The new AHDB 2024/5 Recommended List (RL) and Described List (DL) for winter oilseed rape has five varieties from LS Plant Breeding Ltd (LSPB) to give a wide choice of yield, agronomic characters and marketing outlets for growers.

Turing is the highest yielding variety based on seed yield on the Recommended List, and just one percent point off the highest yielding varieties for gross output for the UK, with strong performance in both East/West and North regions. Its excellent yield potential is combined with very good light leaf spot resistance, and outstanding autumn and spring vigour.

Vegas has the same UK Recommendation as Turing and is very high yielding with exceptional RlmS Phoma resistance.  It has very good Light leaf spot scores, mid-maturity and is very vigorous – particularly in the spring.

Murray remains well positioned in the East/West only recommendation category with high gross output and high seed yield.  Murray combines this high yield potential with, as for Vegas, exceptional RlmS Phoma resistance as well as good Light leaf spot scores and strong spring vigour. Added to this, with the new AHDB ratings for Verticillium wilt resistance, it features in the highest category of moderately resistant, showcasing its broad stem health characteristics.

The two other LSPB varieties on the Lists focus on the important disease challenge of clubroot and the niche – but valuable – market opportunity for high erucic (HEAR).

Crome is the clubroot resistant variety with a Specific Recommendation (Sp) for the UK for growing on land infected with common strains of clubroot – which is on the rise across the UK and particularly prevalent in Scotland, the borders, and in western regions. Crome has a high gross output, good resistance to Light leaf spot with good stem stiffness and resistance to lodging.

Resort is the only HEAR variety on the AHDB Described List. There are worthwhile benefits of growing HEAR rape for the right grower, given the demand from specialist markets with significant buyback contract premiums, and the same agronomy and growing costs as double lows. 

Chris Guest, LSPB’s Managing Director, comments: “Vegas and Murray in particular underline the results of the innovation in our breeding programme bringing restored hybrids with the high resistance to Stem canker from the new major gene Phoma resistance RlmS with very high disease ratings, alongside excellent Light leaf spot resistance. 

“We see stem health is a key component of our new genetics and a large driver to high yield potential and robust plant health, while also giving good tolerance to late season diseases – including verticillium wilt, a feature now shown in the AHDB RL system.

“LSPB’s oilseed rape breeding programme, backed by our parent company NPZ and breeding colleagues in the UK and the wider European network, means we have varieties progressing through the trials system featuring stacked traits as we continue to introduce the best hybrids with improved yield and agronomics added to consistency in performance.

“We look forward to the addition of our newly listed ‘candidate varieties’ to this section of the AHDB RL to showcase our next generation of hybrid varieties featuring high yield potential and outstanding disease resistance packages – including new additions to our Clubroot resistant portfolio in the coming weeks.”