For 2006, a total of 17 new varieties appear on the NIAB Descriptive List, of which 13 feature as first choice on both Favourable and Less Favourable sites lists.

In addition to these 13, three varieties appear only on the Less Favourable list (making 16 new in total), and one appears only on the Favourable list (making 14 new in total).

With very few trial results from Favourable sites in 2002 and 2003, the final data set is halved and the performance of these new varieties was heavily influenced by the 2004 season. Therefore all new varieties on the 2006 Favourable list have been prefixed with (P) to indicate that the data and positioning is provisional on this list.

There are no such problems with data from the Less Favourable sites and my varietal comments, with the exception of Aurelia, will be based on just that.

New First Choice varieties that appear on both Favourable and Less Favourable lists: Destiny MC9 - the earliest in its class with above average DM yields. Very good quality with high ME and starch. Exceptional early vigour.

Sapphire MC9 with the highest DM yield in its class. Quite exceptional quality with very high ME and the highest starch yield on the list. Outstanding early vigour.

Toccata - high yielding MC8 with identical maturity to Fabius but with 4% extra yield. Above average ME with excellent starch and early vigour.

Beauty - joint highest yielding MC7 with average ME but above average starch. Average early vigour.

Agreement - the other joint highest yielding MC7 but quality lets it down. Below average ME and starch with early vigour also average.

Kwiss - MC6 with average DM yields. Very good ME and above average starch. Below average early vigour and standing power.

Abraxas - MC6 with same DM yield as Kwiss - 101%. ME just above average but good starch%. Average early vigour. Articat - high yielding MC6 but, again, quality lets it down with below average ME and low starch. Early Vigour also only average.

Aoraki - very high yielding MC6 but poor quality figures. Below average ME and low starch. Only average early vigour. Kroesus - wow! A MC6 with huge DM yields - the highest on the list. Average ME and starch levels. Very good early vigour.

Fergus - very high yielding MC6 with average ME but very poor starch figures - the lowest of all 46 varieties on the list. Just above average early vigour. Goldclamp - very high yielding MC6 but quality lets it down with below average ME and starch levels. Poor early vigour. Kaukas - MC6 with average DM yields. Good ME and starch but average early vigour. First Choice - Less Favourable sites only: Pride - MC10 - therefore very early, but DM yield lets it down with only 90% of control - the joint lowest yielder on the list alongside Camelot. Quality, however, is excellent with the joint highest ME on the list with Goldoli at 11.3, plus very high starch content. Poor early vigour.

Nimrod - MC8 with the highest DM yield in its class. Average ME but good starch with the best early vigour. Apostrof - very high yielding MC6 with just above average ME but below average starch levels. Average early vigour. First Choice - Favourable sites only: Aurelia - MC6 and is the highest DM yielder ever tested and approved by NIAB and with an average ME of 11.2; it also provides the biggest yield of Mj/Ha. Starch at 30.1% is below average as is the early vigour.

Maize trial sites update - Tasselling and Silking Report: Cornwall Farmers site, Tregony, Truro.

Crescendo was only just ahead of the pack of 10 for the Early Vigour inspection in June, but it is now quite a way ahead of everything - it being fully tasselled with 50% of the plants having silked. Hudson and Sapphire are the only others to have any evidence of silking at all with Nescio and LG3214 still a week away from tasselling. Advanta Site, North Devon.

This site was virtually identical to the Cornish site when we did the Early Vigour inspection in June - both being drilled within two days of each other. This site is now behind the Cornish site as there is no evidence of any silking at all. All five varieties have virtual full tassel emergence and stand around 6ft6in. Mole Valley Farmers site, Bridgwater.

22 varieties were drilled on May 26 and, although the site has really started to catch up the earlier drilled sites, not one has reached full tassel emergence as yet. Nimrod and Revolver continue to look early with Camelot and Goldcob now on a par. The later varieties are a few days behind, with a couple of numbered and, as yet not NIAB recommended, being extremely variable. Pearce Seeds Site, Rosedown, Dorset.

This site has put on about 3ft of growth in 16 days and is really looking well. There are a number of varieties that have fully tasselled, with Destiny being ahead of the pack at this stage, with 50% of the plants having silked, followed by Camelot (30% silking) and Crescendo (10% silking). There are a few varieties that appear to be later than their NIAB maturity class suggests as they have not yet started to tassel.

The March issue of South West Farmer featured a report on brothers Clive and Martin Snell of Mudford Sock, near Yeovil, and I am indebted to Robert Baker of Pearce Seeds who has just given me a progress report (August 1) on their commercial crops of maize and fodder beet, although farmers growing maize on extreme marginal sites may not like me for this!

Spartacus, Crown, Andante and Crescendo have not only given full tassel emergence, but they have already fully silked, with their Blaze fodder beet averaging tennis ball size and, as yet, no problems to report on either disease or pests. With the recent rainfall, Robert expects the beet to progress very quickly - so it's "rugby balls" by the end of September!