technical brief February 2017
In this issue
News and crop production advice from Frontier
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Give spring barley the best possible start The British spring barley crop area is forecast to rise by as much as 17% this year, driven primarily by a fall in winter oilseed rape area and the increasing strategic role spring cropping has to play in managing black-grass. As we wait for field conditions to improve, crop production technical lead, Dr Paul Fogg explains the key areas to review to maximise crop potential.
Establishment Poor establishment is the biggest threat to the success of the spring crop. Spring barley is highly susceptible to compaction, the impact of which can be compounded in dry springs. Look to move as little soil as possible before drilling, especially in a blackgrass situation as this will stimulate germination and dry out the seedbed, impacting establishment and potentially the performance of residual herbicides.
Drilling date Seedbed conditions are more important than drilling date. Aim for a plant population of 250–300 plants/m2 (300–350 seed/m2). In good conditions, establishment will typically be 80% (early sown) to 95% (late sown). Keep in mind that sowing too early into a poor seedbed can compromise establishment, but this needs to be offset by the fact that spring barley compensates less if sown late.
Nutrition Nearly all spring barley crops will benefit from fresh phosphate to encourage rooting and rapid crop development, irrespective of existing soil levels. Early season (3- 4 leaf stage) use of phosphites can also help with rooting, provided sufficient phosphate is available in the soil. The lack of natural sulphur deposition means soil levels are now extremely low, requiring sulphur fertiliser (25-50kg/ha SO3) to be routinely applied. When it comes to nitrogen, a two way split would be typical, with half in the seedbed and half at the three leaf stage. The challenge with nitrogen rates for malting barley is balancing the drive to push yields while keeping grain nitrogen below contract limits. The latest survey data suggests average nitrogen rates are 104kg/ha. There is scope to review this as modern varieties have inherently better yield potential and ability to produce lower grain nitrogen levels. Recent
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Give spring barley the best possible start Harnessing the power of yield data Know your crop nutrition needs Give sugar beet a boost with green cover
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ahead for stewardship success
Frontier trials have shown that rates from 125–175kg/ha resulted in high yields but only produced a modest 0.1% increase in grain nitrogen.
Herbicides, PGRs and fungicides If growing spring barley is part of an integrated strategy to manage black-grass, a stale seedbed is essential. Remember why you are growing spring barley and don’t be rushed into drilling too early. Selective herbicide options are more limited relative to winter crops and are more reliant on EAMUs. Herbicide strategy will be dictated by anticipated dominant weed species, seedbed condition and soil moisture status. Pre-emergence residual herbicide programmes are increasingly being used on early sown crops, black-grass sites and where resistance to ALS chemistry is a concern. Spring barley yield is driven by final shoot numbers and ears/m2. While PGRs are not routine in spring barley, the early use (3-4 leaf stage) of approved PGRs can help reduce apical dominance, thereby promoting vegetative growth. This can be supplemented with trinexapac-ethyl at stem extension for example, followed with an ethephon based product at BBCH37–49, but all depends on risk and nitrogen inputs. In trials, a two spray fungicide programme gave an average 1.7t/ha response across 15 varieties. All of the new SDHI based products gave similar performance with respect to yield. Where ramularia is expected, including chlorothalonil at the T2 timing is key. An effective fungicide programme is also beneficial for grain quality. For expert agronomy advice to get the best results from your crop, speak to your local Frontier contact.
“Nearly all spring barley crops will benefit from fresh phosphate to encourage rooting and rapid crop development.” Dr Paul Fogg
Crop production technical lead
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