Exposed barley at higher risk?

It has been another dry and warm start to the year, and many have taken the opportunity to give a short-lived crop like spring barley some additional start time. But will increased disease pressure have an impact?

January 2023 has only just fallen short of the record-breaking January of 2022. England had an average of 77.6 hours of sunshine, a few hours short of the 80.7 recorded in 2022. That pattern continued, with February being one of the mildest on record.

Research has shown yield advantages between February and April drilled spring barley as slight, but straw is longer and for those chasing markets it is easier to hit N specs.

But, as with all things, there is a downside and that is increased disease pressure. Prime Agriculture agronomist Philip Simons (right) says his growers were all ‘drilled up’ by February 21st. Normally that wouldn’t concern him but winter crops are carrying a surprising amount of net blotch and rhynchosporium this season given that rainfall hasn’t been signi cant.

This follows a recent pattern; wet weather diseases like rhynchosporium appear to be coming through the winter well despite drier conditions. Last season, it was checked by dry weather continuing into April and May, but it doesn’t mean it will this year.

Impact of seed-borne infection

Research carried out by SRUC has shown the impact of seed-borne infection. This results in the disease developing inside fresh shoots and roots before expressing itself during January or February. Of course, the seed treatment arsenal isn’t what it was. But it could be down to changing farm practices – a green bridge acting as a reservoir.

Mr Simons is already earmarking the possibility of a T0 for winter crops and a twospray programme for spring crops.

Normally when it comes to spring barley, the decision is one spray or two; this season, it could be where to place your big guns. Fluopyram in Ascra (prothioconazole + bixafen + uopyram) has proven to be a potent option, and Revystar (mefentri uconazole + uxapyroxad) has also shown to be a strong choice.

For Mr Simons, he would prefer to keep the big guns back for the T2 timing. This is where the greater yield response is generated, especially if ramularia poses a threat.

crop so it cannot compensate like wheat by increased grain size. You’ve got to hit 700 heads/ m2 to preserve crop potential,” he says.

With the reliance on prothioconazole he thinks it is advisable to make use of the range of actives in the barley toolbox. Several options exist including strobs. Where disease pressure is high, coupled with varietal susceptibility, then it is likely to be Ascra followed by Revystar, or Siltra (prothioconazole + bixafen).

Sensational Sensation

Mr Harrison’s area is dominated by established hybrid favourites but Sensation is a variety that has caught his eye. Breeder DSV claims good yields, good straw strength and speci c weight.

uopyram little

Bayer’s Grant Reid agrees, but says pulling Ascra forward is worth considering if pressure is particularly high. “Ascra is a strong ramularia option but if rhynchosporium and/or net blotch are a concern then it is a sensible strategy. Typically, the T1 is the better timing to get on top of rhynchosporium and net blotch. Siltra is still a very good option, but uopyram is a little more active against net blotch,” he adds.

In the wetter west, agronomist Stephen Harrison (right) rarely advises February drilling so doesn’t have the same concerns with spring barley. He also doesn’t have much in the way of thick and forward winter barley – but he shares Mr Simons’ concerns, and a threespray programme is his ‘go to’ approach. His programme starts around GS30, although he would opt for cyprodinil as a holding spray should disease pressure be high, especially if mildew is a concern.

That GS30 spray will be a robust broadspectrum protectant like Ascra. This is followed by two further sprays between GS39 and GS59. The reason for opting for a product like Ascra at GS30 is to protect barley tillers. “Barley is a sink limited longer.

But more importantly, it comes with barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and Type 1 and Type 2 barley yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) protection. With seed dressings gone and broadacre insecticide applications also a thing of the past Mr Harrison is looking for alternative options. The loss of control options has also coincided with milder winters and fewer frosts, meaning aphids are on the wing earlier and for longer.

For BYMV, the Type 2 strain is now

For BYMV, the Type 2 strain is now prevalent in Europe. Regardless of whether the Type 2 strain is here, for Mr Harrison Sensation’s resilience is a de nite bene t. “For those that have the problem, there is no option but to rely on variety resistance. Sensation is a step ahead of anything else,” he notes.

But he does feel it needs a good PGR strategy. He considers it a bit ‘leggy’ and has a slight concern with straw strength. As a result, it is likely to get a PGR with both fungicide applications. FG

Reliable variety delivers on yield for gold award-winning grower

After scooping the top spot in the 2022 Yield Enhancement Network (YEN) Milling Quality Awards, wheat variety Crusoe has proven its reliability for Norfolk farmer Chris Eglington.

