LG Caravelle, which joined the AHDB Recommended List last year, has lived up to the promise to match hybrid barley yields this season, according to one grower.
Despite challenges this season, the two-row winter barley from Limagrain has performed well on the Yorkshire Wolds. Mark Ullyott, near Driffield, is pleased with the seed crops, which have yielded between 8.5 and 9.5 tonnes per hectare.
“We have grown seed crops of barley for over 10 years, and LG Caravelle must be the best we have seen,” he said.
Mr Ullyot sowed two fields with the variety for this harvest. One after vining peas, which was ploughed, pressed and combination drilled, with the crop established on the 28th of September at 300 seeds/m2.
The second was min-tilled after potatoes and went in on the 23rd of October, with a higher seed rate of 350 seeds/m2 to compensate for the later drilling date.
He said that both established well and looked good. “We don’t have too much of a black-grass issue, so a pre-emergence application of flufenacet and diflufenican at 0.4 l/ha and some Avadex, pretty much tidied up any weeds.”
For disease, the crop stayed clean with a standard fungicide programme and received 160kg of Liquid N32 per hectare, which was slightly lower than normal due to the high fertiliser costs.
“It’s a fairly tall variety, so we used a ‘bottom-shortening’ PGR, chlormequat, but I think the crop would benefit from a ‘top shortener’ as well next time, just to reduce its height that bit more, although it’s important to note the straw strength was good and we didn’t have any lodging or brackling issues.
“Both fields were ready to harvest by the third week of July, but the wet weather meant the field following the vining peas was ready first on the 31/7 but we had to hold on for another week for the second field, again due to the weather.
“Despite this, the crop held its own, germ still looked good and bushel weight held up with no sprouting. The straw came off well; all of which goes for home use,” Mr Ullyot added.
“It is always interesting growing a new variety for the first time to see how it performs, and we are very pleased with LG Caravelle and will grow it again. If we could, we would put all of our acreage down to the variety,” he concluded.