Scots go for Landlord barley
Scots go for Landlord barley
SPRING barley variety Landlord will be a sell-out and is set to take 10% of the Scottish cereal area in its first season next year, according to Tim Kerridge, Scottish seeds manager with Dalgety.
"Spring barley is the most important cereal crop for the Scottish farmer, accounting for more than half the total cropping area. It is dominated by Chariot and Prisma," Mr Kerridge said at the companys annual Scottish harvest review.
"But quality problems this harvest reflect the need for a variety less susceptible to splitting and skinning.
"Landlord looks like the one to fit the bill with early maturity, high yields, very good rhyncosporium and mildew resistance, and a high resistance to splitting. Maltsters are conducting full scale evaluation from the small area grown this year and early indications are hopeful. We think Landlord will become a major player in the Scottish malting market."
Winter malting barley Melanie has failed to live up to malting and quality expectations and a drop in sowings from 23% to 18% is expected. Pastoral and Manitou will slip a little, but newcomer Regina is set to claim 20% of winter sowings this year.
Highest yielding
"It offers farmers one of the highest yielding two-row varieties and with a malting option. But we would advise the farmer to grow for the anticipated market. Growing for feed and hoping for malt will not secure premium markets. If a farmer is growing for maltsters he must consider rotation and inputs," said Mr Kerridge.
Winter wheat continues to be dominated by Riband at 70% of the market, but with Buster and Consort claiming niche markets and offering a wider spectrum of variety choice.
New winter oat Jalna has secured a strong foothold but Gerald still dominates that market. Revisor is seen as a key spring oat for the coming year, winning market share from Dula.
Triticale is growing in popularity, especially on marginal land and there has been a dramatic increase in sales of Binova which, Mr Kerridge claims, out-yields other varieties by 20% on very light soils.
Current indications are for significant increase in winter oilseed rape sowings in Scotland. The trend is to Synergy, the composite hybrid which has increased market share from 15 to 46%. Commanche, having had a very good year, is maintaining a 20% share.
"Of the newcomers, Pronto, a fully restored hybrid, has created a lot of interest. However, limited seed stocks have restricted uptake to only a few farms in Scotland," said Mr Kerridge.