The spring cereal recommended lists for 2019 sees the addition of four spring barley varieties, two oats and one wheat. Propino barley and Binary oats are discontinued. The four new barleys are KWS Cantton, Prospect, SY Arderin and SY Errigal. The new oat varieties are Delfin and WPB Isabel. The new spring wheat is KWS Chilham.

KWS Cantton has come onto the spring barley recommended list with high yield potential but straw strength is not rated very highly.

The new lists were published by the Department of Agriculture last December and, with planting already under way, growers will have a direct interest in this information.

The recommended lists are important reference guides for growers in terms of variety choice and crop management guidelines.

That said, it is always important to remember that a one or two point difference in relative yield may not matter in an individual field or in a specific year so the combination of all other characteristics should also be considered. This particularly refers to standing power, straw characteristics and disease resistance and grain quality should be considered also.

Spring barley

Relative variety ratings for the different agronomic characteristics are shown in Table 1. This includes a rating for grain protein and it shows that some varieties, like Planet, tend to be lower than others.

The recommended varieties

GANGWAY: Yield is down four points on last year with tall straw but it has good resistance to lodging and brackling (straw breakdown). Later maturing. Has very good resistance to mildew and net blotch and good resistance to brown rust and rhyncho. Grain size is average with excellent grain quality. It is from a Zeppelin x (Natasia x Kathinka) cross from Sejet in Denmark and handled here by Goldcrop.

KWS IRINA: Yield is back three points on last year. Straw is moderately short with good resistance to lodging and brackling. Average maturity.

Has very good resistance to mildew and net blotch, with moderate resistance to rhyncho and brown rust. Seed size is average with potentially high screenings and low specific weight. A Conchita x Quench cross from KWS Lochow in Germany. Agent: SeedTech.

MICKLE: Also down three points on yield. Short straw with good lodging and brackling resistance. Early maturing. Susceptible to mildew (down a point) and net blotch and moderately susceptible to brown rust. It has good resistance to rhyncho. Average grain size with good specific weight and low screenings. A Propino x Snakebite cross from Syngenta Seeds in Britain. Agent: SeedTech.

PAUSTIAN: Yield rating is down three points. Moderately tall straw with moderate resistance to lodging and brackling. Late maturing. Has very good resistance to mildew, good resistance to rhyncho and brown rust and moderate resistance to net blotch. Average grain size and specific weight with potentially high screenings. It is a Zeppelin x Propino cross from Sejet in Denmark. Agent: Goldcrop.

RGT PLANET: Yield is down two points on last year. Has moderately tall straw that is moderately susceptible to lodging but susceptible to brackling. Late maturing. Very good resistance to mildew, good resistance to rhyncho, moderate resistance to brown rust and is moderately susceptible to net blotch. Seed size is big with moderate screenings and average specific weight. From a Tamtam x Concerto cross from RAGT UK. Agent: Goldcrop.

Provisional varieties

HACKER: Down three points on yield. Straw length is average with good resistance to lodging with moderate resistance to brackling. Early maturing. Very good resistance to mildew and good resistance to rhyncho, net blotch and brown rust. Grain size is small with excellent quality. Bred by Secobra in France, it is a Quench x Belgravia cross. Handled here by Goldcrop.

KWS CANTTON: High yield potential at 103. Straw is very tall and is moderately susceptible to lodging and susceptible to straw breakdown. Early maturing. The limited data suggests that it has very good mildew resistance, is resistant to net blotch and has moderate resistance to brown rust. There is no rhyncho data available. It has big grain, low screenings and good specific weight. Progeny of a Tamtam x SJ 56007 cross from KWS Lochow. Agent: SeedTech.

LIMONA: Second year on the list and yield is down three points. Tall straw with good resistance to lodging and brackling. Early maturing. Very good resistance to mildew and net blotch, good resistance to rhyncho and moderate resistance to brown rust. It has small grain with good specific weight but screenings can be high. A German-bred variety from a (Concerto x Milford) x Quench cross at Bruen. Handled here by Germinal Ireland.

