Spring Barley 2017 Harvest Results – 26/9
28th September 2017
Harvest Results are reported (26 September) for a further four AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) spring barley trials.
RGT Planet
Harvest Results are reported (26 September) for a further four AHDB Recommended Lists (RL) spring barley trials.
Results, which now also include sites from Norfolk, Herefordshire and Cheshire, show an average yield of the control varieties at 7.42t/ha, which is below the five-year average of 7.77t/ha.
Calculating yield results
Yields are represented as a percentage of the control varieties. In 2017, Concerto, KWS Irina, Odyssey, Propino and RGT Planet are the control varieties. The yield average from these varieties is represented as 100%.
2017 results
The 2017 values show yields based on one season from the nine sites. Laureate (fully approved for brewing and distilling) and RGT Planet (fully approved for brewing) have achieved a yield of 105%, while Sienna, which is fully approved for malt distilling, Chanson (provisionally approved for brewing) and the feed variety Scholar have achieved a yield of 104%.
Using the five-year average
The five-year average is a better measure of variety performance over the past few seasons (2013–2017), says AHDB.
Over the longer term, RGT Planet (105%), Laureate (104%), Chanson (104%), LG Opera (104%) and Scholar (104%) are performing well. Popular varieties Concerto and Propino achieved 94% and 100% respectively.
When choosing varieties, what the market requires should drive variety selection.
Candidate varieties
This week AHDB can report on two of the candidate varieties, LG Diablo and LG Tomahawk, which are both potential malting varieties. Based on the five-year averages, LG Diablo currently has a yield of 107% and LG Tomahawk 106%.
