LG Diablo is now the highest yielding spring barley variety with full approval for both brewing and malt distilling, on the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List.

Ron Granger, Limagrain’s arable technical manager, shares the key attributes of the variety and how to get the best establishment in the spring.

LG Diablo sits amongst the top yielders on this year’s Recommended List, yielding 102% of control. Significantly, its yields are highest in the key malting barley growing areas of the east and north (103%).

LG Diablo’s untreated yield remains towards the top of the yield table, showing the robustness of the variety’s agronomic package and disease resistance ratings.

LG Diablo has a very good specific weight, 66.9 kg/hl, which is important in the malting industry, as malting is a volume-based process and low specific weights cause reduced throughput in the processing plants.

Growers with low specific weight parcels will incur penalties if specifications are not met, particularly in times of over-production.

LG Diablo’s hot water extract is a similar level to that of Concerto – a trait that helped Concerto to become a benchmark variety. A high hot water extract is heavily desired by the end user to achieve higher sugar extraction rates from the malt, and the ability to create more alcohol.

LG Diablo offers straw characteristics similar to RGT Planet: medium in height (72cm), with good lodging and brackling resistance.

Now that the variety has been given the green light by the industry for both brewing and distilling, LG Diablo’s future is very bright as it takes its place as a key variety in the sector – meeting the requirements of both growers and end users.

Top tips for spring barley establishment

1. Time of drilling

Wait for the right conditions for drilling – when both weather and/ or soil conditions allow for good seedbed preparation combined with rising soil and air temperatures, to ensure rapid emergence and establishment.

Limagrain work shows that earlier drilling in the spring encourages higher yield potential, mainly on lighter, free draining land that will dry and warm up faster than heavier, wetter soil types.

Earlier drilling on these less moisture retentive soils will allow for greater plant root development, ensuring a higher tiller number survival when plants suffer stress in a drought situation.

Drilling early significantly increases the risk of disease, so consider varieties with strong disease resistance for this situation.

2. Seed rate

Limagrain’s seed rate trials over various seasons and regions, show that the optimum seed rate for LG Diablo is 350 seeds/m2 when drilling into ideal conditions around mid-March.

This figure can be adjusted up or down depending on weather, drilling date, seedbed quality, moisture availability and perhaps most importantly, the grower’s own experience on individual sites.

A lower rate of 300-325 seeds/m2 would suffice if drilling into an “onion bed” in March.

However, when forced to drill into April, due to the weather or for agronomic reasons such as blackgrass control, pushing up to 400-450 seeds/m2 is advisable.

Establishment is important but maintaining a high tiller number is the priority for ensuring high yield potential – early nutrition/ PGR and fungicide applications, all have an important part to play.

The desire to push the crop was balanced against the need to sell it, and as it was destined for malting, ensuring low nitrogen (N) was key, reveals David, adding that the farm is in a nitrogen vulnerable zone (NVZ).

As such, the crop only received the farm practice amount of 130 kg N/ha, applied at planting, along with an early application of phosphate, potash and sulphur.

However, he points out that it is not only the amount of fertiliser in one season, it is the whole-farm perspective which plays a role in achieving the best possible crops.

LG Diablo spring barley

“The high health index of the soil the crop was grown in, alongside the strength of our rotations, will have meant there was a lot of soil N available, and this will have contributed to keeping the plants growing towards their potential.

“Our rotations are based around growing potatoes one year in six; we grow winter and spring barley and we have a suckler beef herd for finishing.”

Having livestock on the farm allows him to have grass in the rotation, and the manure from the cattle is also spread, which helps build soil organic matter.

Planted on 25^th March, the LG Diablo was conventionally drilled into clay loam soil with a medium to high tilth, that had been ploughed and received one pass.

“It was rolled to consolidate and maintain moisture before the drought, and so had a chance to get established.”

Having grown LG Diablo for four seasons, David and his agronomist Iain Anderson understand the variety’s needs for attention to detail, for it to be a star performer.

“Because of the spring drought, we wanted to make sure stress levels were kept to a minimum, so we used trace elements and biostimulants alongside growth regulators.

“The seed, sourced from his seed rep Douglas Bonn of Nickerson Seeds, had been treated with manganese, and we topped that up to make sure it was not short.

