BARLEY YIELDS this season are up slightly on average, but there is significant variation across the country, according to the first barley results from Home Grown Cereals Authority trials.

Results from six trials found an average yield of 8.9t/ha compared to a five year average of 8.2t/ha. But yields ranged from 8.1t/ha in Suffolk to 10.4t/ha in Essex.

According to NIAB, early results from limited data suggest many two-row variety candidates, such as Surtees, Celebrity and Cypress are generally struggling to out-yield existing ones on the Recommended List.

With an average yield of 10t/ha, Camion has produced the highest yields so far, but Fahrenheit and Dolphin are worth keeping an eye on, noted NIAB’s Clare Leaman.

Of the six-rows, the candidate variety Colibri has topped the yields, at 13% above the average of the control varieties (8.9t/ha) – slightly ahead of Colossus (114% of control), she said.

Yields of Siberia and Amarena are also noticeably up on last year. But the whole situation may well change as more harvest data becomes available, she said.

NIAB will be collating results as they come in and growers can see individual trial site performances on the HGCA harvest results website at www.hgca.com.

See FWi’s Harvest Highlights section for local and national harvest reports, updated every day.