United Kingdom
October 10, 2017
Three AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) spring barley trials are included in the Harvest Results released today (10 October 2017).
The additional trial results, from sites in Kent, Northern Ireland and Scotland, put the average yield of the control varieties at 7.22t/ha across the 15 trials validated to date. This is 0.5 t/ha below the five-year average of 7.72t/ha. The Kent site yield average is the lowest of all the 15 trials. The best yields were seen at a trial in the Borders (9.46 t/ha).
Calculating yield results
Yields are represented as a percentage of the control varieties. In 2017, Concerto, KWS Irina, Odyssey, Propino and RGT Planet are the control varieties. The yield average from these varieties is represented as 100%.
2017 results
The 2017 values show yields based on one season from the 15 sites validated to date.
Laureate (fully approved for brewing and distilling), RGT Planet (fully approved for brewing) and Sienna (fully approved for malt distilling), have achieved a yield of 105%. The feed variety Scholar and the feed variety for the west (Hacker) have achieved a yield of 104%.
Using the five-year average
The five-year (2013 to 2017) average is a better measure of variety performance over the past few seasons.
Over the longer term, RGT Planet (105%), Laureate (104%), Chanson (104%), LG Opera (104%) and Scholar (104%) are performing well. Popular varieties Concerto and Propino achieved 94% and 100% respectively.
When choosing varieties, what the market requires should drive variety selection.
Candidate varieties
Based on the five-year averages, LG Diablo has a yield of 107%, LG Tomahawk 106% and RGT Asteroid 103%.
cereals.ahdb.org.uk/harvestresults