“We did tissue analysis to identify any shortages, which is better than waiting for symptoms of a condition to appear, and then treated the crop accordingly.”

A biostimulant was used to improve amino acid uptake, and David noticed the difference in crop development between those which received the treatment and those which did not, as they were unable to access nutrients.

Crop protection was tailored according to the field and IPM thresholds, and he used fungicide to maximise green leaf coverage for biomass, which helped push yield.

David Bell in his LG Diablo crop

The crop was harvested at the end of August 2020.

Although he enters the YEN competition, David insists it is not the whole story, as across the whole farm there are variable yields, and he wants to improve the overall farm performance, not just the one field.

“The YEN is about sharing information between growers to help us improve, and the metrics help you see the benefits.

“We use programmes such as the YEN, plus trusted and independent knowledge platforms like AHDB and SRUC, to improve our knowledge. We then try out new ideas and strategies to see what works.”

For 2021 Harvest, David will be progressing into reduced tillage and a direct drilling system where possible.

“Thanks to microbial activity, nitrogen mineralisation and high organic matter, we will be able to transition to direct drilling, although the spring crops will need some increased tilth for establishment.”

When it comes to choice of which spring barley to grow, David points out that LG Diablo is in demand by the maltsters, and his decisions on which spring barley variety to grow are very much based on what he can sell.

“It’s a quality product and the market wants it.”

Douglas Bonn of Nickerson Seeds, notes that forward thinking from a whole-farm perspective pays dividends on crop yield and quality.

“The application of farmyard manure over time, has built up inherent soil fertility as the biology has improved.

“I particularly noticed on walking the crop, that it had high tiller density which translated into a high yield and good quality, with a nitrogen level of 1.48.

“The physical character of the grain was excellent, with no issues getting the whole crop accepted by the maltsters.”

At 7.23 t/ha, it also topped the list for untreated yield.

“Approved as a malting variety, LG Diablo yielded more than the feed varieties,” reveals agronomist Donald Paterson of Scottish Agronomy.

The variety has also been given full approval for brewing and distilling in the UK.

Donald Paterson

“This means that growers opting for LG Diablo will get to choose whether they prefer to grow the crop as malting, brewing or feed barley.”

This effectively means deciding which N rate to apply, says Mr Paterson, explaining that malting barley receives lower levels of N applied up to the three-leaf stage of crop growth, rather than at later growth stages to minimise late nitrogen uptake into the grain.

“Feed barley, on the other hand, can often justify slightly higher rates of N.”

It’s important to recognise that spring barley is a fast-growing crop, and if key nutrition or micronutrients are deficient at any point in the crops’ life, yield potential will be compromised, says Ron Granger, Limagrain’s arable technical manager.

Mr Granger refers to work carried out over several years by Limagrain UK, on high yielding malting crops, that demonstrates the benefit of using higher nitrogen rates of up to 150 kg/ha based on a split nitrogen application of a standard 120 kg/ha in the seedbed, plus an additional 30 kg/ha at tillering, when compared to a standard seedbed application of 120 kg/ha.

“This approach produced higher yields, without exceeding grain nitrogen percentage.”

“Additional nitrogen input appears to be beneficial on the better soil types, but care should be taken on lower yielding and lighter soil types that are more prone to stress.”

“In these situations, the majority of the standard nitrogen regime should be targeted early in the plant’s life to secure better root growth for enhanced tiller survival.”

He points out that the newer, higher yielding varieties respond well to the higher nitrogen levels, as nitrogen grain content dilution is achievable.

“Macro-nutrients such as phosphate, potash, magnesium and sulphur, have also proved to be beneficial to the barley crop and should be applied either in the seedbed or soon after drilling, to promote strong rooting and early plant growth.”

Tissue analysis of the young growing crop is always useful for indicating any shortfalls of nutrition and is relatively inexpensive, if targeting a very high yielding crop, he adds.

“Additional micronutrients such as; manganese and copper applied at the stem extension phase of growth, also help to ensure a healthy canopy and good ear fertility, and in turn, help to secure high grain number, for maximum yield potential.”

“Macronutrients can be applied independently with other key inputs, or as in many cases, a multi-nutrient product.”

Mr Granger also recommends early PGR applications on crops, to promote additional rooting and strong, uniform tillering.

