Winter wheat growers are being urged to be vigilant about yellow rust next season and be prepared to use an early spring fungicide after a new race of the disease has overcome a key Yr15 resistance gene.

Many leading hard-milling Group 4 feed wheat varieties have been affected by the new race, in an area down the East Coast from Scotland to The Wash, meaning a wholesale switch to different varieties is not realistic this autumn.

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Three leading varieties Dawsum, Champion and Typhoon have the Yr15 gene and have seen an increased level of yellow rust this season, said the AHDB, while other varieties such as Beowulf have also been affected.

Fungicide control of yellow rust tends to be cheaper and easier than septoria, and so growers are being advised that they may have to use a rust-active treatment at or before the T0 stage next spring.

DSV

Matthew Kerton, wheat breeder at DSV, which brought growers the variety Champion, said growers should not panic, but be aware of the situation and look out for early signs of the disease and then treat it with a fungicide.

“The increased levels of yellow rust have not been seen across the whole country, but it is here and if growers have not seen it this year they may well see it next year,” he told Farmers Weekly at Cereals 2025.

He suggests growers should not be put off choosing Champion this autumn as the variety has the highest septoria resistance of the all feed wheats and is among the highest yielders, coming only just behind newcomer variety Scope.

KWS

Mark Dodds, wheat breeder at KWS, which produced Dawsum, said the resistance rating of some varieties is likely to come down, but breeders have new material which will improve resistance levels of newer varieties.

“In the next two years, growers will have to get used to resistance levels for yellow rust of 5s and 6s and will expect to use an early T0 fungicide spray,” he said.

Dawsum, Typhoon and Beowulf are all rated 9 for yellow rust and Champion an 8 in a 1-9 AHDB scoring system where 1 is very susceptible and 9 shows good resistance.

But these ratings could fall when the AHDB fully assesses the situation.

“Two varieties might drop quite a bit, but breeders do have new material which will improve the situation,” said Mark.

Yellow rust in plots at Cereals 2025 © MAG/David Jones

Limagrain

Ed Flatman, head of wheat research for Europe at Limagrain, pointed out Yr15 is one of just a few genes behind young plant yellow rust resistance, while adult resistance has many genes stacked behind it.

Those varieties affected by yellow rust all have young plant yellow rust resistance, including Typhoon and Beowulf from Limagrain, and also Dawsum and Champion.

He pointed out that other, sometimes newer, varieties will have a broader range of disease resistance, such as the group’s Rebellion which narrowly missed inclusion in the AHDB’s Recommended List last year, and also Challenger and Defiance which come up for recommendation at the end of this year. All three are hard-milling Group 4 feed varieties.

“Many of the newcoming varieties have a broader, more complex, resistance to yellow rust,” he adds.

Niab

Clare Leaman, cereals variety specialist at crop consultant Niab, said growers should be concerned if all their wheat area is in these varieties, but many will not have any choice with so many popular varieties affected, so it’s all about managing risk.

“Growers should not be complacent and only grow as much of these more susceptible varieties as they can treat quickly,” she said.

Niab pointed out that 58.7% of the UK wheat area is down to varieties with the Yr15 gene, an area of 11.3% has varieties which do not carry the Yr15 gene, while 30% of the area has the varieties that have not been tested.

Of those with the Yr15 gene, Dawsum accounts for 13.1% of the UK wheat area, Champion 9.8% and Typhoon 5.2%.

However, the situation is not completely clear as the Group 2 variety Ultimatum has the Yr15 gene, but it has not seen any increased level of yellow rust this year.

The AHDB is currently processing yellow rust data from its network of variety trials and will issue revised disease resistance guidance as soon as possible.