The spotlight will be on spring barley, winter barley and winter wheat varieties at the upcoming Irish Seed Trade Association’s (ISTA) open day.

The annual open day to visit the Department of Agriculture’s cereal trials will take place on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at Kildalton College, Co. Kilkenny.

Those who attend the open day will be able to view the latest trial results from the crop varieties under evaluation; winter/spring barley, oats and wheat plus forage maize, oilseed rape and grass/clover varieties, ISTA says.

ISTA members will get the opportunity to view varieties coming up for full recommendation on the Department of Agriculture Recommended List.

Organisers say the open day also offers the opportunity to view new varieties that have recently entered the evaluation process.

There will be representatives from every aspect of cereal production including crop consultants, Department personnel, Teagasc tillage specialists, seed suppliers, cereal growers, agro chemical and animal feed suppliers and the malting industry, from agri-business sectors in the UK and Ireland.

Jim Gibbons, ISTA Vice President said that viewing the Department evaluation trials is ISTA’s opportunity as an industry to evaluate potential varieties for the future.

“The work undertaken by the Department is the basis of ensuring new varieties are fit for purpose under Irish conditions and will stand up to unique disease challenges cereal growers face here,” he said.

The open day will run from 9.30am to 2.30pm.

ISTA represents multipliers, producers and distributors of certified seed in Ireland and promotes the use of certified seed in tillage, forage and grassland crops to ensure the best varieties of seed are made available to Irish farmers.