He adds that Limagrain agronomy work suggests the application of 2 fungicides should be targeted, if aiming for high yield potential from larger biomass crops.

Always refer to latest RB209 Guide.

Consider higher nitrogen rates when conditions are conducive for high yield potential.

Nutrition at the foundation stage and through the plant’s life, is essential for ensuring high tiller number for high final ear counts.

LG Skyscraper has joined an elite group of varieties that have topped the Recommended List for three successive seasons. Only three other varieties (KWS Santiago, Oakley and Glasgow) have achieved this feat since 2004, showing how impressive this achievement is.

“Whilst newer varieties have joined the Recommended List since LG Skyscraper‘s recommendation in 2018, the variety continues to dominate and demonstrate its ability to achieve the very highest yields across a wide range of situations and environments,” says Tom Barker, Limagrain’s cereals and pulses product manager.

“The variety still sits as the highest yielding variety in the East at 105% showing that it is a variety for the more testing eastern climate, associated with higher temperatures and drought.”

“The variety does this as it develops a good foundation in the early season, which it then converts into a consistently top yield of sound bold grain.”

“It is a high tillering variety that moves early in the spring, similar to Evolution and is relatively early to mature which is useful, particularly for growers in the North,” he says.

Agronomically, LG Skyscraper has held up well he notes. “Its rating for yellow rust has held fast when many around have fallen, and its brown rust is still an acceptable 6. It also offers Orange Wheat Blossom Midge resistance (OWBM).”

LG Skyscraper

LG Skyscraper’s excellent performance across the UK dispels any myths surrounding soft wheats being lower yielding than hard wheats.

“Not only has the variety held onto its yield, but its excellent quality attributes remain intact, offering a specific weight of 76.8 kg/hl and a Hagberg of 214,” notes Limagrain’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger.

“The variety has the additional benefit of distilling, with premiums being offered by some millers for inclusion in biscuit grists – a very valuable attribute,” he says.

“For some growers who are still looking to drill their wheat, it is worth noting that in Limagrain trials, LG Skyscraper was the highest performing variety in the late drilled slot. In fact, the variety has shown itself to take this top position over three very different seasons,” he points out.

“LG Skyscraper can be drilled comfortably up until the end of January and even later into February further North, but seed rates will need to be adjusted accordingly.”

The Farmer’s Perspective

Caring for soil structure and growing on land with residual fertility has paid dividends for Berwick-on-Tweed based grower Rod Smith of Beal Farm, whose 400ha land overlooks Lindisfarne (Holy Island).

Grown on heavy clay soil after vining peas, his 2020 seed crop of LG Skyscraper yielded 13.4t/ha, with a specific weight of 80kg/hl and a germination between 97-98%.

David Cairns, Head of Agrochemical Division for Simpsons Malt and McCreath Simpson & Prentice, who is also a practicing agronomist, works closely with Mr Smith.

David Cairns of Simpsons Malt and McCreath Simpson & Prentice

“The crop was planted on September 20, just before the weather broke, and established very well.”

“The previous crop of peas had been harvested at the end of August and the trash was incorporated, and then a stale seedbed created to flush weeds.”

“We do not have a black-grass problem in the area, but brome needs managing.”

“A lot of work has been done on improving soil structure and organic matter on the farm, and a really good stale seedbed was created using min-till.”

The approach at Beal Farm is to generally follow a min-till strategy with rotational ploughing, approximately one year in six.

“The farm follows a wheat-based rotation with vining peas, which are planted approximately one year in six to one in seven, but also includes winter oats, spring barley and increasing use of cover crops. The plan is now to try and grow more second wheats.”

Mr Cairns advocates a robust, prophylactic approach to crop protection, especially with fungicides.

“As we are in a coastal area, there is a threat from early yellow rust, which we addressed at T0 with cyprocanazole and Septoria tritici protectant chlorothalonil (CTL). We did not see any infection on the LG Skyscraper at all.

“T1 disease levels remained low, however, given yield potential and wanting to increase Septoria protection, we used an SDHI/Epoxiconazole based treatment, albeit at a reduced rate, and again CTL whilst we still had it. This was timed well to protect leaf 3.

“When it came to T2, because of dry weather, crops seemed to shut down for a while and slow down growth, so the gap was a bit longer.

