Spring wheat recommended and candidate lists

Spring wheat RL trials record average yields in 2023

Harvest Results are now available from four fungicide-treated RL spring wheat trial sites – Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and North Yorkshire. Two further trials in Lincolnshire were rejected due to excessive variability in the trial.

The average yield of control varieties is 7.14 t/ha, just above the five-year average of 7.11 t/ha. The highest yielding trial was in Suffolk (8.16 t/ha) and the lowest in Norfolk (5.86 t/ha).

Calculating yield results

Yields are represented as a percentage of the control varieties. In 2023, the control varieties are Mulika (Group 1), KWS Cochise (Group 2) and Hexham (Group 4). The yield average from these varieties is represented as 100%.

2023 results

With such a small number of trials in 2023 there needs to be some caution exercised in comparisons between varieties. Having said that, the highest yielding variety in 2023 was the newly recommended UKFM Group 2 variety KWS Alicium (107%) followed by the potential bread making candidate WPB Mylo (105%) and the Group 4 variety Hexham (104%).

Five-year average

The five-year average is a better measure of variety performance, especially in this relatively variable crop.

On this basis, Group 4 variety KWS Fixum is highest yielding at 106% of controls, ahead of newly recommended UKFM Group 2 variety KWS Alicium (105%) and Group 4 variety Hexham (104%). The potential bread-making candidate WPB Mylo is on 103% and it seems to have good straw strength, with little lodging. However, grain quality in 2023 was a little lower than might be hoped, especially specific weight and it will be up to UKFM to decide on its final grouping. Newly recommended UKFM Group 1 variety KWS Harsum is on 102%, with good specific weight and Hagberg Falling Number, but slightly lower protein with newly recommended UKFM Group 2 variety KWS Lightum on 101%, with good grain quality. Also on 101% are UKFM Group 1 variety KWS Ladum and UKFM Group 2 variety KWS Cochise.

Mulika is lowest yielding, on 95%, along with fellow UKFM Group 1 variety Nissaba, though Mulika’s excellent grain quality has again been shown in 2023.

Further information

Access full trial results via the AHDB website: ahdb.org.uk/harvestresults

AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) trials test variety performance under optimum conditions. Care should be taken when making comparisons with commercial yields. Results from individual trial sites should not be used to make conclusions on variety performance. The RL publications are based on information from trials across the UK over several seasons. As more information becomes available from the current harvest, this will contribute to the over-trials averages – which comprise four years for oilseeds and five years for cereals. These averages provide better information for comparison between varieties. Performance variation is not the responsibility of AHDB. Since the focus is to test new varieties, not all RL varieties are presented. Yields for well-established varieties are published at ahdb.org.uk/rl