More than 150ha of the 400ha farm near Dereham is down to Group 1 milling wheats, divided evenly between Crusoe in the rst wheat slot after peas or oilseed rape, and Skyfall as a second wheat.

“We’ve been growing Crusoe for at least eight seasons, and it is a very reliable variety,” Mr Eglington says. “It’s not necessarily the highest yielding, but it performs every year.”

This performance was clearly demonstrated last harvest, when his YEN entry won Gold in the YEN Milling Quality Awards, with a protein content of 14.4%, speci c weight at 80.7kg/hl, and Hagberg of 355 seconds. This bucked the trend in a season characterised by high speci c weights and Hagberg falling numbers, but generally lower protein content.

Mr Eglington acknowledges optimising yield and achieving full milling speci cation is a ne balancing act, but says Crusoe has generally met the grade every year he has grown it.

His YEN-winning crop was managed no di erently to other milling wheats on the farm, which has operated a controlled tra c system across the entire area for the past decade.

For the 2022 YEN crop, grown on a good medium loam eld, the preceding Aspire oilseed rape stubble was allowed to green-up for as long as possible, before cultivating with an 8m Väderstad Carrier in early September. Wheat was then drilled within a couple of days, using the farm’s 8m Väderstad Rapid, rolled, and a residual herbicide applied.

“We use variable seed rates, based primarily on the soil’s clay content. There are 13 di erent soil types on the farm, from sand to strong clay, and in some cases the subsoil is di erent to the topsoil.

“Generally, the lighter the land, the lower the seed rate, whereas on the heavier land we’ll increase rates, as it is usually harder to create the optimum seedbed. Having said that, conditions were so good last autumn, some of the heavier land established better than the lighter ground.”

Little and often nutrition

After many years of growing milling wheats, Mr Eglington recognises the importance of optimising crop nutrition to achieve both yield and the quality required by end users.

Variable rate potash, lime (where required) and nitrogen applications are used across the farm, and he has worked closely with grain buyer Camgrain, and in the past with Sainsbury’s, to optimise nitrogen inputs and protein.

“Although there’s a lot of pressure to reduce nitrogen use on farms, there’s no escaping the fact that if you want to get a good milling wheat crop with high yield and high protein, unfortunately there is no other option than to make sure the crop has enough nitrogen. Being a few kilos under could take away the premium and be a big money loser.”

He favours a “little and often” approach, based on his experience of growing milling wheats, and in-season crop monitoring to ne-tune requirements.

Although the preceding crop can a ect residual nitrogen levels in the soil, given the uncertainty over how much will be available and taken up by the plant, Mr Eglington prefers to use regular tissue testing as a means of adjusting nitrogen programmes to crop need.

“We haven’t really done much soil testing, but do use the Yara N-Tester to test what’s in the plant tissue, and then the N-Sensor to apply nitrogen where it’s needed, and less where it’s not, so you end up with a very even crop.”

On average, rst wheats typically receive a total of 280kg N/ha, with second wheats getting an additional 10–15kg N/ha, due to the lower residual nitrogen after the preceding wheat crop.

Nitrogen is normally applied as four splits of solid granular fertiliser, but will sometimes be supplemented with a small amount of liquid urea towards the end of the season (June) to help build grain protein if required.

Keeping crops clean

A standard four-spray fungicide programme is used across all of Mr Eglington’s wheats, from T0 through to T3.

“We don’t cut corners in terms of timing. It would be very unusual for us to miss out one of the main fungicide sprays, but we will alter products according to the weather and disease pressure at the time. AHDB benchmarking data shows we generally spend slightly less than average on fungicides, but spray slightly more frequently.

“Again, it’s a little and often approach. Fireghting disease is a lot more di cult than going out there and preventing it in the rst place.”

Disease-wise, he says Crusoe is a predictable variety with no signi cant problems. “We know brown rust can be an issue later in the season, so we treat crops accordingly to manage that risk.

“We have tried other milling varieties in the past, but and have come back to Crusoe because it is a reliable variety,” he concludes. FG

Chris Eglington 2022 YEN results

Area: 3.2ha (8 acres)

Variety: Crusoe

Yield: 10.9t/ha (90% of estimated yield potential)

Protein: 14.4%

Speci c weight: 80.7kg/hl

Hagberg: 55s