“Given the yield potential, we tried some of the new Revysol fungicide on the final leaf but given rust was still lingering in the area, we also included a Strobilurin.

“T3 was really just a treatment to cover Fusarium as weather had started to break a bit and we considered that the robust flag leaf fungicide will have covered foliar disease, so it was a low dose of Prothioconazole and Tebuconazole.

The PGR (chlormequat) was also applied at T0, he adds.

“We were pushing for yield, so we applied an early N dressing. Although LG Skyscraper is a tall variety, it is very responsive to PGR.

LG Skyscraper Winter Wheat

“This was particularly clear on our own Simpsons Malt trials, where it was side by side with an untreated crop.”

In the spring, the crop got going ahead of the other wheats on the farm, so David applied a high dose of N and S to keep the crop tillering and then further N/S to meet yield potential.
This autumn, the area grown with LG Skyscraper has gone up to 160 ha as well as planting it as a second wheat in the same field as this year.

Mr Smith says: “Growing a profitable seed crop of LG Skyscraper has been really important to us, and the work fits in with our diversification projects which include a restaurant and camping site on the farm.”

Mr Cairns says: “As a company, it is our biggest selling variety because the farmers are happy with it as a first and second wheat.”

Farm Facts

Farm area: approximately 400Ha
Soil: Heavy clay
Environment: Coastal
Rotation: 1:6 or 1:7 for vining peas

Herbicide strategy:
Pre emergence based on Pendimethalin, DFF and Flufenacet

Fungicide strategy:
T0 Cyprocanazole + chlorothalonil
T1 SDHI/Epoxiconazole
T2: Revysol + strobilurin
T3: Prothioconazole + tebuconazole
Diversification projects known as The Barn at Beal

Limagrain UK has a reputation for producing great biscuit wheat varieties, from Claire to more recently Zulu and Britannia. This strong breeding line continues with the introduction of four new Group 3 biscuit varieties for the 2021/22 AHDB Recommended List: LG Prince, LG Illuminate, LG Quasar and LG Astronomer.

These new varieties offer an improvement in yield potential in the biscuit sector, combined with good agronomic attributes of stiff straw, good disease resistance ratings for the rusts, septoria tritici and Orange Wheat Blossom Midge (OWBM) resistance.

“Very importantly, these should not be just considered as solely biscuit wheats, as they all have the additional end market of potential for distilling and two of them also have uks export opportunities on top, for a full marketing outlet opportunity,” says Limagrain’s cereals and pulses product manager, Tom Barker.

“A breeder getting a couple of varieties onto the Recommended List is quite an achievement, but getting four new varieties listed in the Group 3 biscuit wheat category is very unusual, and an achievement that should be acknowledged,” he adds.

Each variety is different, offering a range of agronomic characters suitable for particular farm situations, to allow for optimum performance.

LG Prince is the highest yielding biscuit variety with distilling, available with a UK yield of 103%, with a very high yield potential in the East, of 104%.

“LG Prince performs well across a range of soil types, and has proven itself to be a very good second wheat, yielding 104% of control, which is significant as this is up there with the best feed wheat yields,” says Mr Barker.

“A short stiff-strawed variety, LG Prince has a later maturity, with good disease resistance for the rusts and septoria tritici, and offers OWBM resistance.”

A biscuit wheat offering distilling and uks export, LG Illuminate is the next highest yielding of Limagrain’s new biscuits, and has done well in the North at 102% of control, and stands out for its consistency of performance over seasons, regions, soil type and rotational position.

“LG Illuminate is particularly impressive in the earlier sowing situation,” notes Mr Barker.

“Its grain quality attributes are similar to KWS Firefly, but with a better specific weight and good sprouting resistance.”

Agronomically, LG Illuminate offers good disease resistance for the rusts and septoria tritici, as well as OWBM resistance.

LG Astronomer offers distilling, backed up by an exceptional agronomic package.

“This is a tall, but very stiff-strawed variety, with one of the best disease resistance packages available on the Recommended List, offering resistance ratings of 9’s for the rusts and an excellent rating of 7.4 for septoria tritici,” he says.

“Combined with OWBM resistance, a very good grain quality and a specific weight of 77.8 kg/hl, these attributes make it a very secure variety for growing on farm with minimum risk.”

