Two white clovers, one red clover and nine new ryegrass varieties have been added to the 2022/2023 Recommended Grass and Clover Lists (RGCL) for England and Wales.

Only grasses and clovers that have undergone at least four years of independent testing at trial sites across the UK are included in the lists. Varieties are rigorously tested for factors such as total annual yields under both conservation and simulated grazing management systems, with seasonal growth and feed quality as well as persistence and disease resistance and must show a clear improvement against varieties already on the list before being granted provisional status on the RGCL.

The RGCL is funded by plant breeders through the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB), AHDB, British Grassland society (BGS) and Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC).

Ellie Sweetman, NIAB Forage Crop Specialist, RGCL Trial Coordinator on behalf of the BSPB says: “The RGCL varieties bring increased production efficiency and environmental and economic sustainability through increased yields of high quality, highly digestible forage whilst increasing nitrogen use efficiency.”

”The RGCL is a useful tool when reseeding, allowing growers to check that the varieties selected are the best available, supporting decision making alongside their seed merchants to select mixtures of varieties that will best meet the requirements of their specific system for yield, feed quality and timeliness of production.”

In addition to providing information on each variety, the RGCL also includes a range of technical information for farmers on how to manage their reseed and maximise the productivity of their swards.

The 2022/2023 RGCL handbook and the full lists for merchants is available to download from the AHDB knowledge library and britishgrassland.com/rgcl. Hard copies will be available on request. 

Descriptions of new Recommended Grass and Clover List varieties 2022:

White Clover 

Legacy

Large leaved white clover with good second and third harvest year yields, excellent first cut yield in the second year, excellent autumn ground cover in the second harvest year under light defoliation

Kakariki 

Very large leaved white clover with good total yield in the second harvest year and very good yield in the third year. Excellent first and last cut yields in the third harvest year. Good autumn ground covers in both years under both light and hard defoliation.

Red Clover

Ganymed 

Very good first harvest year and excellent second and third harvest year yields and very good ground covers. Good year 1 first cut, and years 2 and 3 second cut protein yields, despite low first and second year protein content.

Italian Ryegrass (Diploid)

Jaccar 

Excellent total annual yield with good first and second cut ME yield in the first harvest year. Excellent early spring growth and first conservation cut yield in the first harvest year which suggests cutting earlier would increase D values whilst maintaining high yields. Good ground covers with limited data showing very good winter hardiness. Good crown rust resistance with limited data showing very good brown rust resistance.

Italian Ryegrass (Tetraploid)

Melsprinter

Excellent total annual yield with excellent early spring growth, second conservation cut yield and monthly cuts yields in the first harvest year. Taking second cuts slightly early would allow for higher D values whilst still achieving very good yields. Rated a PS for lower second harvest year performance and ground covers that are compensated for by the very good first year performance. Limited data shows good winter hardiness. Good brown rust resistance and excellent crown rust resistance.

Hybrid Ryegrass

AberOpal(T)

Excellent total annual yields and first and second cut ME yields in the first harvest year, excellent first conservation cut D value, second cut yield and monthly cuts yields. Good resistance to mildew but susceptible to crown rust so recommended for areas of low risk of crown rust risk.

Early Perennial Ryegrass

Barwave 

Excellent total yield with excellent first and second cut ME yields, excellent first cut D value and excellent second and fourth cut yields under conservation management. Excellent early grazing yield. Limited data shows excellent winter hardiness. Very good crown rust resistance with limited data showing good resistance to mildew. Low ground covers compensated for by excellent performance in other characters.

Intermediate Perennial Ryegrass (Diploid)

Alecto

Excellent total yield in the first harvest year with excellent first cut D value and second cut yield under conservation management with good ground covers. Excellent early summer yield under grazing management. Good resistance to crown rust. 

Intermediate Perennial Ryegrass (Tetraploid)

Tollymore 

Excellent total yield and ME yield and very good D value under grazing management with excellent Early, Spring, Late Summer and Autumn growth. Excellent fourth cut yield under conservation management. Limited data shows good winter hardiness

Late Perennial Ryegrass (Diploid)

Crossgar 

Excellent total yield in the first harvest year with excellent fourth cut yield under conservation management. Very good early summer growth with very good yield and D value under grazing management. Limited data shows good winter hardiness. 

Timuco

Excellent yield and ME yield under grazing management with excellent summer growth. Excellent total annual yields and excellent second and fourth cut yields under conservation management. Good resistance to crown rust. 

AberDon 

Excellent grazing yield, D value and ME yield under grazing management with excellent early spring, summer and autumn growth. Excellent first and second cut D values with excellent second, third and fourth cut yields under conservation management. Limited data shows excellent winter hardiness.