Cereals winner gets first look at Sparkler – Our new high-yield soft wheat
After a season where yellow rust caused significant challenges across many winter wheat varieties, we know growers are reviewing their options carefully. Sparkler, our newest soft Group 4 winter wheat, now enters the AHDB Recommended List as the highest-yielding soft wheat available — and one Cereals competition winner has had an early opportunity to drill a small batch of seed ahead of wider availability.
The winner, Katherine from Hinch Enterprises, received 3 tonnes of Sparkler and, together with her brother Chris, has given us an early look at how the crop is establishing on their Rutland farm.
Early progress at Hinch Enterprises
Although Katherine entered and won the competition, it was Chris who carried out the drilling and day-to-day crop management, providing useful technical insight into how Sparkler has started.
Sparkler appealed to the farm due to its:
- Straightforward management
- Suitability for their on-farm feed mill
- Strong disease-resistance profile, an
- High yield potential demonstrated in Recommended List testing.
“We’re looking for an easy-to-grow variety that reduces inputs.”
— Chris, Hinch Enterprises
And Sparkler certainly fits the bill! While it is still very early in the season, Chris reports good establishment and a crop that is “growing nicely so far”.
Drilling details:
225 kg/ha seed rate
Drilled 10 October with a Väderstad Rapid
Stubble → Trio → drill → roll
This early progress is consistent with the strong establishment we observed during Sparkler’s RL trialling.
Yellow Rust: A season that highlighted the value of genetic progress
Last season reinforced the importance of choosing varieties with modern, reliable resistance packages. Yellow rust pressures were high, and several mainstream varieties saw notable breakdowns.
Our variety Bamford stood out during this period, maintaining strong performance despite the conditions. Its resilience highlighted the progress of our breeding programme and the benefits of robust genetics.
Sparkler now complements Bamford, offering a competitive yellow rust profile, top-end soft wheat yields, and a good agronomic balance for growers seeking consistency and flexibility.
Together, the two varieties reflect the recent successes of our breeding work and our focus on supporting growers through changing disease pressures.
Introducing new genetics into the farm rotation
As the competition winner, Katherine explained that their farm had historically relied on a single wheat variety. Last season’s yellow rust issues emphasised why diversifying genetics and updating varieties regularly is increasingly important.
So far, Sparkler is progressing well in the field — and while it is too early in the season to comment on performance, its early growth is in line with what we would expect.
Looking ahead: Why Sparkler deserves consideration for 2025
As growers begin preparing for next season, Sparkler stands out for:
- The highest soft-wheat yield on the AHDB RL,
- Strong yellow rust and septoria resistance,
- Straightforward establishment,
- A natural fit alongside proven varieties like Bamford.
Although this on-farm batch is small and the crop still early, the initial impressions support Sparkler’s strong trial performance and highlight the benefits of the new genetics entering the market.
We look forward to following the crop through the season and supporting growers as they consider Sparkler within their own rotations.
