Harvest 2015: Winter barley yields up 14%, oilseed rape 10%

Winter barley yields are 14% higher and oilseed rape 10% above long-term averages highlighting the good harvest seen so far as more independent trials are recorded.
Average yields of winter barley reached 10.72t/ha, 1.3t/ha above a five-year average, with the best from Herefordshire and the poorest from Essex in AHDB Recommended List trials.
See also:Â Harvest 2015: Winter barley 90% harvested in UK, 80% of oilseed rape cut
The data includes 14 sites including two in Scotland, which produced some of the best yields at more than 11t/ha in the Borders and Midlothian
Hybrid six-row varieties did well with Bazooka, Belfry and Volume taking up the top spots for yield, while conventional six-rows Meridian, Daxor and Verity took the next three places.
The six-rows may have performed better during the dry spell of weather in September 2014, while the hybrids tended to do better than the conventional six-rows on specific weight, says the AHDB.
Among the two-rows, the highest yielders were Glacier 101%, Tower 101% and Infinity 100%. Two-row feed candidate varieties Kathmandu 101% and Orwell 101% did well, while the older variety Retriever had a good year performing particularly well in the Scottish Borders and Yorkshire.
AHDB Recommended List winter barley yield trials 2015 |
||
|
2015 average |
2011-15 average |
Bazooka (C) |
110 |
108Â |
Belfry (C) |
107 Â |
106 |
Volume |
107 |
105 |
Meridian                          |
103 Â Â |
102 |
Daxor                           |
103 Â Â Â |
103 |
Verity (C) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
103 Â Â Â Â Â Â |
103 |
Retriever                           |
102 Â |
99 |
Tower                 |
101Â Â |
101Â |
Glacier                            |
101 Â Â |
101 |
Kathmandu (C) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
101 |
101 |
Orwell (C) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
101 |
102 |
Infinity                              |
100 |
102 |
Candidate varieties are noted as (C) |
Oilseed rapeÂ
Results from seven oilseed rape trial show a gross output of 5.89t/ha, above a four-year average of 5.35 t/ha, with AHDB’s Lincolnshire site producing the highest gross output of 6.7 t/ha.
In 2015, the highest yielding recommended varieties include Arazzo (106%), Incentive (106%) and Charger (105%), while based on four-year averages, the highest yielding varieties to date are V316OL (107%), Incentive (107%), and Charger (106%).
Of the candidate varieties based on a four-year averages, Elgar, Nikita, Windozz gave gross outputs of 109%, while the turnip yellows virus resistant variety Amalie, a specialist candidate variety, gave a gross output of 100% in four-year average yields.
For the northern region, two trials from Fife and the Borders show strong performances with control varieties yielding 6.28t/ha and 5.47t/ha from the two sites, and with Anastasia (109%) and Campus (108%) showing up well.
Varieties with the highest gross outputs are currently Harnas (111%). Anastasia (110%) Campus (110%) and V316OL (110%) based on four-year average yields.
AHDB Recommended List East/West oilseed rape yield trials 2015 |
||
|
2015 average |
2011-15 average |
Elgar (C) |
111 |
109 |
Windozz (C) |
110 |
109 |
Nikita (C) |
107 |
109 |
Alizze (C) |
107 |
108 |
Arazzo |
106 |
106Â |
Incentive |
106 |
107 |
Wembley (C) |
106 |
108 |
Campus |
105 |
106 |
Charger |
105 |
106 |
Angus (C) |
105 |
106 |
V316OL |
104 |
107 |
Einstein (C) |
104 |
107 |
Candidate varieties are noted as (C) |
Winter wheat yieldsÂ
Winter wheat yields were down 12% in early AHDB trials, although this is a trend expected to change markedly after a harvest which has seen bumper wheat yields.
Yields averaged 8.9t/ha from two winter wheat trial sites in Lincolnshire and Suffolk compared with a five year average of 9.96t/ha, and breadmaking wheats like Skyfall Trinity and Crusoe performing well.