A new set of cereal and oilseed varieties has been unveiled today with the launch of the AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) 2026/27, offering farmers a more focused line-up and several significant improvements in yield potential.
The RLs provide independent, UK-wide performance data from years of replicated trials, giving growers trusted variety comparisons to guide crop planning and seed choices.
The latest online edition, released today (1 December), includes a broad mix of mainstream and more specialised varieties, though fewer additions were made this year compared with those removed. AHDB says this has produced a sharper, more selective list, with several high-performing newcomers.
For the third year in succession, a provisional UKFM Group 1 milling wheat features among the winter wheat additions, joined by a strong new soft Group 4 distilling variety and several hard Group 4 options.
While some of these Group 4 newcomers deliver excellent yields, several also arrive with agronomic compromises that farmers and agronomists will need to factor into drilling plans, rotations and spray strategies.
Yellow rust resistance played a major role in this year’s decisions. During harvest 2025 trials, a key resistance gene was breached, prompting AHDB to revise disease ratings for established winter wheat varieties earlier in the year. Although some suffered sharp drops in their yellow rust scores, many — including newly recommended varieties — still retain solid ratings of 7 to 9.
Market pressures have also influenced the list’s direction, with breeders and AHDB placing more emphasis on disease resilience and consistency as growers seek to balance high yield potential against increasing disease volatility and input cost uncertainty.
The winter barley list sees only three new additions, but more than a quarter of listed varieties now feature breeders’ claims for resistance or tolerance to Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).
Several new dual-use spring barley varieties also make the list, with the potential to break into the competitive malting sector if commercial demand follows.
The winter oilseed rape recommendations include new options across all categories. Most have a UK-wide recommendation, offering notable improvements in both yield and disease resistance compared with existing varieties — a welcome development as growers continue to navigate pressures from cabbage stem flea beetle and variable establishment conditions.
Paul Gosling, who oversees the RL for AHDB, said: “It’s been a relatively quiet year for new varieties and several of the new lists are shorter. The new release includes some niche varieties. Although these won’t appeal to everyone, they will fit some situations.”
He added that winter wheat decisions had been challenging after the “shake up to yellow rust resistance”, noting that AHDB had included some new hard Group 4s despite their susceptibility.
“Many varieties in this group are now susceptible to the disease. However, the recommendations are justified, due to the yield advantage of the new varieties over the current ones.”
