The Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) is confirming that 202220/23 winter barley yield results are now available from four sites.
These comprise three fungicide-treated and one untreated trials at locations in Devon, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire.
The current average treated yield of control varieties in the treated trials (10.10t/ha) is above the five-year average (9.76t/ha), but it’s very early in the season to draw any conclusions based on this.
Winter barley
According to AHDB analysts, it has been a good season for winter barley trials. Autumn was very mild with adequate moisture meaning all trials were drilled and crops established well before the winter.
December was the coldest since 2010 with severe frosts, helping check disease progress. But from late December through January and February there were both cold and mild wet periods, though February was very dry, with less than 20% of the average rainfall over much of England.
Spring started with a very wet March, with double the usual rainfall in much of England, followed by an average April, giving diseases a chance to get going.
Drought through May and June, with high temperatures in the second half of June, helped check disease but probably limited yield potential.
The current 2023 values only show yields based on three sites so should be treated with caution, particularly as the earliest harvested trials can sometimes be ones most impacted by drought.
Varieties
The six-row hybrid varieties are the highest yielding in these early trials. SY Kingsbarn (111%) is highest yielding, just ahead of SY Kingston (110%).
SY Canyon and SY Thunderbolt (108%) are just behind that, with the older hybrids, Belfry (107%) and Bazooka (106%) again a little further back.
Newly recommended SY Nephin yielded poorly at the Lincolnshire site and this has brought its overall average yield down (105%).
However, it was recommended due to good disease resistance and untreated yield and it was the highest yielding variety in the single untreated trial to report back thus far.
In the two-row feed varieties, Lightning and newly recommended LG Caravelle are equal highest yielding (104%), just ahead of LG Dazzle (103%), with KWS Tardis on 101% and KWS Hawking and Valarie on 100%.
Newly recommended Bolivia has disappointed thus far (96%), but yielded well in the single untreated trial and may improve when more trials are in.
Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) tolerant six-row conventional KWS Feeris at 102% has yielded in line with its five-year average.
