Two new winter cereal varieties from breeder Syngenta have been added to the latest AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) for 2024-25 – one winter wheat and one winter barley.

The new winter wheat, SY Cheer, is a provisional UKFM (UK Flour Millers) Group 1 variety, making it a potential bread-making variety. It is the first addition to the Group 1 section of the AHDB winter wheat RL since 2017. SY Cheer offers a combination of high grain quality, high yields, and robust foliar disease resistance. It is seen as a quality wheat with practical advantages.

The Scottish Farmer: SY Buzzard plotSY Buzzard plot

The variety has consistently high treated yields across all UK regions and key features include high figures for Hagberg Falling Number and specific weight among Group 1 AHDB RL winter wheat varieties. SY Cheer's disease resistance ratings against Septoria tritici, yellow rust, and brown rust provide a good foundation against these major UK pathogens. The final UKFM classification for SY Cheer is expected in spring 2024.

The new hybrid barley on the 2024-25 AHDB RL is SY Buzzard, a feed barley variety that is the first Syngenta hybrid on the list with tolerance to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), an aphid-borne disease. SY Buzzard maintains typical hybrid barley characteristics, including high and stable yield, good specific weight, suppression of certain grass weeds, early maturity, and efficient nitrogen fertilizer utilization.

The Scottish Farmer: SY CheerSY Cheer

It brings a high UK treated yield of 103% of control varieties on the new winter barley AHDB RL, with notable performance in the East. SY Buzzard also features good disease resistance, including the highest rating for net blotch on the 2024-25 winter barley AHDB RL. It is early to mature, with a rating of -1. Trials with aphids infected with BYDV in Syngenta trials showed reduced visual symptoms and lower yield degradation in SY Buzzard compared to a non-tolerant variety.