“LG Astronomer has all of the desired agronomic attributes associated with the early drilling slot, such as stiff straw, excellent disease resistance, good grain quality and OWBM resistance, and has proven itself in this drilling situation.”

LG Quasar is the second of the biscuits offering both distilling and uks export. It has a grain quality similar to the current market leader in the sector, KWS Firefly.

A taller-strawed variety with good lodging resistance, LG Quasar is suitable for mid to late drilling. The variety is later maturing, with similar attributes to its parent, Cougar. LG Quasars’ disease resistance profile is also similar to the market leading variety KWS Firefly, but with a better brown rust rating which is important for the southern regions.

UK / Regional / Untreated Yield Potential

Disease Resistance (compared with the highest yielding soft feed varieties)

LG Diablo is now the highest yielding spring barley variety with full approval for both brewing and malt distilling on the 2020/21 AHDB Recommended List, says Matt Shand, UK national sales manager for Limagrain UK.

“With this recent approval, LG Diablo now holds the title of being dual-use, demonstrating the robustness of its quality characteristics, as required by end users in both the brewing and malt distilling sectors,” he adds.

It’s not just its quality characteristics that are valuable, says Ron Granger, Limagrain’s arable technical manager. “LG Diablo sits amongst the very top yielders on the AHDB RL, yielding 105% of control. Significantly, its yields are highest in the key malting barley growing areas of the east (106%) and north (107%). 

“LG Diablo’s untreated yields remain at the top of the yield table alongside Laureate at 97% of control, and 2% over that of RGT Planet. This shows just how robust the variety’s disease resistance ratings are.”

Mr Granger sees LG Diablo’s agronomic package as being particularly attractive to growers; LG Diablo has straw characteristics similar to RGT Planet; medium in height (73cm) with good lodging and brackling resistance.

LG Diablo has a very good specific weight, 67.1 kg/hl, which is important in the malting industry as malting is a volume-based process and low specific weights cause reduced throughput in the processing plants, points out Ron.

“Additionally growers with low specific weight parcels will incur penalties if specifications are not met, particularly in times of over -production.”

“Its hot water extract is a similar level to that of Concerto – a trait that helped Concerto to become a benchmark variety. A high hot water extract is heavily desired by the end user in order for them to achieve higher sugar extraction rates from the malt and the ability to create more alcohol – and LG Diablo offers this.”

“Now that the variety has been given the green light by the industry for both brewing and distilling we believe that LG Diablo’s future is very bright as it takes its place as a key variety in the sector – meeting the requirements of both growers and end users,” concludes Mr Shand.

Highest yielding spring barley variety with full approval for both brewing & malt distilling

Spring barley LG Diablo has been given Full Approval for brewing use by the Malting Barley Committee (MBC).

LG Diablo is now the highest yielding spring barley variety with full approval for both brewing and malt distilling on the 2020/21 AHDB Recommended List

Can growers’ control BYDV with Insecticides?

As a result of recent neonicotinoid bans implemented by European legislation, key chemistry sets, such as Deter, have been withdrawn with major implications on the control of aphids.

Moderate levels of pyrethroid resistance are also widespread in grain aphid populations in the UK, so it is essential to follow resistance management guidance and to target chemical control carefully.

Growing BYDV tolerant varieties in conjunction with foliar insecticide sprays if aphid threshold populations are met, gives growers increased security for ensuring maximum yield potential on farm.

Is BYDV a top priority for the Limagrain Barley Breeding Programme?

Yes! Breeding for BYDV tolerance is a high priority for the Limagrain Winter Barley Programme, and is incorporated with key characteristics such as high yield potential, good grain quality and the agronomic characteristics of good disease resistance and straw strength.

Milder autumns are resulting in an increase in aphids and the number of generations per year; hence the need to select tolerant/ resistant varieties. We have identified a gene ‘RYD2’ with effective tolerance.

Can you explain the genetic tolerance?

The RYD2 gene reduces levels of susceptibility to the viral infection, so the plant will still get infected, but will tolerate the virus and grow normally with minimal yield loss.

Does Limagrain have varieties with BYDV tolerance, for commercial release in the near future?

Yes – Limagrain has already released commercial varieties both in Europe and the UK, such as the 6-row conventional variety, Rafaela, and will continue this focus within the UK Programme.

