Spring oats recommended list

Final spring oat RL harvest results now complete with some changes to variety rankings, though candidates are still out in front on yield

Results for all the spring oat RL trials are now available. The average yield of control varieties in the fungicide-treated trials has finished on 7.96 t/ha, ahead of the five-year average of 7.54 t/ha. In the fungicide-untreated trials the average yield of control varieties is 6.36 t/ha, below the five-year average of 6.74 t/ha.

Calculating yield results

Yields are represented as a percentage of the control varieties. In 2024 Canyon and WPB Isabel are the control varieties. The average yield from these varieties is represented as 100%.

2024 results

The importance of waiting for all the trials to report before making conclusions on varieties, particularly in a small dataset like spring oat is evident with these final results. The highest yielding currently recommended husked variety in the fungicide-treated trials has been Canyon all season, well ahead of its five-year average. However, poor performance in the last two trials in Herefordshire and the Scottish Borders has dragged its yield down to 100%, right on its five-year average. In contrast WPB Isabel after a relatively poor season has done well in these trials, pulling its 2024 average up to 100% also matching its five-year average.

Just behind these two is Merlin on 99% with Conway and newly recommended Asterion on 94%, RGT Vaughan is on 91% and Lion on 89%, all of these varieties are well below their five-year averages.

The naked varieties Oliver (68%), Lennon (69%) and Ovation (64%) have likewise yielded well below their five-year averages in 2024.

Highest yielding of all varieties in 2024 though is the year 4 candidate husked variety Caledon at 101% of controls, though this is well below its five-year average. Caledon will be eligible for recommendation this autumn. Grain quality looks intermediate in 2024, but it will be its performance over the last four years that will determine if it is recommended. The year 3 candidates Jacky and Neptun, which will be eligible for recommendation in 2025, have also yielded well in 2024 on 100%, with KWS Vibrant just behind on 99%, though as with most varieties this is below their five-year averages.

In the fungicide-untreated trials Canyon has maintained its good performance through 2024, topping the yield of the current husked varieties (105%), well ahead of newly recommended Asterion and Merlin, both on 101%, both well below their five-year averages. RGT Vaughan (96%) is next highest yielding, followed by WPB Isabel (95%), Conway (90%) and Lion (84%) all well below their five-year averages. Highest yielding of all the husked varieties though is the year 4 candidate Caledon on (107%), with the year 3 candidates Jacky (104%) and AUSO06 (104%) also doing well.

All the naked varieties have struggled in the fungicide-untreated trials in 2024, with Lennon doing best on 68% Ovation on 65%, and Oliver on 60% of controls, all well below their five-year averages.

Five-year average

The five-year average yield is a better measure of variety performance over seasons, especially with smaller datasets like spring oat.

On this measure, Merlin (101%) Canyon and WPB Isabel (100%) are highest yielding of the current husked varieties in the fungicide-treated trials, with newly recommended Asterion on 99%, Conway on 96% and Lion and RGT Vaughan is on 94%. Oliver (72%) and Ovation (71%) are the higher yielding of the naked varieties, with Lennon on 69%.

The highest yielding of all the husked varieties currently in trial though is the year 4 candidate Caledon at 105%, while the year 3 candidates Jacky (103%), KWS Vibrant and Neptun (102%) are also yielding above all the current varieties. However, with oat grain quality is a key character and can trump yield. Yield, grain quality, disease resistance and agronomic qualities are all taken into account when varieties are considered for recommendation.

In the fungicide-untreated trials Merlin and the newly recommended Asterion (105%) are the highest yielding of the currently recommended husked varieties, with Canyon (104%) just behind. RGT Vaughan (99%), WPB Isabel (96%) and Conway (95%) are some way behind. Well ahead of all these is the year 4 candidate Caledon on 110% followed closely by the year three candidate Jacky (109%), with year 3 candidates AUSO06 (106%) and KWS Vibrant (105%) also yielding well.

The naked varieties are some way behind as would be expected, with Ovation (72%) highest yielding, followed by Lennon 70% and Oliver 67%.

Further information

Access full trial results via the AHDB website: ahdb.org.uk/harvestresults

AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) trials test variety performance under optimum conditions. Care should be taken when making comparisons with commercial yields. Results from individual trial sites should not be used to make conclusions on variety performance. The RL publications are based on information from trials across the UK over several seasons. As more information becomes available from the current harvest, this will contribute to the over-trials averages – which comprise four years for oilseeds and five years for cereals. These averages provide better information for comparison between varieties. Performance variation is not the responsibility of AHDB. Since the focus is to test new varieties, not all RL varieties are presented. Yields for well-established varieties are published at ahdb.org.uk/rl