Sow smart, reap big: Autumn-drilled spring barley

Despite the difficult and delayed autumn drilling campaign in many areas, the thoughts of some growers in England are already turning to early spring barley drilling. Historically in the East of England drilling in December was fairly common on light soils, and many people still go early. 

So, what do you need to be aware of if you are thinking of autumn drilling spring barley?

Seed rate & varieties

In general, the earlier spring barley is drilled the more time the crop will have to tiller.  This can also result in good rooting structure and a higher yield potential.  However, early drilled crops will also be exposed to more frosts which may result in winter kill of some tillers or, in harsh conditions full plant death. 

The target plant establishment for spring barley is around 300 plants per m² to achieve the optimum yield and quality.  Spring barley varieties have different canopy structures and build yield in different ways so following guidance for the variety you are growing is important.

The following tables provides guidance for Syngenta varieties. Seed rates on this table start from 325 seeds/m² depending on month sown and region, however other factors such as seedbed conditions, soil moisture and temperature must also be considered when settling on the final seed rate.

One of the key variety considerations for early drilling is disease resistance. LAUREATE is the most popular variety across the UK and has commercially been grown in the early drilling slot for a number of years. LAUREATE has a proven track record or consistent reliable performance across seasons and soil types, and this combined with its excellent disease resistance package make LAUREATE the obvious choice for the autumn drilling slot.

LAUREATE: The obvious choice for autumn drilling

Disease Management

One of the key factors to be aware of in early drilled spring barley crops is that of disease pressure. The longer the crop is in the ground, the more time disease infections have to cycle; so higher levels of disease like brown rust, Rhynchosporium and net blotch may be common in autumn drilled crops.  T0 applications are not usually required in crops drilled after January, however they may be necessary in early drilled spring barley if over-wintered disease is there.  An early application of a triazole or strobilurin can be used if rust infections are high, alternatively cyprodinil is effective against both Rhynchosporium and net blotch. 

The time between growth stages may be extended in an early drilled crop as it grows more slowly in cooler temperatures. Growth stage rather than calendar date should guide spray application timings. In general, regular monitoring of early drilled crops is advisable to check the growth stage of the crop and control disease before levels get too high. Independent of drill date, disease pressure can still be high at T1 and T2. 

The following table outlines the recommended Syngenta fungicide programmes for T1 and T2 applications depending on disease pressure. 

Adaptive disease management potential timings - Spring barley MIRAVIS^® Plus + Era^® 1.0-1.25 + 0.44 l/ha

Key RISK factors: Location, drilling date & weather. T0 or T1 Second cereals include AMISTAR. *Only ONE application of ELATUS Era permitted (T1 or T2). Mix modes of action and include multi-site products to help with resistance management.

Lodging resistance is generally better in early drilled crops, due to greater rooting and slower growth, although a PGR programme may still be advisable in very lush crops or when seed rates and nitrogen rates are high. 

Weed management

Whilst there is still moisture in the ground and growing conditions are good, weeds will be growing rapidly within the crop and early control always gives the best control.  Early drilled spring crops should be monitored for spring emerging weeds as soils start to warm up and growth rates increase. 

AXIAL Pro is a great tool for wild oat control, no matter the drill date, as it gives rate flexibility depending on the size of the weed.  When targeting spring germinating wild oats while they are still at the tillering stage, if conditions are good then AXIAL Pro rates can be flexible; once wild oats are at stem extension or beyond higher rates of at least 0.6 l/ha will be required for robust control

Remember the mixing and sequencing rules for use of hormones (especially the older generation of this MOA) and SU products. For sequencing: AXIAL Pro first, wait 7 days. SU/hormone first, wait 21 days.

Nitrogen management

As early drilled spring barley has a longer growing window, it has far longer to tiller over winter and therefore yield could potentially be increased.  For a malting barley crop it is worth remembering that high yield can dilute grain nitrogen, so nitrogen should be tailored to take into account higher yield potential in order to make sure malting specifications are met. 

Spring malting barley can be used for both brewing and malt distilling, but these require different % grain nitrogen.

Brewing = 1.6-1.75%

Malt distilling = below 1.65%

By growing a variety that can be used for both brewing and malt distilling such as LAUREATE, there is greater flexibility around the market for the grain, but it is important to know the end market you are targeting from the beginning.