Pushing The Limits Of The Barley

franklin

New Member
Similar to the pushing the limits of the OSR thread, I'm after some thoughts of:

a) getting the barley to make a massive heap of grain and
b) staying stood up to be combined.

Had agronomist round today who is sure we can get it to yield like wheat. Previously, have had very variable yields from the great 4t/ac (2012, Kassia) to more like 2t/ac (2010, Carat). 3t/ac seems the local average, but I think we can get plenty more than that if only we can keep it stood.

The Syngenta Cashback Yield Guarentee protocol looks like a pretty good starting point:

a) First N at GS25, or 60% total N by GS31
b) Good slosh of Moddus
c) Apply a SDHI fungicide
d) Get plenty of tillers.

NMAX for a 10t/ha crop as a 2nd cereal is something like 240kg/ha. Surely one dollop of Moddus wont keep that stood if we are trying to make it tiller? It has been sugested to use a 40/40/20 split for fert, and not to use urea on our generally slow and cold clays.

Reading around, the view seems to be that you can't polish a shyte, and that thin and yellow winter barley is not going to perform. So get it thick and keep it stood. But also that Proline is the fungicide of choice, and its all about the tillers. So is a tenner more on nitrogen now going to pay better than a tenner on fungicide on a thin crop later?

Answers on a postcard please.....but it is already starting to grow!
 

Shutesy

Moderator
Arable Farmer
What variety have you got in the ground? Was reading about the Syngenta Cashback thing earlier. Got Volume in the ground here, hoping to push it for 10t/ha! Was going to discuss it more with my agronomist later this week.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
Agree about the seed. If it's really thick it has nowhere to fall, not a fan of w Barley but recent improved yields and the early in for OSR makes it look more appealing
 

David.

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
J11 M40
Last year was just unfortunate; our barley looked the best we have ever had, following the early N/ keep it stood blueprint. Hailstorms on two successive days in June, and a sunless grain fill period made sure it ended up low sp.weight and well laid over.
Yield was still within a sniff of 3ton/ac, and I believe that circumstances beyond our control spoiled a potentially record crop.
Lessons learned here are that barley never forgives a poor seedbed, thin establishment, or recovers from being starved of N through March.
 
Last edited:

Surgery

Member
Location
Oxford
Every years different , you can push all you like but unless Mother Nature plays ball etc.

We drilled straight onto ploughing last year mid November and everyone thought us mad , 3.9 ton an acre , 67 bushel cassia.

Planted earlier previous years and yielded a lot less.

Syngeta cash back ? I think you wait until March before looking at a chems firm trying to sell product and then make your own mind up.
 
Every years different , you can push all you like but unless Mother Nature plays ball etc.

We drilled straight onto ploughing last year mid November and everyone thought us mad , 3.9 ton an acre , 67 bushel cassia.

Planted earlier previous years and yielded a lot less.

Syngeta cash back ? I think you wait until March before looking at a chems firm trying to sell product and then make your own mind up.

This is what I think. Sometimes you just don't get the sun you need at the right time.
 

franklin

New Member
Don't forget your pH

pH fine. Couple if years worth of P&K applied pre-drilling. Got some Glacier and Tower, drilled 1st week October at 400 seeds. Twice over with the solo, and power harrowed in front of the drill.

As a conventional, it's not eligable for the Syngenta cashback thing, but thought that looked a good starter as how to grow it / push it. However it looks like their SDHI fungicide choices are not available with prothioconazole in, which looks to me the better azole? I was also thinking of delaying the T2 fungicide to get some on the awns where product will allow, but dont want to compromise PGR application.

What about trace elements, as I dont want a lot of blind sites in the ears? Or is that mostly from late frosts?

Previously, we have also tested the samples for nitrogen / protein which would suggest our nitrogen was going on too late.

Agree it doesnt want to see a very cold / wet winter, but so far we have avoided that and it has begun to get going again. Several heavy land growers are now back into barley where they have got no control of BG in their wheat from Atlantis - they seem to be going for the hybrids, but I have stuck down the "wap plenty of seed in" conventional route.

plenty of seed
Plenty of fert (early)
Don't worry too much about it going down.

How early, and what proportion? I have 22N 10SO3 liquid for the first dose. Was thinking I want to be going early Feb, then early March, then early April? Not like there is much value in the straw around here, but we will be using it ourselves.
 

robbie

Member
BASIS
Early N early N early N and lots of it.

In my opinion that's the crucial part of good winter barley. Get it as thick as possible and don't starve it at any point if it goes yellow in spring once it's started growing then the damage is done. I'll be looking to give mine 50 units of N as soon as possible in Feb as long as it's growing and we're not snowed under.

@static I find loads of mn and a couple of doses of 0.5 lt cu help a lot.
 

franklin

New Member
@static I find loads of mn and a couple of doses of 0.5 lt cu help a lot.

Ta. Its the copper I was thinking about mostly. What type of copper do you use? I suspect you would see more deficiencies on your lighter land than I usually do here, but I would be adding 5kg of a 25% K2O, 15%Mn product with each spray. Was also thinking of adding Boron.......beacuse I have gallons of it clogging up my shed! But also linked to ear fertility in wet / cold times.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,293
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top