Better disease resistance ratings, especially for septoria, are the main feature of most of the new winter wheats additions.

While yields haven’t risen in the Group 1 and Group 4 sectors, and there haven’t been any additions to Group 2, the agronomic characteristics have improved considerably, notes HGCA Recommended List manager Simon Oxley.

Group 1

The first new Group 1 winter variety for three years, Crusoe, has no yield advantage over Gallant at 99%, he acknowledges.

“But it has a higher specific weight and comes with a glowing report from nabim. It also has better disease resistance, with nines for mildew and yellow rust and sevens for brown rust and septoria tritici.

“That’s a step forward compared to the other two Group 1 choices, Solstice and Gallant.”

Its lower Hagberg of 266 is still well within the target and the same as that of Solstice, notes his RL colleague Bill Handley. “The millers have really got behind it. They describe it as consistent, having a bread crumb structure equal to that of Solstice and with good baking performance over three years.

“That’s about as good as it can get at this stage.”

Crusoe already has backing from Warburtons, which issued a buy-back contract through Openfield last summer. “That’s gone very well and the seed sold quickly,” reports Lee Robinson of Limagrain, the plant breeding company behind Crusoe.

Group 3

But the new soft Group 3, Torch, from RAGT, doesn’t bring improved disease resistance ratings to its market sector. It does, however, offer orange wheat blossom midge resistance and higher yields.

With a 3 for mildew and a 4 for yellow rust, Dr Oxley admits that low scores should serve as a warning to growers.

“We are aware of the concerns and will be doing more work with NIAB TAG to explain the rust situation and get timely information out to growers during the season.”

Torch, which is suitable for biscuit making and export, but not for distilling, has a yield of 105%, putting it one point ahead of both Invicta and Cocoon. It also has a 9 for brown rust and a 6 for septoria tritici.

The nabim verdict points out that its protein content has been lower than the controls for three seasons, but adds that this isn’t an issue for most soft wheat applications. “The dough rheology meets the criteria for a Group 3 variety,” confirms a spokesman.

Another variety which attracted end user support ahead of its recommendation, Torch was backed by ADM last summer for United Biscuits, with a buy back contract through Frontier Agriculture.

Group 4

In the Group 4 sector, Horatio has been added as a soft milling feed variety, while KWS Gator and Relay have both joined the hard milling sector.

Horatio, which has received a medium rating for distilling, has a yield of 105%. That makes it equal to Gravitas and just ahead of Beluga, notes Mr Handley, who adds that its disease resistance scores are an improvement, with a seven for mildew, eight for yellow rust and six for brown rust, as well as having resistance to orange wheat blossom midge.

Horatio is also approved as a blend for the UKS export category.

The new hard Group 4s, KWS Gator and Relay, have both produced high yields and good second wheat performance, although neither beats existing choices KWS Santiago and Conqueror on yield or appears to set new disease resistance standards.

KWS Gator has resistance to orange wheat blossom midge and a nine for yellow rust, but a three for brown rust and four for eyespot means that the variety will require attention, believes Dr Oxley.

“It’s done very well as a second wheat, with a yield of 108%. In the first wheat position, the yield is 106%.”

Relay, from RAGT, has been recommended for the east and west region, where it has a yield of 105%. It also has a nine for yellow rust and has produced good results as a second wheat.

However, Relay is slightly stronger than KWS Gator on other diseases, scoring fives for both brown rust and eyespot, and a six for septoria tritici.

“It’s worth remembering that while yellow rust makes the headlines, septoria is the single biggest disease on wheat,” stresses Dr Oxley. “And the new list has some varieties on it which have considerable improvements in septoria ratings.”

Seven winter wheat varieties have been removed from the list, including the popular hard Group 4 Oakley. “Its yellow rust rating fell below the minimum standard, as did that of Robigus, so they had to go,” he notes.

The others are Cassius, Gladiator, Glasgow, Istabraq and Kingdom with buy back contracts available through Frontier Agriculture and ADM Direct.

Group 1: How they compare

Group 3 and 4 varieties – at a glance

Spring wheat

Just one new name has been added to the spring wheat list. KWS Alderon, which is suitable for both spring and autumn sowing, is a hard Group 4 feed variety.

With a yield of 108%, it comes in just above Belvoir, says Mr Handley. “But it’s done even better when late autumn sown, with a yield of 110%.”

It also has good resistance to both yellow and brown rust, and gets a six for septoria, he notes.

• For more HGCA Recommended List 2012/13 coverage including early reaction and analysis of the changes, see our dedicated web page.