Drummonds agronomist Brian Reilly has confirmed that 2023 winter barley yields may well come in at between 3t and 3.5t/ac.
“These are crops that did not get impacted by barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and which have stood up well,” he said.
“But spring barley is a different story altogether. Here we are probably talking about final yields in the range 1t to 1.5t/ac.”
Reilly added that winter wheat and oilseed rape crops are looking well, for the most part.
“Where winter crops are concerned, we need a few weeks of dry weather with temperatures in the normal range for this time of the year,” he continued.
“If we get excessively high temperatures in the run-up to harvest, crops will ripen too quickly.”
Thankfully, most parts of the country have received some very welcome rain over the last few days.
Cereal varieties
Drummonds recently hosted a series of cereal and oilseed rape variety open evenings.
The events took place at the company’s trial plots, close to Termonfeckin in Co. Louth.
“Improved genetics continues to deliver for Irish tillage farmers. A case in point is the development of cereal varieties that are fully resistant to, or demonstrate greater tolerance to, barley yellow dwarf virus,” Reilly added.
“Where oilseed rape is concerned, clubroot resistant varieties are now available.
“The need to further invest in improved plant genetics is obvious. The payback for cereal growers will be considerable.”
Winter wheat
Spearhead was the high yielding winter wheat variety on the 2022 recommended list. It is early maturing with moderate resistance to lodging and straw breakdown.
Spearhead has very good resistance to mildew and yellow rust.
“Grain quality is good; Spearhead has excellent yield potential,” Reilly commented.
“It is an excellent choice as a second wheat.”
Torp is a moderately late maturing winter wheat variety. It shows good resistance to lodging and moderate resistance to straw breakdown.
“Torp demonstrates good resistance to septoria tritici,” Reilly explained.
“It also offers good resistance to sprouting. Torp produces high quality grain with a low hectolitre weight.”
Winter barley
Bordeaux has been provisionally recommended on the 2023 national list trials. It is an extremely impressive variety that is commonly termed in the UK – a two-row variety with six-row yield potential.
“Bordeaux demonstrates excellent standing power and due to its early maturity, it makes for an excellent entry for oilseed rape,” Reilly stated.
“This variety also possesses barley yellow mosaic virus resistance.”
In overall terms, Bordeaux represents a very strong agronomic package. It delivers excellent grain quality with an average specific weight of 69.9kg/hl.
Add in low screenings values, excellent lodging resistance and it all adds up to a very consistent offering for the Irish market.
Molly is a new, two-row winter barley with inherently strong resistance to barley yellow dwarf virus.
Drummonds is very hopeful that it will perform well in Ireland. “We have trialled Molly very successfully over the past number of years,” Reilly said.
“It is a two-row option that yields strongly and should perform well for Irish growers,” he explained.
Courtesy of Drummonds trials, Molly has delivered a relative yield of 102%. The average straw height comes in at 88.9cm.
Resistance to lodging and straw breakdown are positive, as is resistance to rhynchosporium and brown rust.
Molly’s average ‘1,000 grain weight’ comes in at 55.6g; the hectolitre weight is 66.4kg/hl.
Winter oilseed rape
PT303 has topped the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) recommended list trials for yield in each of the last three years.
It has excellent lodging resistance with high stem stiffness scores. PT303 also demonstrates pod shatter and sclerotinia resistance.
Meanwhile, PT284 is an oilseed rape variety with resistance to clubroot. It combines the Pioneer clubroot protector resistance trait with market leading disease resistance scores for the best in-field protection.
“PT284 should be sown in fields where there is a high risk of clubroot infection. It has excellent standing ability,” Reilly said.
Clearfield varieties of oilseed rape should be sown in fields where there are problematic, brassica-type weeds including charlock, runch, hedge mustard and shepherd’s purse.
PT279CL is the most thoroughly tested Clearfield hybrid variety available for drilling in Ireland this year.
“It is the perfect choice for those farmers who have grown a Clearfield variety up to this point,” Reilly added.
“PT279CL has the highest gross output value of any Clearfield variety, recorded in National Institute of Agricultural Botany trials over a three-year period.
“It has high resistance to lodging with good stem stiffness at maturity. PT279CL is also an early maturing variety.
“Vigorous autumn development provides a window of sowing dates.”
PT279CL has a gross output value of 108% with average levels recorded at 45%. Light Leaf Spot and Stem Canker resistance values come in at 6.0 and 5.0 respectively. The average crop height is 156cm.