PROSPECT: Showing very high yield potential but is regarded as moderately susceptible to lodging and moderately resistant to brackling. Later maturing. It is said to be very resistant to mildew, resistant to brown rust but moderately susceptible to net blotch. There is no rating for rhyncho. Grain size is very small and specific weight is on the low side. Screenings might be higher than other varieties. This is a Sejet variety from a cross between KWS Irina x Overture. Agent: Goldcrop.

SY ARDERIN: High yield potential with good resistance to lodging and straw breakdown. Later maturing. Ratings indicate very good resistance to mildew, good resistance to net blotch and moderate resistance to brown rust. There are no ratings for rhyncho. It has very big grain size, lower specific weight and higher screenings. This is a Syngenta variety from a Sparkle x Crooner cross. Agent: SeedTech.

SY ERRIGAL: Very high yield potential with tallish straw. Good resistance to lodging and moderate resistance to brackling. Late maturing. It has very good resistance to mildew and net blotch with good resistance to brown rust. It has no rating against rhyncho. Grain size is high but specific weight is on the low side. It is a Dragoon x Mickle cross from Syngenta. Agent: SeedTech.

Spring wheat

The 2019 spring wheat list has three varieties, Quintus and RGT Doubleshot are fully recommended and KWS Chilham is new and provisionally recommended. Variety characteristics are shown in Table 2. All three varieties are regarded as having good milling and baking quality.

The varieties

QUINTUS: Yield is back a point this year. A taller awned variety with moderately weak straw. Early maturing. It has good resistance to yellow rust, is moderately resistant to septoria but very susceptible to mildew. Also susceptible to sprouting. It is a Dutch variety from Wiersum of numbered-variety parents. It has quite big seed size and good specific weight. Agent: Goldcrop.

RGT DOUBLESHOT: Yield is up a point this year. This is a French variety from a Josselin x Pasteur cross at RAGT. It has moderately short and moderately weak straw. Average on maturity. Better on disease – moderately resistant to septoria and moderately susceptible to mildew and yellow rust. Good resistance to sprouting. It has very small seed size but very good specific weight. Agent: Goldcrop.

KWS CHILHAM: New and high yielding but susceptible to lodging despite its short straw. It is later maturing. It is currently good against disease with very good resistance to yellow rust, good resistance to mildew and moderate resistance to septoria. It is also good on sprouting and grain quality. A KWS variety from a Sparrow x Azurite cross. Agent: Goldcrop.

Spring oats

The 2019 spring oat recommended list includes two new provisionally recommended varieties, Delfin and WPB Isabel. Details and ratings for all the varieties are shown in Table 3.

The varieties

BARRA: Still going strong after 34 years on the recommended list but it continues to weaken. Resistance to lodging is down a point to leave it rated as very susceptible to lodging and moderately susceptible to straw breakdown. Very poor against diseases. Still has great grain quality but it may now be equalled. Bred by Svalöf Weibull AB from a Selma x KM1 MS cross. Agent: Goldcrop.

DELFIN: A very high yielding early maturing yellow oat variety from Nordsaat in Germany. It has good resistance to lodging and moderate resistance to straw breakdown. It has very good resistance to mildew but is susceptible to crown rust. Grain quality is good but lower than the others. It is the progeny of a cross between 07/107 x Canyon. Agent: SeedTech.

Delfin is a very high-yielding yellow oat variety which is provisionally recommended this year.

HUSKY: High yield potential variety from a Firth x Freddy cross at Nordsaat. Straw is short with moderate resistance to lodging (down a point) but it is moderately susceptible to breakdown. Early maturing, it is moderately resistant to mildew but susceptible to crown rust. Has good kernel content and specific weight. Agent: SeedTech.

KEELY: Yield is back four points this year. It is early maturity. Another Nordsaat variety from a (06/114 x Scorpion) cross. It has moderately short straw with moderate susceptibility to lodging. It is susceptible to straw breakdown. Moderately susceptible to both mildew and crown rust. It has good grain quality. Agent: Goldcrop.

WPB ISABEL: Also new and very high yielding with excellent grain quality. Current observations suggest very good lodging and straw breakdown resistance. And it is moderately resistant to mildew and crown rust. Excellent grain quality. This is a Wiersum variety from a LW 03W038-06 x Husky cross. Agent: Goldcrop.