Ron Granger, Limagrain UK’s arable technical manager, revisits the key agronomic principles for the best establishment of spring barley, and for maintaining high tiller counts for optimal yields.
1. Know the end market or contract that you are growing for: to help determine agronomic inputs e.g., hitting desirable grain nitrogen.
2. Choose the right variety: usually determined by the end use or contract chosen. LG Diablo is the highest yielding, dual-use variety*, which means it can be used for both brewing and distilling.
3. Time of drilling: patience is needed to wait for when both weather and/or soil conditions allow for good seedbed preparation for rapid emergence and establishment.
4. Seed rate: for higher tillering varieties, the optimum seed rate is 350 seeds/m² when drilling in ideal conditions around mid-March. This can be adjusted depending on:
- Weather
- Drilling date
- Seedbed quality
- Moisture availability
- Growers’ own experience on individual sites
When forced to drill into April, push rates up to 400-450 seeds/m².
5. Maintaining high tiller numbers: high final tiller or ear counts are critical for achieving high yield potential. An early balanced crop nutrition regime, encouraging better rooting and canopy development play, are critical in securing final tiller survival.
6. Nitrogen and tiller numbers:
- Limagrain trials show that higher yields without exceeding grain nitrogen can be achieved using nitrogen rates of 150 kg/ha, based on a split nitrogen application of a standard 120 kg/ha in the seedbed, plus an additional 30 kg/ha at tillering, when compared to a standard seedbed application of 120 kg/ha.
- Higher yielding varieties respond well to higher nitrogen levels, as nitrogen grain content dilution is achievable. Additional nitrogen input can be beneficial on better soils, and should be targeted early, but beware on lighter soils that are more prone to stress.
7. Pay attention to macro and micro nutrition.
8. Early PGR applications programmes: are recommended on thick crops, to promote additional rooting and strong uniform tillering, and a minimum of two fungicides to keep the plant healthy.
Find out more about high yielding dual use spring barley, LG Diablo.
*on AHDB RL 21/22
