Menu

Know How / Barley / Variety selection

With spring barley on the up, more specialist buy-back contracts available than before and rapid plant breeding progress, barley variety choice is more complex than ever. See how old and new varieties have been performing, how to manage them and what the latest additions have to offer.

Case studies

See all

HARVEST

Harvest 2023: New winter barley impresses in Yorkshire

Yorkshire Wolds grower Mark Ullyott is impressed with the new winter barley variety Caravelle, saying it is the best seed crop of barley he has grown for more than 10…

BARLEY

New winter barley impresses on disease resistance and yields

Essex grower Andrew Fairley says his crop of the new winter barley Caravelle is the healthiest looking of the five varieties he growing this season, and it is set the…

ARABLE

Soil virus prompts move to resistant winter barley variety

Soil-borne viruses have pushed a light land Somerset farm into growing only one variety of winter barley and one of winter wheat, which are resistant to the yield-damaging mosaic virus,…

PEST MANAGEMENT

Norfolk estate assesses risks in move to no-insecticides

An estate near the north Norfolk coast is farming with no insecticides across nearly two-thirds of its land, and is hoping for flexibility to qualify for payments under new environmental…

BARLEY

Bedford grower switches 100% to new spring malting barley

Bedfordshire grower Freya Morgan is set to switch 100% to the new spring malting barley variety Skyway as it outperforms industry favourite Laureate on her farm for yield and ease…

BARLEY

Low-skinning spring barley finds favour with Cambs grower

A spring barley with very low grain skinning is finding favour with major maltsters and distillers, and could become a major variety for distilling use in Scotland. Grain skinning, or…

Practical advice

See all

BARLEY

Why spring barley can help growers cut their carbon footprint

Spring barley can help growers drive down their carbon footprint by using better varietal genetics and using the benefits of cover crops. Spring crops, in general, are seen as better…

BARLEY

Winter malting variety may help limit swing to spring barleys

Winter malting barley purchases by leading maltsters have fallen sharply over the past few decades and the advent of a new variety is seen as helping to give a more…

BARLEY

Advice on growing malting barley to gain from high premiums

Premiums of £55-£60/t for malting barley are being offered this harvest, with the price supported by beer's history of being recession-proof and the post-Covid recovery in beer sales. For these…

BARLEY

Spring malting barley varieties for 2022

New spring malting barley variety Tungsten could be a useful partner in the North for market leader Laureate due to its good northern yields and early maturity. The variety is…

VARIETY SELECTION

What the new winter malting barley variety offers to growers

Winter barley growers have a wider choice of malting varieties to choose from this autumn, with a new variety offering higher yields and earlier maturity than the mainstay Craft. Electrum,…

WHEAT

Skyfall wheat comes out top in variety sustainability index

Old favourite Skyfall comes out as the top winter wheat variety on a sustainability rating scale looking across a range of desirable characteristics for growers. Agronomy group Agrii has created…

Insights

See all

VARIETY SELECTION

Which spring barley varieties to consider for 2024

Just four spring barley varieties make up the majority of seed sales in England, despite there being many more choices on the AHDB Recommended List. The testing system for the…

VARIETY SELECTION

New wheat and barley varieties rejuvenate Recommended Lists

The latest winter wheat varieties to be added to the AHDB Recommended List for 2024-25 are expected to breathe new life into at least two end-use groups, with most of…

HARVEST

Harvest 2023: The 5 top-yielding spring barley varieties map

Throughout harvest 2023, we are updating our handy map with the latest data from 2023’s AHDB spring barley Recommended List harvest results. Use the map below to find the five…

ARABLE

Seed sales show heavy reliance on a limited number of varieties

After a testing season and difficult harvest, growers are sticking to a narrow range of varieties for the new cropping year. Farmers Weekly finds out what’s filling the drills. See…

HARVEST

Harvest 2023: The 5 top-yielding winter barley varieties map

Throughout harvest 2023, we are updating our handy map with the latest data from 2023’s AHDB winter barley Recommended List harvest results. Use the map below to find the five…

VARIETY SELECTION

What the new winter barley varieties offer for 2023-24

A two-row malting variety, a pair of two-row feed types and yet another six-row hybrid are the winter barley newcomers to consider this summer, ahead of autumn plantings. Most of…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

New barley virus strain puts resistant varieties at risk

Winter barley varieties showing symptoms of soil-borne barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV), despite being classed as resistant on the AHDB Recommended List, are being infected by a different strain of…

VARIETY SELECTION

Harvest 2022: Light levels lifted yields despite drought

Despite record-breaking summer temperatures and a lack of rain, winter wheat yields recorded from harvest 2022 were higher than many had anticipated. Crops made the most of the good growing…

HARVEST

Harvest 2022: The 5 top-yielding spring barley varieties map

Throughout harvest 2022, we are updating our handy map with the latest data from 2022’s AHDB spring barley Recommended List harvest results. Use the map below to find the five…

PEST MANAGEMENT

Why BYDV-tolerant barley may prove itself in disease hotspots

More than three-quarters of surveyed growers and agronomists say they have suffered yield loss from aphid-spread barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), with the emergence of tolerant winter barley varieties seen…

Online resources from AHDB

AHDB Recommended List 2024-25 Winter wheat

Download

AHDB Recommended List 2024-25 Winter barley

Download

AHDB Recommended List 2024 Spring barley

Download

AHDB Recommended List 2024-25 Winter oilseed rape

Download