IBERS crop varieties win new industry approval status

Mature winter oats grown at IBERS, Aberystwyth University.

Two crop varieties bred at the IBERS research institute at Aberystwyth University have been given the seal of approval by two leading agricultural trade bodies.

Rannoch was the only new addition to the winter oat 2026-27 Recommended Lists for cereals and oilseeds, published online by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in December 2025. Rannoch combines high yields, excellent grain quality and superb disease resistance, including a higher crown rust rating than any variety on the Recommended Lists.

At the same time, the Hepworth winter bean was added to the new Pulse Descriptive List for 2026 which is published by the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO) to help growers choose the most suitable varieties for their needs.

The Rannoch winter oat and Hepworth winter bean join around 70 varieties of crop varieties developed at IBERS which are included on UK Variety and Recommended lists.

In addition, the IBERS-bred winter oat variety Maunsell has also just obtained Variety List status and been included in the Plant Varieties and Seeds Gazette, a statutory government publication of varieties approved for marketing in the United Kingdom. Maunsell has been sown in second year Recommended List trials and stands out as being earlier to mature than other winter oats providing farmers with new options.

Dr Catherine Howarth, Head of Oat and Pulse Breeding at IBERS, said:

“Developing new oat varieties can take up to 15 years as we go through the various stages of research, breeding, experimental planting, trials and rigorous approval processes. To gain recognition by the UK’s leading organisations advising farmers, growers and horticulturists is a significant achievement and testatment to the dedication of our plant breeding team here at IBERS. These new varieties provide exciting new benefits for both growers and processors.”

More than 95% of winter oats currently grown in the UK have been developed at IBERS, along with 75% of winter beans and 35% of forage grasses.

Professor Iain Donnison, Head of IBERS, said:

“IBERS provides the UK with a national capability in grassland and plant breeding science, and develops pioneering varieties of resilient grasses, oats, beans, biomass and other crops to address pressing challenges such as food security, climate change and dietary health. The inclusion of our crop varieties on recommended lists in the UK and further afield is not only a quality endorsement but is also a further means of ensuring our research reaches beyond our laboratories and experimental growing plots to deliver real world benefits to the farming sector and wider society.”

IBERS is one of eight research institutes strategically funded by UKRI’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with a mission to provide the UK with a national capability in grassland and plant breeding science, supporting strategic sustainability goals and net zero targets.

In July 2025, the Mascani winter oat bred at IBERS was awarded the prestigious Variety Cup by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB). It was described as an “exceptional variety” and praised for “its unmatched quality and reliability”.

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