Ten new winter wheat varieties and 14 new winter barley varieties have been added to the AHDB’s Recommended List for cereals and oilseeds 2025/26. 

Many more new wheat and barley varieties join the line-up this year after a huge number of candidates were tested.

The removal of 26 varieties across all categories has helped to prevent a massive expansion of the list.   

See also: Round-up of 14 new peas and beans on 2025 PGRO list

With far greater emphasis on regional and niche situations than before, a stand-out feature of the new lists is the stream of new varieties with either tolerance or resistance to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).

Not only do these newcomers fit the present mood for reduced inputs and lower costs, they also allow growers to incorporate the Sustainable Farming Incentive actions that reward integrated pest management approaches and zero insecticide use into their rotational plans.

Positive improvements in most market sectors, including another new Group 1 variety, are also features of the latest winter wheat list.

As AHDB’s Paul Gosling points out, the importance given to untreated yield and strong disease resistance ratings is reflected in the additions, with some strong-looking candidates falling at the final hurdle after struggling in the 2024 high disease pressure season.

“Septoria overcame the RL fungicide programme in some of the trials and we saw brown rust at unprecedented levels,” says Paul.

Winter wheat

Group 1

Vibe joins as a provisional Group 1 having only received its national listing a few weeks ago, with its permanent place as a bread-maker expected to be confirmed next spring.

Vibe doesn’t take treated yield to a new level at 98%, sitting just below Zyatt in the table.

However, it does offer the improved disease resistance that the Group 1 sector has been crying out for, believes Jim Knightbraid, seed business development manager at Frontier Agriculture.

He also highlights its good grain quality.

“It has the highest protein in the milling sector at 13.2%, even ahead of Crusoe,” he says. “The only missing attribute is orange wheat blossom midge [OWBM] resistance.”

Clare Leaman, cereal varieties specialist at Niab points to Vibe’s high untreated yield of 89%.

“As with all new varieties, there’s still a lot to learn about it. But there’s space in the market for both Vibe and last year’s quality wheat addition, Cheer.”

She adds the results of milling tests completed on Vibe appear to support its inclusion as Group 1.

John Miles, seed technical manager at Agrii, is pleased to see Vibe join the list.

“Our trials results agree with the disease resistance ratings it has been given and it is very good for lodging too, so there are no concerns about straw strength.”

Group 2

A further five varieties have joined the Group 2 category – but not all of them are likely to take a significant share in a competitive market.

For John, the Group 2 market sector doesn’t need varieties that don’t have miller support, so he expects Palladium to maintain its place having set a new standard.

“Our data doesn’t align with all of the new RL disease ratings so we are keen to see another year’s results before committing to most of these Group 2 newcomers.”

Top of the group is newcomer Arnie, on a treated yield of 106%. With a 4% yield advantage over Extase, it will compete with the hard feed varieties rather than go for milling.

Short, stiff and quite early to maturity, it is not suitable for export and growers will need to check for markets.

With a similar growth habit to Extase, Arnie won’t be one for the early drillers, believes Jim.

“It’s done very well in the west, with a yield of 108%, so that might be its natural home. A resistance rating of 7.1 for septoria helps its cause.”

The other new Group 2s are described as solid all-rounders, but with regional appeal.

They include Equipe, Newbie and Shergar – the latter two having given good performance in the north and the former tipped to take some of the current Extase market.

Both Equipe and Newbie on 103% are suitable for export, while Newbie is also a more typical Group 2 in terms of baking quality, notes Paul.

“Shergar has a high specific weight of 80.4kg/hl, but a lower protein.”

The final newcomer is Goldfinch, which has a much lower yield of 89%, but brings BYDV resistance to this category, along with OWBM resistance, and so has a specific recommendation.

The insecticide-free wheat concept that it is being marketed will appeal to a select group of millers, predicts Jim, who recognises Goldfinch’s place in the sustainability market and for lower input systems.

“It was incredibly clean in 2024, thanks to 9 ratings for both yellow and brown rust,” says Clare. “But Goldfinch is weaker strawed, so that will need managing.”

Goldfinch is not suitable for export and is later maturing, says Paul, who welcomes it to the list and expects more varieties of this type to come in future years.

Group 3

The complete rejuvenation of the Group 3 market sector started by last year’s addition, Bamford, should continue in the coming year as Solitaire joins the list.

With a yield of 107%, it doubles the choice of high-performing Group 3s available to growers and also brings OWBM resistance to the table.

“It’s slightly ahead of Bamford on yield in all three regions,” points out Jim. “But you might want to drill it later than Bamford as its straw strength isn’t quite as good.”

Solitaire has a good rating for distilling, notes Clare. “That makes it of interest to the North, although drilling date may be an issue as you go up the country.”

John is a bit wary of its low Hagberg of 179 and points out that Bamford is already established and expected to achieve around 8% market share, giving Solitaire some work to do.

Flute has also been added to the list in the Group 3 sector on a yield of 106%. Just behind Solitaire for yield, its disease resistance scores don’t quite meet those of its stablemate.

It does, however, offer market flexibility, receiving a medium rating for distilling and being suitable for export.

Group 4 Soft

Hexton has been added to the Group 4 soft feed varieties, with a UK yield of 105%, just behind Redwald.

Clare highlights its yield in the North of 111%, which together with its suitability for distilling, give it an advantage.

