The <strong>Crop</strong>sTable 4.1Total areas <strong>of</strong> crops and short-term grass <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>East</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong>,1988-97<strong>Crop</strong> Mean 1988-97 (ha) % change 1988-97Wheat 103,504 + 8.6Barley (spr<strong>in</strong>g and w<strong>in</strong>ter) 294,125 - 10.1Oats (spr<strong>in</strong>g and w<strong>in</strong>ter) 21,684 - 41.8Oilseed rape (spr<strong>in</strong>g and w<strong>in</strong>ter) 50,074 + 43.1L<strong>in</strong>seed 1,461 - 79.4O<strong>the</strong>r cereals 1,486 + 25.0Potatoes 25,572 + 0.2Comb<strong>in</strong>able peas and beans 4,637 - 73.3Leafy forage 7,441 - 13.3Fodder roots 18,449 - 49.5Vegetables for human consumption 10,442 + 28.3Fruit 2,588 - 28.8O<strong>the</strong>r 7,065 + 34Total crops and fallow 566,038 + 0.1Set aside 20,351 + 46.0Grass under 5 yrs 280,747 + 24.4Grass over 5 yrs 232,174 - 20.9Total crops and grass 1,078,953 + 0.7Source: AEFD (1999a) and <strong>the</strong> DAFS census data for 1988.Table 4.2 prese nts <strong>the</strong> areas <strong>of</strong> cro ps <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>Ea st <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong> <strong>in</strong> 1997 as a pro p o rtion <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Scottish total, emphasis<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> co n ce nt ra t i o n<strong>of</strong> arable agricu l tu re <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ea st.Table 4.2Proportions <strong>of</strong> Scottish arable crops grown <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>East</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong>,harvest 1997.<strong>Crop</strong> Scottish total <strong>East</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong> Percentage <strong>in</strong>(ha) Total (ha) <strong>East</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong>Wheat 108,655 101,360 93.3Barley 344,105 294,293 85.5Oats 21,185 16,182 76.4O<strong>the</strong>r cereals 2,489 1,766 70.9Oilseeds and l<strong>in</strong>seed 59,855 56,950 95.1Potatoes 27,613 25,627 92.8Fodder crops 29,386 21,738 74.0Vegetables 11,701 11,422 97.6Fruit 2,408 2,241 93.1Total crops 607,397 573,495 94.4Set aside 40,175 36,237 90.2Short-term grass 1,101,926 509,578 46.2Total crops and grass 1,709,323 1,083,053 63.4Source: AEFD (1999a,b)33
<strong>Crop</strong> <strong>Production</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>East</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong>Yields and Yield PotentialCerealsThe yield <strong>of</strong> a particular crop depends upongenotype, management, season and landcapability class, and <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>teractions. Forexample, <strong>in</strong> a survey <strong>of</strong> nearly 500 farmcrops <strong>of</strong> spr<strong>in</strong>g barley <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>East</strong> <strong>of</strong><strong>Scotland</strong> over five seasons, 1978-82 (Hay,Galashan & Russell, 1986), <strong>the</strong>re was a verywide range <strong>of</strong> farm yield from 1.2 to 7.8 tha -1 (at 15% m.c.). However, national and<strong>in</strong>ternational statistics have tended to<strong>in</strong>dicate that cereal yields on farms <strong>in</strong><strong>Scotland</strong> tend, on average, to be higher notonly than those <strong>in</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r nor<strong>the</strong>rn countries(e.g. Table 1.1) but also than <strong>in</strong> England andWales.This phenomenon was first <strong>in</strong>vestigatedexperimentally <strong>in</strong> 1976 and 1977 bycompar<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> growth and physiology <strong>of</strong>two spr<strong>in</strong>g barley varieties under <strong>the</strong> samemanagement at Cambridge (52º11’N) andPathhead near Ed<strong>in</strong>burgh (55º53’N) (Kirby& Ellis, 1980; Ellis & Kirby, 1980). Over <strong>the</strong>two contrast<strong>in</strong>g seasons (severe drought <strong>in</strong>1976), <strong>the</strong> gra<strong>in</strong> yields <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pathheadcrops were 79% higher than at Cambridge;<strong>the</strong> differences could be expla<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> terms<strong>of</strong> up to 64% higher ear populationdensities, up to 17% more gra<strong>in</strong>s per ear,and up to 20% higher <strong>in</strong>dividual gra<strong>in</strong>weights. It was concluded that <strong>the</strong> longerphotoperiods (more than 15 hours frommid-April to late August) and lowertemperatures at Pathhead (i.e. similarsupplies <strong>of</strong> solar radiation distributed overlonger days; Chapter 2) permitted longerdurations <strong>of</strong> each developmental phase, andlonger grow<strong>in</strong>g seasons overall. Inconsequence, more organs (tillers, ears,spikelets, florets) were <strong>in</strong>itiated and/orfewer organs aborted; and <strong>the</strong>re wasgreater <strong>in</strong>terception <strong>of</strong> solar radiation tosupport <strong>the</strong>se organs.This provided <strong>the</strong> first unequivocal supportfor <strong>the</strong> hypo<strong>the</strong>sis that <strong>the</strong> yield potential<strong>of</strong> adapted crops, such as spr<strong>in</strong>g barley, canbe higher under cool long days, although itshould be noted that not all comparisonsgive such clear results (e.g. Ellis & Brown,1986). S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>the</strong>n, <strong>the</strong>re has been a series<strong>of</strong> experiments at different latitudes <strong>in</strong><strong>Scotland</strong>, England and France, designed to<strong>in</strong>vestigate <strong>the</strong> environmental control <strong>of</strong>development and yield <strong>in</strong> wheat (e.g. Kirbyet al., 1987; Porter et al., 1987; Delécolle etal., 1989; Hay & Delécolle, 1989). Theconcept <strong>of</strong> slow and prolongeddevelopment, with extended gra<strong>in</strong> fill<strong>in</strong>g,delayed senescence and enhanced<strong>in</strong>terception <strong>of</strong> radiation, expla<strong>in</strong>s whyMidlothan holds <strong>the</strong> world record for <strong>the</strong>yield <strong>of</strong> a field crop <strong>of</strong> wheat (as opposed tosmall plot yields) at 14 t ha -1 (Hay, 1993).A study was conducted <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> early 1980s(Hay et al., 1986; Hay & Galashan, 1988) toTable 4.3The yields <strong>of</strong> cereal crops (t ha -1 at 15% m.c.) <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> South <strong>East</strong><strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong>, 1978-82.Spr<strong>in</strong>g BarleyW<strong>in</strong>ter WheatAll farms 4.7 (474) n/aSpecialist arable farms 5.0± 0.06 (265) 5.9 (149)Variety trials 5.6 ± 0.21 (110) 6.4 (48)Calculated maximum potential 9.2 13.234Values are means over five seasons ± s.e. with number <strong>of</strong> farms <strong>in</strong> brackets (adapted from Hay etal., 1986).