NEW VARIETIES FOR 2026/27
Walnes unique relationship with leading plant breeders helps to keep our customers at the forefront of the latest genetic developments. We often gain premium access to new varieties and the specialist agronomics needed to maximise performance from these combinable crops.
This season’s portfolio of includes a robust selection of new, high performance oil seed rape, wheat, barley and pulse varieties.
OIL SEED RAPE
Dompteur
The highest-yielding variety on the new 2026/27 Winter Oilseed Rape AHDB Recommended List (RL) it exhibits strong autumn growth and spring vigour and has performed exceptionally well across a range of trial sites and conditions. Offering good resistance to light leaf spot, phoma stem canker, and Turnip Yellow Virus (TuYV). It offers exceptional gross output with an impressive oil content and pod shatter resistance.
Magelen
A hybrid variety that offers high oil content and high resistance to lodging and pod shatter. With good resistance to TuYV and moderate resistance to verticillium it is recommended for the East/West region, and report very high treated gross outputs.
WINTER WHEAT - Group 4
KWS Aintree
This winter wheat reports the highest recorded treated yield for a Group 4 variety on this year’s AHDB Recommended List. OWBM resistant, it has shown performance potential across a range of rotational positions and soil types and reports excellent Hagbergs and specific weights.
KWS Fowlmere
A hard, early maturing variety, it is also classified as a ukp bread wheat for export. It has produced high Hagbergs and good specific weights and given very high treated yield potential (106%) across a range of rotational positions and soil types throughout the UK. It is OWBM resistant with robust resistance to Fusarium.
LG Challenger
Another group 4 with a robust health status and OWBM resistance. It reports good performance in the UK across a range of rotational positions and soil types. With very high yields in untreated trials, it has considerable potential to produce high yields in treated situations with excellent Hagbergs and specific weights. A medium-tall plant, it might require priority at harvest to prevent sprouting.
LG Defiance
This variety offers high resistance to Mildew, Yellow Rust and Fusarium and is resistant to OWBM. It reports very high treated yield potential throughout the UK across a range of rotational positions and soil types, with good untreated yields and an intermediate specific weight. A tall crop with relatively weak straw, it requires careful management.
SPRING WHEAT
STR Pace
A Group 1 spring wheat with a wide drilling window that’s also suitable for late autumn sowing. Results across three years of testing, show good performance and favourable yields with high Hagbergs, good grain proteins and a high specific weight. It offers good resistance to Brown and Yellow Rust and Mildew and is a relatively early maturing crop. Milling qualities include good water absorption, gluten quality and baking performance.
WINTER BARLEY
Darcie
A two-row, high yielding winter barley offering very high specific weights and a robust health status. It is resistant to common strains of Barley Mosaic Viruses, Rhynchosporium and Net Blotch and highly recommended for the East region. Trial results report high treated yields on heavy soils and also in the North.
SPRING BARLEY
Belter
Bred in Britian it has potential for both brewing and distilling. UK trials show good performance in untreated crops, and some yield advantage over comparative varieties. A later maturing crop it offers robust performance and good grain qualities and is particularly suited to the eastern region. It has full MBC approval for brewing, and currently carries MDC Provisional Approval for distilling.
