For a second year running, Limagrain’s winter wheat LG Beowulf and winter barley LG Caravelle, are the highest yielding varieties to join the AHDB Recommended List.

LG Armada also takes lead position as the highest yielding oilseed rape variety on the RL for the UK, while LG Adeline takes pole position for OSR in the North.

In addition, high yielding maize variety Saxon tops the 2024 BSPB Forage Maize Descriptive List.

“This is an exceptional achievement for any breeder,” says Ron Granger, Limagrain’s arable technical manager.

“Last year saw our winter wheat and winter barley varieties take pole positions across the RL; we’ve built on this success for a second year running. What’s more, these varieties have proven to be robust and consistent performers across seasons and regions.”

Beowulf

Beowulf yields 106% across the UK and shows the same consistency of performance across all regions – East (106%), West (106%) and the North (107%).

Ron says it’s produced these exceptionally high yields consistently in National List and RL trials over regions and seasons, in both the unusually dry summer of 2022 as well as the exceptionally wet summer of 2023.

“Beowulf is much like LG Skyscraper; it performs wherever you grow it,” he says. “It can be drilled early or late – providing growers with a wide drilling window, as a first or second wheat, on light or heavy land, and there are very few varieties that meet this criterion.”

Yields are backed up by a set of strong agronomic characteristics, offering a solid disease resistance profile with ratings of 9 for yellow rust, 6.7 for septoria, as well as orange wheat blossom midge (OWBM) resistance.

“In summary, Beowulf is a very high yielding, robust and versatile variety that comes at a time when growers are looking more than ever to maximise output, in order to maintain profit in times of increasing costs,” says Ron.

Caravelle

Caravelle is the highest yielding two-row winter barley for the second year running, since joining the Recommended List in 2023.

“Offering UK yields of 105.6%, Caravelle continues to dispel any misconception that two-row barleys are lower yielding than hybrids. The variety certainly competes with the best yielding hybrid barleys, especially in the East,” explains Ron. “Caravelle is competitive in a blackgrass situation, another characteristic that is normally associated with hybrids.”

Ron says Caravelle’s high yields are backed up by an excellent disease profile, reflected in its superb untreated performance; it’s early maturing with stiff straw and good brackling resistance.

“Caravelle also offers an exceptionally high specific weight for a winter barley, of 71.4 kg/hl combined with low screenings %.”

LG Capitol

Capitol is a two-row winter barley that joins the RL this year and is a sister variety to Caravelle, offering similar yields and consistency of performance over seasons and regions. Its yields sit just 0.1% behind that of Caravelle, at 105.5%.

Capitol also combines a high specific weight and ripening, similar to KWS Tardis, with a solid disease resistance profile and good straw attributes.

OSR

The top three highest yielding OSR varieties on the RL all come from the Limagrain stable, offering exceptional consistency over regions and seasons.

Armada tops the UK and East/West at 107%, LG Academic follows 1% behind at 106%, with LG Adeline taking pole position in the North List with an outstanding yield of 108.3%.

Liam Wilkinson says Armada is one of the next generation of versatile high yielding OSR varieties, improving on the characteristic trait loaded-hybrids that growers have come to expect from the company.

“‘Ambassador-like’ in its growth habit, Armada has strong autumn vigour, is robust, with good adaptability to all regions of the UK,” he says.

“Armada is the first of our seventh generation of hybrids, bringing new maintainer and restorer lines to our OSR portfolio. This effectively means we’re bringing varieties to market offering a stacked portfolio of much improved stem health attributes, alongside the standard pod shatter, TuYV and RLM7 resistance traits.”

“We know stem health is key to driving consistent OSR yields across farms and with these seventh-generation hybrids, we are seeing bigger stems and better rooting which also results in higher oil content,” he explains.

Maize Descriptive List

Limagrain’s maize variety, Saxon was added to the BSPB 2023 Forage Maize Descriptive List and has made the top of the list for 2024 for its dry matter yields of 19.1 t/ha, making it ideal for all uses, including anaerobic digestion.

“On the DL, Saxon yields 105% of the average and additionally is quite an early variety with an FAO of 180,” says Tim Richmond, Limagrain’s product manager for maize.

“Saxon combines superb early vigour with good standing power, making it perfectly suited for all mainstream maize sites.

“LGAN has long been the watchword for maize varieties that deliver what really counts – high yields of high-quality feeds that sustain excellent milk yields. Saxon is one of the latest examples of the benefit of breeding varieties that deliver in the clamp,” Tim concludes.