John sees a place for it and believes it will fill niche opportunities that other mainstream varieties don’t.

“Hexton’s early drilled performance is very good and it’s suitable for distilling, so it’s a variety that we like the look of.”

Group 4 Hard

Scope takes top spot for output and joins the list with a treated yield of 108%, putting it just ahead of Champion.   

Clare expects that it will have an impact, as the top feed varieties have spread out a bit on yield after the challenging growing season in 2024.

“It’s a high yielding, very stiff variety with a good specific weight,” she says. “The only potential watchpoint with Scope is yellow rust.”

Jim points out that it sits at the top of a very strong list and has good grain quality. “It has a yield in the west of 111% and seems to perform on all soil types and rotational positions.

“It has a 7 rating for yellow rust, a 6.5 for septoria and 6 for brown rust – which is about as good as it gets for brown rust with the feed varieties.”

The 10 new winter wheat varieties
Group	Name	Treated yield (%)	Untreated yield (%)
Group 1	Vibe	98	89
Group 2	Arnie	106	87
	Equipe	103	92
	Newbie	103	85
	Shergar	102	87
	Goldfinch	89	84
Group 3	Solitaire	107	88
	Flute	106	80
Group 4 soft	Hexton	105	80
Group 4 hard	Scope	108	85

Winter barley

The winter barley list has had more additions than usual, with seven new two-row feed varieties, two six-row hybrids and multiple new varieties with either tolerance or resistance to barley yellow dwarf virus.

In a year that has seen the winter barley area contract and some commentators question how many varieties are required, many of the newcomers come with distinct regional recommendations, reflecting their yield potential or disease strengths in certain conditions.

Two-row feeds

Of the seven new two-rows, just three have a UK recommendation. These include Valencis, Nos Olena and Kitty – the latter two being marketed by Senova.

Both Valencis and Nos Olena have yields of 106% and high untreated yields. Nos Olena is the highest yielding in the North, on 108%, while Valencis has done well in the East and has a very high untreated yield of 91%.

Kitty is slightly behind, on a treated yield of 104%, but has a couple of strengths that are unique to the variety and will appeal to barley growers, highlights Clare.

“Kitty has resistance to both strain 1 and strain 2 of barley yellow mosaic virus [BaYMV] and it has the highest specific weight on the Recommended List of 72.7kg/hl,” she says.

Whether there’s room for all of them remains to be seen, notes Jim, who highlights Valencis as very consistent and Kitty as having a ready audience for on-farm feeding use.

John says that Kitty has a yield of 108% in the North, which when coupled with its very good rhychosporium and net blotch ratings, give it a clear market in Scotland and make it a welcome addition.

The other two-rows all come with regional recommendations.

Russo from Agrii is for the East, Heraclis and Rosemary from Elsoms for the North and Arion from Saaten Union is recommended for the North and East.

“Russo is the highest yielding two-row for the East, where it has a yield of 108%, and has an untreated yield of 90%,” reports Paul. “It is slightly weaker strawed.”

Otherwise, Heraclis matches Olena and Kitty in the north, on 108%, while Rosemary has a North yield of 106%.

Arion has a yield of 107% in the East and 105% in the North, but its lodging rating of 6 means that straw strength will need managing.   

Six-row hybrids

In a break from tradition, KWS has a new six-row hybrid called Inys, while Syngenta’s dominance in this market sector continues with Quantock.

Both have a treated yield of 109%, with Quantock having an untreated yield figure of 93% – the highest on the winter barley list.

Clare notes that Inys is very stiff while Quantock is slightly cleaner. “These are two strong contenders that bring genetic improvements and have opened up the gap with the two-rows again.”

BYDV resistance

The other new hybrid six-row, Kestrel, has a specific recommendation as it is resistant to BYDV and has tolerance to wheat dwarf virus.

On a yield of 104% – but with a figure of 108% for the West – it has an untreated yield of 86% but a slightly lower specific weight of 68.7 kg/hl.

BYDV tolerance

The new list includes two new two-row feed varieties with BYDV tolerance for the first time, Organa from Senova and Carpenter, both on a treated yield of 102%.

Organa has a specific UK recommendation while Carpenter has a specific East and West recommendation, along with the highest untreated yield of all the two-rows at 92%.

“This is a new category on the Recommended List,” reports Paul. “They are both interesting varieties and are bound to appeal – Organa has done very well in the East and Carpenter has a good specific weight but is slightly weaker strawed.”

There are also two conventional six-rows with BYDV tolerance – Integral from Agrii and Sixy from Elsoms.    

“Both of these are very stiff strawed, but otherwise are quite different, notes Clare.

“Sixy has done well in the north, but has a lower untreated yield. Integral has a very high untreated yield of 91%.”

The 14 new winter barley varieties
Group	Name	UK treated yield (%)	Untreated yield (%)
UK-wide two-row feed	Valencis	106	91
	Nos Olena	106	87
	Kitty	104
Regional two row feed	Russo (East)	106 (East 108)	90
	Hercalis (North)	104 (North 108)	91
	Rosemary (North)	104 (North 106)	90
	Arion (North and East)	104 (North 105, Edast 107)	86
Six-row hybrids	Inys	109	90
	Quantock	109	93
BYDV resistant six-row	Kestrel	104	86
BYDV tolerant six-row	Integral	105	91
	Sixy	105	75
BYDV tolerant two-row	Organa	102	90
	Carpenter	102	92