Drilling mixed barley varieties.....

[N.Yorks.]

Was wondering if anyone is choosing to mix barley varieties (or wheat) and drill the mix to avoid having a single variety monoculture? Was thinking this would be fine for feed barley and wheat to begin with.

 

[Flat 10]

Big fuss about this a few years ago and several tried it. Heard no more about it so I guess it didn’t work out. If you search threads on here you may find something

 

[Chae1]

Pig farmer up here used to do it. Wharley think they called it.

 

[Barleycorn]

Sinclair McGill, seed merchants, pushed this in the eighties. Was meant to save fungicide as the different varieties were susceptible to different strains of fungus at different times. Worked well for feed, but the millers and maltsters weren't keen.
We are growing a mixture of barley, oats and peas/vetches at the moment and it looks really well.

 

[robs1]

Sinclair McGill, seed merchants, pushed this in the eighties. Was meant to save fungicide as the different varieties were susceptible to different strains of fungus at different times. Worked well for feed, but the millers and maltsters weren't keen.
We are growing a mixture of barley, oats and peas/vetches at the moment and it looks really well.

Is that to combine or whole crop?

 

[N.Yorks.]

Sinclair McGill, seed merchants, pushed this in the eighties. Was meant to save fungicide as the different varieties were susceptible to different strains of fungus at different times. Worked well for feed, but the millers and maltsters weren't keen.
We are growing a mixture of barley, oats and peas/vetches at the moment and it looks really well.

Are you cutting that as a whole crop silage?

Do you have a picture?
Thanks.

 

[N.Yorks.]

Sinclair McGill, seed merchants, pushed this in the eighties. Was meant to save fungicide as the different varieties were susceptible to different strains of fungus at different times. Worked well for feed, but the millers and maltsters weren't keen.
We are growing a mixture of barley, oats and peas/vetches at the moment and it looks really well.

Do you know what the millers and maltster were having a problem with? Must be something related to processing?

 

[Chae1]

Do you know what the millers and maltster were having a problem with? Must be something related to processing?

If everyone did this for feed. They wouldn't be able to hoover up feed wheat and barley to fill in there deficit in bad years?

 

[Chalky]

The Rennie brothers grew blends in the Borders and when they farmed in Lothian. Not sure that their world records were not blends of wheat vars & barley vars when they achieved them? Someone will know on here for sure. Still a 'thing' in the North for a while afterwards, probably because of their success. Careful choices to mix are important for developmental equality.

 

[average farmer]

Did it with hybrid and conventional barley a few years ago in part field and I’m sure it was the best bit of the field. 80 acre field part mixed, part hybrid, part conventional.

do it with second wheat all the time and seems to work well. Do it with first wheats sometimes and seems to work well. All feed wheat and barley

 

[AF Salers]

I mix varieties in both ww & wb

 

[snarling bee]

We used to grow Sinclair McGill blends. Not sure there was any advantage over straight varieties.
It is still a monoculture though, not sure there is any advantage for soil or environment by mixing varieties.

 

[N.Yorks.]

We used to grow Sinclair McGill blends. Not sure there was any advantage over straight varieties.
It is still a monoculture though, not sure there is any advantage for soil or environment by mixing varieties.

Sorry wrong term to use monoculture. Not a field of genetically identical/similar plants though.
I think the mixed varieties offer different sets of genetic traits and in a given year the weather/disease pressure may affect one of the varieties but the others compensate as they are more able to withstand the pressure. In another year it may be a different set of conditions that favours the previous variety that didn't do well. Bit like having a stool with five legs, if one leg drops off then the others are still in place to do the job. Think the technical description is something like "resilience through biodiversity".

Maybe benefits to the soil and environment would be less fungicide if you selected varieties with differing resistances, would also mean better gross margin too.

 

[yellow belly]

little benefit as I try to grow malting barley and class 3 wheat
buyers need named varieties

all the trials I have seen have never shown enough benefit from growing a blend

 

[Devil's advocate]

I suppose if the seed was saved, it would develop to suit your land.

Would need cleaning of course to get all the small grains out.

 

[Barleycorn]

Are you cutting that as a whole crop silage?

Do you have a picture?
Thanks.

Wholecrop

 

[Barleycorn]

Do you know what the millers and maltster were having a problem with? Must be something related to processing?

Just varieties I think they get varieties into their heads and are loathe to try anything different.

 

[Fuzzy]

I've got a 6 row and 2 row barley blend growing together. Carat and Funky, hoping the short variety will help the six row stand !!

 

[Jinx]

Do you know what the millers and maltster were having a problem with? Must be something related to processing?

Different barley varieties can have different steep cycles and germination periods for malting. If you tried to malt a blend there is a very high chance the malt would contain a high % of over/under malted barley.

 

[Brisel]

@Simon C did this with wheat, hoping disease would default to the lowest common denominator of susceptibility, not the highest. Maybe @Simon Chiles too.