LG Beowulf: A high-yielding Winter Wheat for 2024/25

In the competitive world of winter wheat varieties, LG Beowulf stands out as an impressive contender, especially for farmers looking for a high performing and reliable variety.

In the blog below, Laura Beaty, Seed Grain Director, delves into the key features of LG Beowulf, the highest yielding Hard Group 4 variety on the AHDB Recommended List for 2024/25. From its outstanding yield potential to robust disease resistance and agronomic versatility for winter wheat growers, it's a variety we are keen to explore more.

Unrivalled yield potential

LG Beowulf has been newly crowned as the highest yielding variety on the 2024/25 AHDB Recommended List for the North, and is joint highest yielding for the rest of the UK. This is an excellent result given the quality of some of the competition and it should be on the shortlist for all hard feed growers.

LG Beowulf also has a very promising untreated yield of 91%, placing it within touching distance of the leading variety KWS Extase (93%) and making it joint top of the Group 4 feeds with KWS Dawsum. As we travelled the country this spring and summer, LG Beowulf routinely stands out in the plots for its disease resistance and we are understandably excited to see how it performs this harvest.

It is also important to note that yield potential has not come at the expense of quality. The variety has an excellent specific weight of 78.3kg/hl and has a respectable Hagberg and protein content.

Robust and versatile agronomic profile

With a high yellow rust resistance rating of 9 and Septoria tritici rating of 6.7, alongside moderate fusarium ear blight and eyespot resistance, it is easy to see why Beowulf has demonstrated such a good untreated yield. Furthermore, LG Beowulf also benefits from having resistance to Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM).

LG Beowulf offers good flexibility to the grower in terms of sowing date, which is particularly pertinent given the widely different autumns we have faced over the last couple of years. It tillers well and demonstrates a suitable growth habit to allow for early sowing, but equally can be sown later in the autumn if required.

Further to this, LG Beowulf performs well on both light and heavy soil and as a first or second wheat. Although it is a relatively tall wheat (90cm), it is also one of the stiffest strawed varieties in the market and provides a good option for those that require straw.