Germinal has welcomed that two of its newest perennial ryegrass varieties are included on the Recommended Grass and Clover List (RGCL) for 2024-2025 for England and Wales.
The grassland and forage seed provider said that the new varieties are AberTweed and AberForth.
The RCGL for England and Wales are recommendations on grass and clover varieties, which are drawn up after rigorous testing for attributes such as yield, persistency, quality and disease resistance.
Germinal
AberTweed and AberForth join 24 other Germinal-developed grass varieties, and 6 clover varieties already included on the RCGL for England and Wales.
AberTweed is an intermediate or mid-season heading diploid perennial ryegrass that has been awarded a Provisional General (PG) recommendation in the RGCL for 2024-2025.
While AberForth is a late or later season heading tetraploid perennial ryegrass that has been awarded a Provisional Specific Use (PS) recommendation in the RGCL for 2024-2025.
Dr. Joanna Matthews, technical trials manager at Germinal Horizon, explained the importance of the recommended list.
“The RGCL is a critical information tool for farmers and technical advisers that helps inform decisions around the variety choices farmers can make to maximise farm-grown forage and reduce costs.
“Both AberTweed and AberForth have performed very well as part of the long-term, multi-location trial programme that underpins the RGCL.
“We are also very excited about how these varieties are performing in Irish trials,” she said.
The varieties have been developed by Germinal Horizon – the company’s research and development (R&D) division – at its research stations at Aberystwyth University and Wiltshire.
“They are part of our long-term breeding programme focused on developing a pipeline of top-performing and climate smart products for grassland farmers,” Dr. Matthews said.
Both varieties are currently in production with commercial quantities of quality assured seed anticipated by 2026.
The RGCL trial programme is managed by the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB).
New grass varieties undergo a rigorous selection process comprising six years of independent testing across UK trial sites which assess a range of parameters including total annual yields, seasonal growth, metabolisable energy yield, winter hardiness and disease resistance.
Varieties that demonstrate clear improvements over existing ones are awarded provisional status.
Varieties are reassessed following an additional five years of trials to determine whether a provisional (PG/PS) variety is recommended for widespread adoption (G).
AberForth is also among several new Germinal varieties currently progressing through Irish recommended list trials.
