Releases Archive 2008

Then July and August were very wet and dull. In fact August 2008 was the wettest since 1914 with 213% of the 1961-1990 Met Office average for the month. It was also the dullest August since 1929, with only 70 sunshine hours for the month, which is 51% of the 1961-1990 average.

Despite the unusual weather, yields from the 3 winter barley trials in Northern Ireland (Downpatrick, Limavady and Hillsborough) were, on average, nearly a full tonne per hectare heavier than the 5 year mean for 2003–07. Downpatrick was the highest yielding trial, with an average of 9.9 t per ha across all varieties with the new 6-row hybrid Volume yielding 11.4 t per ha, the highest in all trials in 2008.

These winter barley trials, conducted by AFBI and part-funded by the Home Grown Cereal Authority (HGCA), are carried out under two management regimes. The first involves the use of fertiliser, herbicide, plant growth regulators and fungicides to enable the varieties in trial to achieve their full potential in terms of yield. In this regime, disease is kept to a minimum and should not limit yield even in varieties with high susceptibility. The second regime is identical but without the use of fungicides and plant growth regulators. This allows disease and lodging to establish in the susceptible varieties allowing the effect of disease and straw strength on yield to be determined. The yield of grain is calculated at 15% moisture content.

Performances of recommended and candidate varieties are discussed below.

Saffron, currently the top fully recommended 2-row variety on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) Recommended List, performed well in 2008 with an average yield 1% greater than its 2003-07 mean. Retriever, provisionally recommended in 2008, was 8% down on its 2003-07 mean and it only out-yielded Saffron by 1%. Its susceptibility to lodging was very evident this year. At both Downpatrick and Hillsborough, it lodged significantly (80% at Downpatrick) giving only 103 and 101% of the treated controls, respectively. At Limavady, where no lodging was recorded, its yield was 111% of the treated controls. Retriever also had the highest sprouting in the field at Downpatrick.

Camion, fully recommended in 2008, gave a disappointing performance with an average yield of 97% of the treated controls, down 3% on its over-years mean. Pearl’s treated yields were as expected at 97% of the treated controls, but its untreated yields increased by 11% to 90% of the treated controls. Suzuka, provisionally recommended in 2008, gave a treated yield that was 3% down on its over-years mean for 2003-07.  

The two new candidate varieties, Daybreak and Jungle, generated very little excitement, with treated yields of 100% or less. Accrue’s performance was noteworthy, out-performing all other 2-rows except Retriever, with an average treated yield of 105%. However, with a low 2003-07 over-years mean, its 2008 success is unlikely to position it above Saffron’s long-term yields.

Table 1. Yields of 2-row winter barley varieties (as a percentage of treated controls) in 2008 compared with their over-years performances from 2003-07.

Colibri, the only fully recommended 6-row variety on the DARD Recommended List, performed very well in Northern Ireland in 2008 with a 3% increase on its over-year’s average in treated trials and a 6% increase in untreated trials. It has been discontinued in HGCA trials due to low seed availability in the UK, but will be sown in AFBI variety trials for 2009 harvest.

Pelican, the newly recommended 6-row variety, also yielded well, maintaining its 112% of the treated controls, a yield equivalent to 10.3 t per ha. At Downpatrick, its yield of 11.4 t per ha was just short of the highest yielding variety, the six-row hybrid Volume. There were promising performances from Leibniz, a new candidate, with an average treated yield of 112% of the treated controls. However, its yield fell 21% when in untreated trials – probably due to brown rust susceptibility. Karioka, another new 6-row variety, gave an average treated yield of 105% which does not overtake either of the currently recommended varieties on the Northern Ireland Recommended List.

Table 2. Yields of 6-row winter barley varieties (as a percentage of treated controls) in 2008 compared with their over-years performances from 2003-07.

Bronx had a disappointing yield in 2008 with a drop of 5% to 109% compared to its 2003-07 over-years mean. It suffered damage in all tree trials and was infected by brown rust at Downpatrick (33%). Boost’s treated yield was on a par with Bronx this year, an increase of 8% on its 2003-07 mean. Its untreated yield also increased an impressive 9%. Volume, with the highest yields in trial in 2008, certainly looks promising, its 2008 average being 6% higher than those of Bronx and Boost. It shares a similar susceptibility for brown rust with Bronx, but has no other apparent weaknesses.

Table 3. Yields of 6-row hybrid winter barley varieties (as a percentage of treated controls) in 2008 compared with their over-years performances from 2003-07.

* Control varieties = Pearl, Saffron and Sequel.

Saffron, Northern Ireland’s most popular 2-row variety, is likely to maintain this position with another good performance in 2008. Camion’s future is uncertain having been removed from the HGCA Recommended List, although it will be sown in AFBI trials in Northern Ireland. The risk of growing Retriever due to its propensity for lodging has been compensated for by its extraordinary yields, but its poor performance this year could jeopardize its popularity. The 6-row Pelican gave another great performance in 2008, whereas that of Colibri was less notable. The 6-row hybrids Bronx and Boost had similar treated yields in 2008 and were both out-yielded by the newcomer Volume. With good quality for its type and no serious defects detected, it will be one to look out for.

For further information on the varieties in trial this year, please contact:

Dr Lisa Black or Dr Ethel White,
AFBI Crossnacreevy
Tel: 028 90 548 000
Fax: 028 90 548 001
Email: info@afbini.gov.uk

For the current DARD Recommended List see Recommended variety lists.

Data on yields and other characteristics in 2008 will be incorporated with those from previous years in due course to produce the new DARD Recommended List for 2009.