Archive Article: 1997/09/06
WINTER BARLEY
REGINAS stiff straw has come up trumps this harvest, propping up its high yield potential in the face of high winds and rain in early summer. This malting variety shares the laurels for the best two-row treated yields in NIAB trials, alongside new feed Recommended List candidate Vertige, another stiff-strawed barley. Gaelic, Intro, Pastoral and newcomer Jewel are close behind.
More disappointing is malting barley Fanfare, which only manages to equal Fighter. Severe lodging pressure is to blame, suggests Mr Fenwick. However, Fanfare does manage to demonstrate its high yielding potential on some southern NIAB trial sites, where it beats Regina. In Kent, Berks and Hants trials Fanfare is top of the two-row barleys.
Grain nitrogens are higher than last season, with average figures sitting between 1.5-2%. And as with the wheats, the lack of sun in June led to poor grain fill; thousand grain weight is about 5g below the long term average, and screenings are up. Specific weight is about 68kg/ha; down by about 2kg/ha.
With the six-row barleys, Muscat increases its yield lead over Manitou.