Speaking about one of his clients’ crops grown near Amesbury, not far from Stonehenge, he reveals that he did not apply a fungicide at T0, emphasising that he thought it unnecessary as the crop was so clean.

This meant that the wheat received no SDHI, as the other fungicide applications are based on azoles.

“We are really pleased with the results of this variety in a really difficult year,” he says.

Despite the challenges of growing in the really difficult conditions posed in 2019/20, the crop looked good and harvested easily. The farmer was also pleased because it provided a lot of good quality straw for the farms livestock.

Drilling LG Skyscraper

“It senesced naturally and was ready early, ahead of the other wheat crops. This helps spread the use of the combine.”

Planted in mid-September before the weather broke, it followed winter oilseed rape. Soil structure is cared for by following a min-till and Vaderstad regime. Weed control included an application of Roundup (Glyphosate), Liberator (flufenacet + diflufenican) applied at 0.6l/ha plus 2.0l/ha Defy (prosulfocarb).

“We chose it as a barn filler because of its ability to give a good yield. It is considered to be a tall crop, but it is very responsive to PGR, which we applied in April, and we had no problems with lodging at all.

“Resistance to yellow rust rating and orange blossom midge resistance were also important to our decision making.

“In addition, we were pleased because it held out well against Septoria tritici.”

Plans are for more of his customers to plant LG Skyscraper this autumn, particularly those who are on chalky loamy soils, with residual nitrogen (N), or on Oxford brash. This is because he finds it does not need a high fertile soil to do well.

To help growers keep on top of any potential black-grass problems and also to avoid the earlier pressure from Septoria, Mr Clarke prefers to hold back planting.

“Normally we prefer to finish drilling on Bonfire Night, so we work our planting dates backwards from that.”

He is thinking of reducing the seed rate he used this year – which was 350 – down to 300.

“We find that thin crops can yield really well,” notes Mr Clarke who runs his own Oxfordshire-based farm alongside the independent agronomy consultancy.

“LG Skyscraper really seems to hold its own; if you want to grow Group 4 wheats, it is where you want to be.

“Our plans are to increase the area planted with this wheat variety.”

Versatility of drilling

LG Skyscraper fits the later drilling slot, and those who are delaying drilling for black-grass control, growing a second wheat or drilling wheat after beet or potatoes, should strongly consider this variety for the slot.

Late drilling presents a unique set of challenges to the crop; crops drilled later will not have been in the ground as long as those drilled earlier in the autumn, so the chosen variety needs to be quick off the blocks in the spring, once growing conditions are favourable.

For example, in a black-grass scenario, the variety needs to compete with its rapid growth rather than sit and tiller flat to the ground, eventually becoming smothered by it. The theory is not complicated, and this is why LG Skyscraper suits the blackgrass situation over a variety like LG Sundance which is high tillering with a late plant development in the spring.

Data from several seasons of work also suggests that taller wheats have an advantage regarding final yield potential in the later drilling scenario, and these larger plant canopies play an important role in keeping black-grass ear numbers and seed return to the minimum.

Top tips for later drilling wheat

• One of the single most important factors in getting a late drilled crop off to a good start is the correct seed rate.
• After the end of October seed rates are difficult to quantify as they are determined by the seasonal weather and seedbed preparation at the time of drilling.
• Seed rates are increased the further drilling moves towards the winter months to compensate for the impact on tillering of cooler temperatures and shorter days.
• In good conditions in early November, the target should be a seed rate of 375-400 seeds/m2, increasing to 400–475 seeds/m2 at later drill dates, or in a black-grass or poor seedbed situation.

Farm Facts:

Total planted area 100ha

Rotation:

First spring barley
Second spring barley
Winter oilseed rape
First wheat
Second wheat

Fungicide strategy:

T1 : Epoxiconazole, chlorothalonil,
T2: Epoxiconazole, chlorothalonil, and Proline
T3 Tebuconazole

PGR strategy:

2 splits:
T0: Modus (trinexapac-ethyl) and Chlormequat (chlormequat chloride)
T1: Chlormequat and Canopy (prohexadione-calcium and mepiquat chloride)

The main business prioritises a herd of pedigree Limousin cattle and North Country Mule sheep, with the arable part of the farm playing an important supporting role providing straw for the livestock and a saleable cash crop.

