good disease resistance and high hagberg.
RGT Saki yielded 103 last year. This is a Cougar x Santiago cross which looked well. It may be a little prone to mildew. It is a slow developer with very good yellow rust resistance.
LG Astronomer looks to be a good variety, with a good agronomic package. It is from the same stable as Illuminate and Insitor, but its yield may be slightly lower. Seems hardier and more robust than Insitor. This variety is being evaluated for its suitability for distilling and it looks promising.
Spring wheat
Chilham spring wheat is no longer in trials so it will not be recommended next year. There are five candidate varieties for recommendation but only Hexham and WPB Duncan have seed availability.
Hexham is a Flint x Westfield cross, with previous yields of 106 and 110. It is good on disease with strong straw. It will have 21% of seed availability.
KWS Helium has mainly numbered parents with previous yields of 105 and 101. It has very green colour. No seed.
Harenda looked reasonable down the country but suffered badly at the dryer site in Backweston. Mainly parents with numbers again and previous yields of 108 and 99. No seed.
WPB Arcade has Quintus in its parentage. It has a pale green colour, looks very good and comes in with previous yields of 106 and 107. No seed.
WPB Duncan also has Quintus in its parentage. It looks well with good disease resistance. Previous yields were 110 and 104. It has high hagberg. It will have 1% of seed availability.
Winter oats: there are no candidate varieties in the winter oats trials.
Spring oats: there is only one candidate variety for this list|.
KWS Nuage is a Canyon x Albatros cross and has previous yields of 109 and 109. There is 1% seed availability.
There are quite a number of potential candidate cereal varieties up for recommendation for the coming season.There must be a minimum of 1% certified seed availability for a variety to be recommended, but there is no seed of many of these candidates.There are some interesting varieties in the pipeline for future years for malting, distilling and SY Joyau is a six-row winter barley with BYDV tolerance.
With the country opening up again, there have been some opportunities to view existing and new varieties. In recent weeks, I visited trials at the Department’s research centre in Backweston, in Goldcrop in Shanagarry and the new Seedtech site at Faithlegg in Waterford.
My main focus at these visits was to view the candidate varieties for recommendation for next season and to see what else looked particularly interesting for the years ahead. The comments here are based on what I saw at the three sites and the information and comments provided by Angela Ryan at Backweston, John Dunne at Goldcrop and Tim O’Donovan at Seedtech.
There are five candidates for recommendation on next year’s recommended list. These are Normandy, KWS Hawking, KWS Higgins, KWS Patriot and NOS 911.015-57, but Patriot is the only one with adequate seed availability to be recommended.
Normandy is a California x Zirene cross which yielded 101 and 99 in 2019 and 2018, respectively. There is no native seed available.
KWS Hawking is from a Tower cross with a California pre-cross. Recent yield levels were 97 and 101. No seed availability.
KWS Higgins is a conventional six-row with previous yields of 113 and 104. It is prone to brackling. There is no seed availability.
KWS Patriot is a nice-looking two-row with Infinity, Tower, and California in its parentage. Yield in the last two years was 100 and 102. This variety accounts for 5% of the seed availability in 2020.
NOS 911.015-57 is also a California x Zirene cross. Previous yields were 98 and 99, which make it an unlikely candidate.
While not yet a candidate for recommendation, the variety KWS Joyau is interesting because it carries BYDV tolerance and so could suit an earlier sowing slot. It is a conventional six-row variety which yielded 121 last year. A bit susceptible to mildew and straw is being questioned. It is very early maturing. There is 5% seed availability.
Spring barley
There are seven candidate varieties for recommendation but the only one that has seed availability is Highway (1%) and so it is the only one that is really in contention for recommendation.
Highway is a Sparkle x Quench cross with relatively modest yield at 101 and 102 in the past two years. It has big grain but there is a question as to its straw strength.
Rockway is from the same breeder as Highway. This is a Planet cross with previous yields of 104 and 105.
Riverhead, again from the same breeder, had previous yields of 103 and 105.
KWS Abbie is a three-quarter Planet cross with yield of 103 and 106. It has a good agronomic package but KPH is on the low side.
SJ Geraldine has Irina, Planet and Laureate in its parentage. It yielded 105 and 102 in recent years. It is a low GN variety, targeted at malting, with good straw characteristics.
SY Febo has Irina, Sanette and Planet in its parentage. Recent yields were 104 and 104. It has strong straw but will not be available commercially until 2022.
NOS 112.512-05 is a Quantum x Planet cross with previous yields of 103 and 103.
Other varieties that are coming in on the malting side include SY Tungsten, SY Splendor.
Winter wheat
There are three candidate varieties up for recommendation on the winter wheat list but only SY Insitor has seed availability for the coming season.
LG Skyscraper is out of a Santiago cross with recent trial yields of 103 and 104. It is moderately tall and moderately susceptible to septoria. No seed multiplied.
SY Insitor is relatively tall and comes with previous yields of 105 and 104. It is from a Hereford cross and is a bit prone to mildew. There is 1% seed availability.
Chevignon had yields of 100 and 103 in the past two years. This is quite a tall variety with a vibrant green colour. No seed multiplication.
Other varieties that caught my eye for their good combinations of yield potential, cleanliness and straw include:
LG Illuminate had a yield of 108 in trials last year. It is Cougar x Leeds cross, crossed with Brittania. It looked well at all locations and seems to have very strong straw.
KWS Dawsum is a nice-looking variety. It yielded 104 last year. It is a Kerrin x Costello cross so one might expect it to have good specific weight. It has short, strong straw, good disease resistance and high hagberg.
RGT Saki yielded 103 last year. This is a Cougar x Santiago cross which looked well. It may be a little prone to mildew. It is a slow developer with very good yellow rust resistance.
LG Astronomer looks to be a good variety, with a good agronomic package. It is from the same stable as Illuminate and Insitor, but its yield may be slightly lower. Seems hardier and more robust than Insitor. This variety is being evaluated for its suitability for distilling and it looks promising.
Spring wheat
Chilham spring wheat is no longer in trials so it will not be recommended next year. There are five candidate varieties for recommendation but only Hexham and WPB Duncan have seed availability.
Hexham is a Flint x Westfield cross, with previous yields of 106 and 110. It is good on disease with strong straw. It will have 21% of seed availability.
KWS Helium has mainly numbered parents with previous yields of 105 and 101. It has very green colour. No seed.
Harenda looked reasonable down the country but suffered badly at the dryer site in Backweston. Mainly parents with numbers again and previous yields of 108 and 99. No seed.
WPB Arcade has Quintus in its parentage. It has a pale green colour, looks very good and comes in with previous yields of 106 and 107. No seed.
WPB Duncan also has Quintus in its parentage. It looks well with good disease resistance. Previous yields were 110 and 104. It has high hagberg. It will have 1% of seed availability.
Winter oats: there are no candidate varieties in the winter oats trials.
Spring oats: there is only one candidate variety for this list|.
KWS Nuage is a Canyon x Albatros cross and has previous yields of 109 and 109. There is 1% seed availability.
There are quite a number of potential candidate cereal varieties up for recommendation for the coming season.There must be a minimum of 1% certified seed availability for a variety to be recommended, but there is no seed of many of these candidates.There are some interesting varieties in the pipeline for future years for malting, distilling and SY Joyau is a six-row winter barley with BYDV tolerance. 
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