The AHDB 2026/27 Recommended List (RL) sees several notable additions from KWS, including three new winter wheat varieties and a hybrid oilseed rape, offering growers higher yield potential, improved resilience and greater flexibility across rotations and soil types.
Among the new winter wheats is a variety that becomes the highest-yielding entry on the list, alongside options delivering early maturity and Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance. The oilseed rape addition brings a combination of strong disease resistance and consistent performance across UK trial sites.
Kate Cobbold, UK head of product management and agroservice at KWS, says the latest additions reflect ongoing investment in varieties that address the practical challenges faced by growers. “These new varieties deliver a broad range of benefits, combining yield, resilience and agronomic strength at a time when farm margins remain under pressure,” she explains.
New yield benchmark for winter wheat
One of the standout additions is KWS Aintree, which joins the RL as the highest-yielding winter wheat overall, as well as the leading hard Group 4. According to KWS UK agroservice manager Matt Bull, the variety consistently achieves 110–111% of controls across three contrasting trial seasons.
“That performance demonstrates not only exceptional yield potential, but also the stability growers value when dealing with increasingly variable weather,” he says.
“KWS Aintree performs well across soil types, drilling dates and as either a first or second wheat, making it a strong option in pressured rotations.”
The variety also offers a solid septoria score, good specific weight and OWBM resistance, although yellow rust requires monitoring in line with most Group 4 wheats.
Earliest-maturing wheat on the list
Another new hard Group 4, KWS Fowlmere, combines yields of over 106% of controls with the earliest maturity rating on the RL at -2. This early finish provides opportunities to spread harvest workload and reduce risk, particularly on heavier soils.
“The early maturity also makes it an attractive alternative pre-crop to oilseed rape, which is seeing renewed interest,” Matt Bull adds.
KWS Fowlmere also carries OWBM resistance, delivers strong grain quality and records an untreated yield of 88%, which is high for its class.
Group 2 wheat with OWBM resistance
The third winter wheat addition, KWS Grebe, enters the RL as a high-yielding Group 2 milling wheat, delivering 103% of controls. While slightly behind the current Group 2 yield leader, it stands out for offering OWBM resistance, a relatively rare trait in this quality group.
“OWBM resistance is increasingly important as part of integrated pest management, particularly for growers looking to reduce insecticide use and avoid late-season sprays,” Matt Bull explains.
KWS Grebe matures early at -1, has short, stiff straw to reduce lodging risk and performs well as both a first and second wheat, giving it good rotational flexibility.
Hybrid oilseed rape focused on resilience
The RL also welcomes a new hybrid oilseed rape, KWS Domingos, which receives a full UK recommendation with a gross output of 105%.
Rory Hannam, OSR product manager at KWS UK, says the variety has been developed to help de-risk oilseed rape production. “KWS Domingos combines Turnip Yellows Virus and pod shatter resistance with a strong disease profile, including a 7 for light leaf spot and an 8 for phoma stem canker,” he says.
The variety is noted for strong spring vigour, enabling rapid biomass development and improved tolerance of challenging spring conditions. Stable yields across three years of trials underline its consistency across different soil types and seasons.
Focus on UK-specific breeding
The latest Recommended List additions highlight KWS’ continued investment in UK-focused breeding programmes, with an emphasis on yield stability, resilience and management flexibility.
“Our aim is to deliver varieties that help growers meet the increasing agronomic, economic and environmental challenges they face,” says Kate Cobbold. “These new recommendations show strong progress, with more varieties in the pipeline across multiple crops.”
Related news:
