The online edition of the Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds (RL) 2026/27 was launched yesterday (1 December 2025).

The latest edition of the variety guidance for farmers and agronomists includes a diverse set of cereal and oilseed varieties, with new options for mainstream and relatively niche markets.

With fewer varieties added than removed, the lists are more focused and include numerous varieties with big yield improvements.

For the third consecutive year, a new provisional UKFM Group 1 variety has been added to the winter wheat recommended list. This list also features a strong new distilling soft group 4 feed variety and several new hard group 4 varieties. Although some of these group 4s are very high yielding, some come with agronomic compromises.

During the harvest 2025 trials, a major wheat yellow rust resistance gene was overcome, so AHDB issued revised disease ratings for the established RL winter wheat varieties earlier this year.

Although some varieties have seen significant falls in ratings, many still feature good levels of resistance against this disease (disease ratings 7 to 9), which includes several new varieties.

The new winter barley list sees just three new varieties added, with more than a quarter of varieties on the list now featuring breeders' claims for resistance or tolerance to Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).

RL 2026/27 also features several new dual-use spring barley recommendations with potential to break into the competitive malting market.

The winter oilseed rape list sees new recommendations in all categories. The majority have a UK recommendation, with some significant steps forward in yield and disease resistance.

Paul Gosling, who manages the RL at 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.

"The winter wheat recommendations were particularly tricky this year, after the shake up to yellow rust resistance. We have recommended some new hard group 4s that are susceptible to yellow rust. 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."

The online RL 2026/27 tables, crop-specific highlights and comments on all new varieties can be accessed via the full news item and ahdb.org.uk/rl

The booklet edition will be available in January, followed by updates to the RL digital tools, starting with the RL app.