Spring barley is set to be grown more extensively than for many years after poor planting conditions in autumn 2012 have left many fields destined for winter cereals unsown.

At the AICC conference today, Wednesday 15 January, Dr Fiona Burnett and Dr Simon Oxley took the audience through the management and variety choices of the crop set for a revival.

Dr Burnett told the audience that the T1 fungicide should be targeted to control the disease most likely to develop in the early part of the season. If diseases develop they can be very difficult to eradicate and as such the T0 fungicide should be targeted to keep disease out of the crop. Wet conditions will favour Rhyncosporium and net blotch, whilst dry conditions will favour brown rust and mildew. In the case of mildew Dr Burnett suggests picking a fungicide specific to this disease such as Cyflamid. Fortunately the new SDHI fungicides are good at controlling Rhyncosposrium and net blotch with Siltra Xpro and Adexar both giving good eradicant and protective control.

But it is the late season diseases Ramularia and ear blight that need particular attention in spring barley. Don’t be complacent about Ramularia warned Dr Burnett, stress to the crop is an important part of how much disease will develop. It is both seed borne and air borne so it is ubiquitous. Leaf wetness at stem extension increases the risk of the disease developing. Although the HGCA recommended list now ranks spring barleys according to Ramularia resistance in very high disease pressure conditions don’t be reliant on these disease ratings. If there is a lot of dew in the crop during stem extension or rain is forecast you should anticipate a higher risk level for Ramularia. Again the SDHI fungicides have good activity on this disease. Timing is important as the disease can cause extensive loss in yield and quality when it develops post flowering. T2 timings are normally planned at booting to early ear emergence.

This could be the year to ensure a descent seed treatment on spring barley after last seasons high levels of fusarium. Sowing into cold wet soils will delay emergence and would be ideal conditions for seedling blight to develop. So if you normally skip a seed dressing on spring barley this might be the year to think again.

When it comes to choosing a variety the choice maybe determined more by what is available than by what you want. Tipple is still the preferred malting variety and is a safe bet for this sector says Dr Oxley. Concerto is likely to take over from Optic for brewing and distilling but check contracts. Feed varieties tend to give higher yields than established malting varieties although the newer malting ones are giving as good if not better yields than feeds.

For more details on spring barley varieties go to http://www.hgca.com/content.output/6396/6396/Varieties/HGCA%20Recommended%20Lists/Spring%20barley%202013-14.mspx