In this issue..

Growers switch on to barley’s early boost
Barley growers are altering nitrogen timings to
exploit the potential of new varieties, according
to the survey. Almost 60% of those growing
barley had adjusted the proportion of N applied
early. Of these, more than half were putting
50% on at GS14-25.
“This is really encouraging,” says Allison
Grundy of CF Fertilisers. “Recent research has
shown the best yield response comes from
applying 50% of the N early and the survey
suggests the benefits of that research are now
being felt on farm.”
just as costly as too little, depending on
the variety. Also, growers aiming for a
high feed yield could save on nitrogen by
seeking out the low protein varieties.”
But getting nitrogen right is notoriously
difficult, he concedes. A recent project
monitored protein levels achieved by
growers in grain co-ops over several
seasons. While some growers consistently
achieved high levels in their milling
samples, others frequently failed to
do so, with no rational explanation as
to why.
“Those growers might have been
getting the nutrition right if the farm was
‘average’, but the protein levels are telling
them something’s working differently
on their farm. Routinely analysing and
monitoring what you’re doing could tell you
a lot about how to improve performance
–– if you’ve a milling wheat at 11% you’re
underfertilising, but a feed wheat at 12%
may indicate some N was unnecessary.”
Realising both high yield and high
protein puts the emphasis in wheat crops
on the later N applications. “The difficulty
is that an application at the end of May
needs rain in June and July to get it into
the ear.”
Bonanza yields
And that may be what’s behind the
high yields and good proteins growers
experienced this year. According to the
survey, most growers put this year’s
bonanza yields down to crop establishment
and sunlight, with rainfall coming a close
third. Nitrogen rate was credited for the high
protein, followed by rainfall and sunlight.
“It’s the good light levels and the
pattern of rainfall that top my list,” says
Roger Sylvester-Bradley. He cites research
that has drawn observations on spring and
summer rainfall and resulting yields.
“There have been high yields in years with
low rainfall in March and April but there
has been high proteins in years with
relatively high precipitation in June and
The barley project, led by ADAS and funded
by AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds, CF Fertilisers
and Syngenta, is taking a fresh look at data
and conducting new trials to update RB209
recommendations for winter barley.
“The earlier timing supports work done
previously. What we now also know is how
best to feed these high-yielding barley crops,”
says Allison Grundy.
The project has determined a barley crop
needs an extra 30kgN/ha per tonne of yield
above RB209’s standard 8t/ha crop. “With many
July. This year we got both.
“The other striking feature of this year
was ear numbers –– some crops produced
a massive number of grain sites. It could
farms achieving 10-11t/ha crops, they need
to apply an extra 60-90kgN/ha.”
In practice, this could mean an extra
application, splitting the total dressing three
ways rather than using the traditional two.
“And then half of it also needs to go on before
GS31. There’ll be knock-on implications for
disease control and PGR use, too. So for
growers looking to maximise returns on their
barley crop, there’s plenty to plan for next
spring,” concludes Allison Grundy.
be that dry weather in early spring,
combined with plenty of sunshine,
combined to boost photosynthesis and
rooting, setting up the crop to produce
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