Even more meaningful variety choices can now be made by growers, thanks to the addition of a winter barley ‘dashboard’ to AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds variety selection tool.

Launched in March, the initial version of the tool was based on data for winter wheat.

The online crop ‘dashboards’ allow growers to navigate the latest variety trials data and make comparisons – based on location-specific information – to help them identify the most promising varieties for their unique situations.

By selecting geographical location, rotational position, soil type or sowing date, the tool visualises trials data in chart format for easy variety comparison.

Dr Ellie Marshall, AHDB Research Manager, said: “Not only does the tool let growers look at variety trial information in a totally new way, it allows a new tier of trials information to be accessed – including ‘district-level’ information.”

Districts are based on the UK regional climates, as defined by the Met Office, which describe the general climate in that area.

Dr Marshall added: “By selecting a district, trial data from other areas are excluded potentially making the results more regionally relevant.

“District-level information can also give growers a better insight into how trials operate, by showing how many trials are involved.”

Later this year, the tool will be extended to include quality parameters, as well as crop dashboards for winter oilseed rape, winter oats and spring barley.

The tool sits alongside regional disease monitoring and weather monitoring tools at cereals.ahdb.org.uk/monitoring