We now have the first spring barley harvest results from five trials for the 2015 harvest. The sites, are all in England, ranging from Devon and Hampshire up to Norfolk and Oxfordshire.
The average yield of the control varieties stands at 8.33 t/ha, 0.95 t/ha above the five-year average. Spring barley appears to be mirroring the winter barley results with higher yields recorded this year compared to the five-year average. Control varieties at the site in Hampshire achieved an impressive yield of 9.51 t/ha.
Malting varieties
Malting varieties are selected on the basis of quality and end-user requirements as opposed to yield alone. The fully approved varieties for brewing and distilling include Odyssey (104%) and Concerto (94%). Fully approved, brewing only varieties include KWS Irina (104%) and Propino (101%). For the varieties under test, two varieties for brewing and distilling are Sienna (106%) and Octavia (104%), while RGT Planet is under test for brewing only (104%)
Feed varieties
Feed varieties with the highest 2015 yields include Scholar (105%) and Shada (104%). When selecting varieties for next season, the five-year average values give a better representation of performance in different seasons.
Winter wheat results
There are six winter wheat trial results for 2015 so far. The average yield of the control varieties is 10.47 t/ha, 0.32 t/ha above the five-year average. The control varieties at the Suffolk site have achieved the best average yield so far with 12.94 t/ha recorded. The control varieties are JB Diego, Gallant, Invicta, KWS Santiago and Crusoe. Yields given in this report are calculated as a percentage of the average of the control varieties’ yields.
Group 4 varieties
The group 4 hard feed varieties KWS Gator (106%), KWS Kielder (105%), KWS Santiago (105%), Evolution (104%), Costello (104%) and Relay (103%) have performed well so far in 2015.
Soft group 4 feed varieties performing well include Leeds (103%) and Twister (103%).
Quality varieties
Yield alone is not the mark of a good quality variety. Looking at yields of the quality groups however, the nabim Group 1 varieties Skyfall (102%), KWS Trinity (100%) and Crusoe (99%) all look favourable.
The nabim Group 2 variety KWS Lili (101%) and Cubanita (100%) currently stand out, whilst the Group 3 biscuit quality varieties Britannia (105%) and Icon (105%) look particularly impressive on yield.
Five-year average
When selecting varieties for next season, the five-year averages give a better representation of performance in different seasons. At this stage, Reflection, which has a claim for the new world record in Lincolnshire has a five-year average yield of 106%.
Evolution (105%) and KWS Santiago (105%) also head the hard group 4 feed varieties. Skyfall at 101% leads the Group 1 quality wheats on yield, and KWS Lili on 104% is at the top of the Group 2 quality wheats. Britannia (105%), a Group 3 biscuit wheat, has yields equal to many hard and soft feed varieties.
Winter barley results
There are now 17 winter barley trial results for 2015, from the south west of England up to Aberdeenshire. Average yields of the control varieties now stand at 10.42 t/ha, which is 1.04 t/ha above the five-year average.
This average comprises three low yielding years in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and two higher yielding years in 2014 and 2015. There is some variation between the sites in 2015 where the average yield spans from 6.25 t/ha, in Perthshire, up to 12.05 t/ha for a trial in Herefordshire.
Six-row varieties
Six-row hybrid and six-row conventional varieties continue to perform very well on yield in 2015. The hybrid Volume (106%) tops the table of the control varieties, followed by the conventional 6-row varieties KWS Meridian (103%) and Daxor (103%).
Looking at the candidate six-row varieties, Bazooka (109%) and Belfry (106%) have put in some impressive yields. The as-yet limited information on specific weight shows a gap between the hybrids (70kg/hl) and six-row conventional varieties (around 67kg/hl) . Although six-row varieties typically yield more than two-row varieties, they may also have weathered the dry spell in September 2014 better.
Two-row varieties
Two-row feed varieties with the highest 2015 yields include KWS Glacier (101%), KWS Tower (101%) and KWS Infinity (101%). Two-row feed candidate varieties include Kathmandu (101%) and KWS Orwell (101%). Retriever is also having a good year (101%), performing particularly well in the Scottish Borders, Fife and Yorkshire.
Premium Varieties
Brewing varieties are selected on end-user requirement rather than outright yield. The fully-approved varieties Talisman (96%) and SY Venture (94%) compare favourably with Cassata (90%) and Pearl (88%) in the 2015 harvest.
Five-year average
When selecting varieties for next season, the five year average values give a better representation of performance in different seasons. Two-row feed varieties which have been consistently good performers include KWS Infinity (102%), KWS Glacier (101%), and KWS Tower (101%).
Winter oilseed rape
This report has new information for four Recommended Lists trials from Teesside, the Scottish Borders, Midlothian and Fife. Yields are reported as gross output, which is the seed yield adjusted for oil content. The values are represented as a percentage of the control varieties – Vision, PR46W21, DK Cabernet and PT211.
Presenting values this way enables you to compare the performance of varieties at different sites and across years.
Oilseed rape trials can be more variable than cereals and care must be taken when drawing conclusions on limited data.
2015 gross output above four-year average
Winter oilseed rape harvest results
The 2015 gross output average from the four trials is 5.99 t/ha across the control varieties in 2015, 0.84 t/ha above the four-year average in the north.
Campus (108%), the quality oil variety V316OL (107%) and Anastasia (107%) have achieved good yields in 2015.
Looking at the four-year average values, varieties which have performed well include SY Harnas (111%), Anastasia (110%), Campus (110%), DK Explicit (109%) and V316OL (110%), a high oleic low linolenic (HOLL) variety. The four-year average values are a better reflection of variety performance than a single year’s data.
Candidate Varieties
Candidate varieties showing promise include Alizze (112%), Nikita (111%), Barbados (110%) and the quality oil variety V324OL (110%), a high oleic low linolenic (HOLL) variety.
Disease resistant varieties
The clubroot-resistant variety Mentor has achieved 105% in 2015 (103% in the four-year average). This variety is tested under conditions where the disease is absent, so its performance will be better understood when compared to susceptible varieties in high risk situations. Amalie, the turnip-yellows-virus-resistant variety, has a gross output of 98% in 2015 (97% in the four-year average).
