After a recent break from growing winter malting barley, Essex arable farmer Robin Bartleet reports that he harvested one of his best ever winter barley crops despite the poor weather of summer 2007.
Mr Bartleet, who runs 200ha at Abrahams Farm, Great Tey, near Colchester, and contract farms a further 120ha, grew two fields of the newly-HGCA recommended variety Cassata for the first time this year and was pleasantly surprised to see the crop yield 213t from 26ha (8.2t/ha).
"On one of our fields, a 17ha block, the average was actually 9t/ha," reports Mr Bartleet. "It's some time since we grew the crop, but one of its attractions is that it helps spread our harvest as we also grow wheat, oilseed rape and potatoes."
Cassata is the only malting variety with BYMV resistance and, in addition, scores well for rynchosporium and brown rust, but Mr Bartlett added that, having had such a dry spring, disease wasn't an issue.
"The main problem was sufficient ground moisture to activate fertiliser. The crop only had chlormequat as a growth regulator, as we couldn't apply any Terpal due to the weather, but it stood well, and though it brackled a little, it resisted lodging. I'm very pleased with its performance, so we'll be drilling it again this autumn."
