Crops

The new cereals list is now available to download, either the full booklet or a high resolution copy of the tables only.

Market position and agronomic features are presented for barley, wheat and oats. There has been significant change in malting spring barley, with three new HGCA recommendations – Odyssey, Chronicle and Overture – to follow last year’s arrival of Shuffle and Moonshine.  Several spring barley varieties have been removed as they no longer attract much interest from growers or market share. A new soft endosperm winter wheat – Horatio – adds to growers’ choice for the grain distilling market. Several winter wheat varieties are now considered as becoming outclassed, though retained to meet specific needs for autumn 2012. In winter barley, a new six-row variety – KWS Meridian – looks well positioned to compete with the current high yielding feed varieties.

The revised variety tables now include an SAC rating for Ramularia leaf spot in spring and winter barley, and the HGCA RL eyespot ratings for winter wheat. Note that there have been changes to the HGCA RL disease resistance ratings, in particular some down rating of Septoria tritici resistance in winter wheat. The tables also have a revised colour scheme to reflect shifts, or relative performance, in grain quality and agronomic features.

SAC is grateful to the HGCA and BSPB for funding cereal variety testing. The HGCA Recommended Lists are managed by members of the HGCA Research and Knowledge Transfer Team. The full data collected and the HGCA Recommended Lists are available on the HGCA website.

SAC is grateful to the members of the Scottish Variety Consultative Committee (Cereals) for their advice and other input concerning use of varieties that make up this recommended list.

For further information consult your local SAC Farm Rural Business Services Office or the Crop & Soil Systems Research Group or Crop Clinic, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG.