Date: 04/2023

According to DSV Champion's breeder Dr. Matt Kerton, the variety's potential was clearly visible from an early stage in its breeding journey.

"Our objective is to screen breeding lines very hard for both yield and disease resistance using a range of sites across the UK and beyond.

"The breeding process for DSV Champion started in 2012 and its outstanding yield potential was clear as soon as we started trials from 2016 onwards.

"But as the selection process continued, its exceptional disease resistance package and versatility were also increasingly in evidence.

"Furthermore, it performed well in a range of growing situations, including early or late drilling and on heavy or light soils, and it is this real-world combination of high outright yield, flexibility and strong agronomics that has made it so popular."

The Wardington-based breeding programme continues with the latest RL addition being DSV Oxford, but there is much more in the pipeline, he adds.

"It's been an exciting journey to reach this point and it's great to see DSV Champion do so well in growers' fields as well as taking the world record for yield.

"But it's very much a team effort with key players such as Michael Koch in our molecular laboratory, Graham Urquhart on the maintenance and agronomy side and Cindy Watts in grain quality, being fundamental to this achievement.

"As for the future, our focus is still very much on yield, practicality and disease resistance but other key traits such as improved Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) and drought tolerance are increasingly in our sights."