He grows one cereal crop on the farm each year, and his rotation includes first and second wheats, followed by winter barley, followed by five years of grass ley for grazing. This year it was the turn of winter barley.

“As cereals are not our principal business, we were looking for a barley that is easy to grow with good straw, and can pretty well look after itself without too many expensive chemical inputs,” says Nigel.

“Winter barley is particularly useful to us because it is harvested earlier than wheat, so we have time to harvest it, bale the straw, do one pass and then wait to check any chitting, cultivate and plant the grass at the optimum time of mid to late August.”

This year he has planted 20ha of the winter barley variety LG Mountain and he reports the crop looked good from the start, and does not appear to have been affected by the very wet winter or the dry spring.

“It was recommended to us by our Nickerson Seeds representative, Florentina Badiu, because of its ability to yield well, strong straw, and disease resistant profile, and we are really pleased with it.

“Coming into harvest it was a nice even crop. We managed to get it harvested between the 13th- 19th July and we are very pleased with the 8.3t/ha and we also got 4.2t/ha of baled straw.

The farm was predominantly arable and sheep until 2007 when pedigree Limousin cattle using French genetics were introduced, and the clay loam soil has been cared for thanks to regular applications of manure from the cattle for many years. All cultivations have been min-till for more than fifteen years.

Nevertheless, the 2019-2020 season still challenged the soils to the limits; following the very wet winter, was a very dry spring and the clay loam soil became very dry and hard on the surface.

Nigel admits that at one stage he became concerned for the barley crop because the ground was so bone dry it was like a vice around the plant stems.

However, he reports, that the barleys roots had already grown down deeply enough to scavenge for water, reducing the stress.

The extreme weather also affected inputs; and he comments that, unlike many growers, he was able to get a pre-emergence herbicide applied before the wet autumnal weather closed in.

“We were lucky because it went on in the final few days when you could travel.”

As the weather then went to the other extreme and became really dry, he decided not to apply a plant growth regulator (PGR) and despite high winds in the area since then, there have been no issues with the crop lodging.

“The problem with cereals is that we are so dependent on the weather for quality and yield, so it is important to have a variety capable of withstanding stress.

He adds that key factors he takes into account when choosing his cereal varieties include yield, vigour and disease resistance.”

Nigel goes on to remark that he grew oilseed rape as part of the rotation for a number of years. However, as one of his priorities is the provision of good straw for the livestock, this, in addition to the challenges since the withdrawal of nicotinoid seed dressings making oilseed rape very difficult to grow, influenced his decision to change the rotation to include winter barley.

He goes on to mention that grass fields are divided; some are used to provide grazing, whereas other fields are cut for silage for home-use.

“The time our land spends under grass ley is beneficial for the soils.

“This is because planting grass provides a good break from cereal crops and their necessary chemical applications, which helps pesticide resistance from building.”

Florentina Badiu, seed specialist at Nickerson Seeds says: “The requirements of this particular farm highlight the importance of an early variety which is clean, has good tall straw for livestock use in addition to a good specific weight.

“We recommended LG Mountain because it is ideal in this situation thanks to its earliness and strong, tall straw, plus its grain has a high specific weight and it mills very well.”

Farm facts:

Total farm area: 160ha (400 acres)
Soil: Clay loam
Typical weed profile: Black grass is the principal weed challenge, then general broad leaved weeds

Agronomy for the barley:

Planting date: End of September
Seed rate: 185kg/ha
One application of fungicide
Crop nutrition:
Fertiliser (0 24 24) applied at 250kg/ha at the end of February, beginning of March
Followed by calcium ammonium nitrate in two splits at 110kg/ha per split. The first split was mid-March, the second applied in late April
Farm machinery used on the crop:
First cultivation done by a Horsch Terrano followed by Väderstad Carrier
Planting was done with a Horsch Sprinter

However he is concerned that the recent prolonged spell of dry weather may impact further on the later drilled crops that have struggled with poor establishment.

Drilling started well, with winter wheat planted after vining peas around October 10, he points out. “However, the constant wet weather delayed lifting the sugar beet, so, as a result, the last of the wheat to be drilled went into cold, waterlogged soil in February.”

