Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Magazine Subscriptions
    •  
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Podcast
    • Events
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Arable & Livestock

    Maximising spring barley potential

    Meghan TaylorBy Meghan TaylorFebruary 7, 20223 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    LG Diablo Spring Barley

    Aberdeenshire farmer, Peter Chapman, collected his second Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) Gold award.

    Mr Chapman achieved the 2021 best percentage of potential spring barley yield from his Sienna spring malting barley, from Limagrain UK. With the crop achieving 82% of its estimated potential yield of 9.7 tonnes per hectare and producing the highest specific weight of all 10 varieties in that category at 72 kilogrammes per hectolitre.

    He also won Gold in the same category in 2020 with a crop of LG Diablo, which achieved 87% of its potential 11.1 t/ha yield.

    When 2021’s summer brought an early drought, limiting all crops’ yield potentials, Mr Chapman was “pleasantly surprised” with Sienna’s performance. And, after the crop slightly out-yielded LG Diablo, Mr Chapman said he will grow it again this season, alongside LG Diablo and a small test area of the new Limagrain UK variety of spring barley: Jensen.

    “Yield and specific weight are my main priorities when choosing varieties, then standing power and agronomics,” noted Mr Chapman; there is no single answer to maximising crop potential.

    However, Mr Chapman always begins with careful variety selection and sowing good quality seed into the best possible conditions.

    “Achieving good specific weights can often be a worry in Aberdeenshire, as although we get the extra day length in summer, there isn’t the same sunlight intensity as further south. I’ve therefore always been a big fan of high specific weight varieties and it was one of the main reasons we chose Sienna,” he said.

    The farm used to home-save much of its seed, but a split field comparison between certified and home-saved seed, a few years ago, showed a clear advantage from using quality, certified seed, he adds.

    Peter Chapman
    Peter Chapman

    Healthy and nutritious soil is also important, continued Mr Chapman: “Our soils are generally in very good condition, with organic matter contents of 7-9%, due to a history of livestock on the farm, plus regular applications of manure and compost.”

    Last season, spring barley ground received farmyard manure and premium green waste compost when the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) application window opened in February, before being ploughed.

    Crops received two fungicide sprays, on the 7 and 25 June, based around fluxapyroxad, prothioconazole and tebuconazole, with a growth regulator and micronutrients included in the first spray and folpet in the latter. The crop was sprayed off with glyphosate on 15 August, before harvest on 2 September.

    A prolonged dry spell last June did result in some tillers being lost on Mr Chapman’s farm but crops still yielded well – with a rolling average of 7.5-8t/ha. “With a bit more moisture at the beginning of June, we perhaps could’ve been looking at 9 t/ha,” he suggested.

    Running on a high input and certified seed route is ‘really paying for itself’, concluded Mr Chapman.

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleAmazone introduces BorderTS boundary spreading system
    Next Article Smart technologies for sheep and goat farmers
    Meghan Taylor

    Journalist. Graduated from the University of Sussex with a degree in English and Art History. When not working I can be found riding my horses on the Ashdown Forest, reading, shopping, or cooking!

    Read Similar Stories

    Cereals Crop Plots – An interview with LSPB’s Chris Guest

    May 6, 2022

    Cereals Crop Plots – An interview with NIAB’s Kevin Middleton

    May 5, 2022

    Cereal Crop Plots – An interview with Rothamsted Research’s James Clarke

    May 4, 2022
    Most Popular Stories

    Air-Seal Products helps operators keep moving

    May 23, 2022

    John Deere updates specialist tractors with more comfort and power

    May 23, 2022

    Cope Seeds offers Nelson wheat for high protein efficiency

    May 23, 2022
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2022 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Farm Business
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Others".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to store the user consent for cookies in the category "Performance".
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_191 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo