Trio of new Syngenta barley varieties added to latest Recommended Lists

SY Quantock marks the next generation in yield for Hyvido hybrid barley, with UK treated and untreated grain yields on the new 2025-26 AHDB winter barley RL of 109% and 93% respectively, said Syngenta hybrid barley portfolio manager, Mark Shaw.

He added: “Putting this into perspective, the current popular high-yielding hybrid barley, SY Kingsbarn, has treated and untreated yields of 107% and 82%, respectively, on the new list.

“SY Quantock has also produced exceptional yields across different regions and seasons, and its high untreated yield is consistent with its strong disease resistance profile – with ratings of 7 against Rhynchosporium and mildew, and 6 against net blotch and brown rust.”

Hyvido hybrid barleys

In addition, Mr Shaw said that SY Quantock offers other practical benefits, including very good grain specific weight of 70.4 kg/hl, good resistance to lodging with a plant growth regulator (PGR), and early maturity.

He added that including early maturing varieties in rotations helps to spread harvest workloads and clear land early, ready for following crops, such as cover crops or winter oilseed rape.

Meanwhile, Mr Shaw explained that newly recommended winter barley, SY Kestrel, is the first from a new phase of the Syngenta Hyvido hybrid barley breeding programme, Hyvido Neo, which is set to build on established Hyvido barley benefits, such as high yields, resilience and hybrid vigour, while also introducing beneficial new traits.

In this case, SY Kestrel is the first Hyvido Neo hybrid to bring resistance to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).

“As well as resistance to the MAV, PAV and RPV strains of BYDV, SY Kestrel also has tolerance to wheat dwarf virus (WDV), which is transmitted by leaf hoppers,” says Mr Shaw.

“BYDV can reduce winter barley yields by as much as half. A BYDV-resistant variety means you’re less reliant on spraying against the aphids that transmit the virus or spraying on time. So it’s a key tool in growers’ BYDV management kit. It also fits nicely into the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) where there’s the potential payment for no insecticide use. However, SY Kestrel isn’t only about BYDV resistance.

“It also provides good yields, with a treated yield of 104% of controls and an untreated grain yield of 86%, and has produced consistent yield performance over different seasons. Like SY Quantock, it also provides good disease resistance ratings of 7 against Rhynchosporium and mildew, and 6 against net blotch and brown rust.

“It also has good grain specific weight of 68.7 kg/hl, good lodging resistance with a PGR and is early to mature,” he continued.

New spring barley – SY Arrow

New variety SY Arrow is the highest-yielding spring barley variety on the AHDB spring barley RL for 2025 with potential for both brewing and malt distilling, said Syngenta seeds portfolio marketing manager, Kathryn Hamlen.

She added: “It has a very high treated yield of 104% of controls,” she says, “and has produced strong performance across all regions and consistently strong performance over the past three years.”

“Currently under test for brewing and malt distilling, SY Arrow has produced outstanding results for the important quality characteristics of hot water extract (HWE) and predicted spirit yield (PSY) and has a specific weight similar to the current leading spring malting variety, Laureate.

“Agronomically, SY Arrow also has good disease resistance ratings, including 7 against Rhynchosporium and 8 against mildew.

“It also brings 7 ratings for resistance to lodging without a PGR and for resistance to brackling, while its maturity is earlier than Laureate.”

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