David Hoyles’ LG Skyscraper after vining peas

“Our soils are mainly Wisbech series alluvial Grade 1 silt, and the soil structure suffered with the continuous rain and may now become worse as conditions have now become very dry.”

As a result the roots, which had little stimulus for growing when it was so wet, may now find it difficult to penetrate and scavenge for water and nutrients.”

“Whilst the crops are not looking too bad now, our results will be very dependent on what the weather does as we go on through spring and into summer, particularly with the late-drilled crops.”

“If they do not have a chance to develop their rooting system and we have a drought, it could be a perfect storm.”

If that happens, he is concerned that there may be up to a 15% hit on yields, which last year averaged 10.4 t/ha across the farm.

“However, it is early days yet and we do not know how the rest of the season will develop.”

But he is giving the late-drilled wheat its best chance, by protecting and nurturing it as much as possible.

SMN testing in LG Skyscraper

Nutrition strategy and fertiliser applications are fine-tuned, and very much dependent on the previous crop and how much N is left in the soil, he points out. “Soil Mineral N (SMN) core samples are taken to estimate available nitrate and ammonium, after the winter rainfall and previous cropping.”

“As we grow a wide range of crops, we apply different strategies. For example, wheat following vining peas or kale typically receives 160 kg/ha N, whereas after sugar beet we find it needs 240 kg/ha.”

His herbicide strategy is also targeted according to the particular conditions and weed burden of each field. “Our main weeds are potato volunteers, small nettle, cleaver and some polygonums.”

“We use a pre-emergence spray at drilling, and then have a tidy up at T1; our usual spend on herbicide is around £50-£60 per hectare.”

“This year, we found some early signs of yellow rust in the backward wheat. It was not yet ready for T0, so we applied tebuconazole to get on top of it.”

Moving on to discuss variety choice, David says: “I am looking for a variety that performs on my soil type from looking at trials.”

“If it is high yielding and soft, then that helps due to potential price premiums. Other characteristics like maturity, orange wheat blossom midge (OWBM) resistance and lodging, play an important role in my decision making.”

Having previously grown LG Skyscraper very successfully as a seed crop, the choice had been clear for the well-established enterprise.

Weetabix, is an important market in the area and the variety is now on the company’s approved list.

“I like LG Skyscraper and it has performed well for us in the past, otherwise I wouldn’t have grown it again!”

LG Skyscraper performed well in the 2018 drought, averaging yields of 13.4 t/ha. Comparing it to other wheats on the farm in 2018, Graham yielded 13.4 t/ha, Frieston 12.19 t/ha and LG Jigsaw 13.15 t/ha.

LG Skyscraper also produced an acceptable yield in the saturated soils of 2019 of 11.6 t/ha. In 2019, Graham reached 10.63 t/ha, Graduate 10.54 t/ha and Frieston 9.96 t/ha – this was partly because a Frieston field was knocked by a hail storm just before harvest and lost a lot of yield, and also went flat, he explains.

When choosing a variety, David looks at Septoria and fusarium scores. “We can have quite big issues with them both, being our biggest potential yield robbers.”

He notes that as a tall variety, LG Skyscraper needs an application of a robust PGR. “We have found it to stand up fairly well to relative drought and flooding but two years ago, strong winds in July caused some problems in the seed crop.”

Looking at this year’s crop, the LG Skyscraper winter wheat planted after vining peas around October 10, reached Growth Stage (GS) 30 during the last week of March, and received its T0 and PGR.

“The autumn planted fields are showing potential for a relatively good crop this year, so fingers crossed we get through this dry period relatively unscathed,” says David.

Farm facts:

Total farm area: 700 ha over four farms, mostly on reclaimed land, going down to 2 m below sea-level

Area dedicated to LG Skyscraper: 105 ha

Drilling dates: From October 10, until February 7

Seed rate: Average 280-300 per sq. m but variation between 250-400 per sq. m, depending on timing and conditions

Soil: Wisbech series alluvial Grade 1 silt

Rotations: Wheat grown one in seven years. Other crops include potatoes, beetroot, sugar beet, vining peas, beans, leeks, kale and mustard for seed, for Colman’s

Fertiliser: N applications between 160 kg/ha and 240 kg/ha

Preemergence: Choice of active ingredient depends on the weed burden in each particular field

Postemergence: Tidy up at T0

10 year average annual rainfall: 610 mm