Harvest 2013 is now well and truly underway with many winter barley crops now harvested and progress has been made with some spring barley and winter wheat. Winter OSR has been the most variable with some farms finished, some not started and some have the 2013 and the 2014 crops both in the ground! I have also have seen some crops of borage in Essex which have been swathed and harvested.

Hyvido winter barley has provided some outstanding yields this year throughout all parts of the UK. Yields of between 10 and 11T/ha are not uncommon which is exceptional given the difficult start that all crops had last autumn and winter.

Syngenta have placed on many farms 5Ha split field trials which were aimed at helping growers try for the first time the Hyvido hybrid barley Volume. The results to date have been very encouraging with results from 19 sites showing a yield advantage averaging 0.96T/Ha over competitor conventional varieties. On 13 sites there was more than 0.5T/Ha yield advantage, 9 sites had a 1.0 or more T/Ha yield advantage and 3 sites had an incredible 2.0T/Ha or greater yield advantage. One thing that is very clear from these and many other trials is the significance of getting the agronomy of Hyvido varieties correct as it differs from that appropriate to conventional winter barley. Seed rate and Nitrogen timing are crucial along with appropriate PGR and fungicide programs.

The final point worth remembering is the significance of getting the next crop of OSR established. Cleared winter barley fields provide an excellent opportunity to get the 2014 OSR off to as great start. There is excellent soil moisture currently which is likely to result in prompt emergence and hence well-established crops going in to the winter. Where wheat crops have yet to be cleared there is a potential for OSR drilling to be delayed however it is not actually late for OSR at this point.

James Evans

Crop Team Agronomist