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Distilling Varieties stand out in SAC Cereals List for 2012

SAC News Release Ref. No: 12N33
Published: 16 Feb 2012

Winter barley (opens in new window)

New distilling varieties of both wheat and barley stand out in the new SAC listing of recommended cereal varieties for 2012 which is now available on the SAC website. The list contains details of current market positions and agronomic features for barley, wheat and oats, with its special focus on the responses to growing conditions in Scotland and the north of England.

This year growers can download either the full booklet or a high resolution copy of the tables only, to print at larger size and for easier display. The tables also have a revised colour scheme to reflect changes in relative performance, grain quality and agronomic features. Take a look via the Cereals Recommended Lists link on the right.

According to SAC specialist Dr Steve Hoad:

“What stands out most with this year’s list is the change in spring malting barleys. For the first time new malt distilling varieties – Odyssey, Chronicle and Overture – have yield potential above brewing only or feed varieties. They all have high quality and are under test for distilling and brewing with two of them having very high yields. This means that, along with last year’s malting barley entries, the malting sector has many more options. It will be important for them to keep growers informed about which varieties they prefer as either potential partners or replacement for the present favourites, Optic and Concerto”.

With the arrival of the new spring barley varieties in the past two years, including Shuffle and Moonshine in 2011, several varieties have been removed from the SAC cereals list. As their low market share and level of seed stocks indicates, they no longer attract much interest and have been superseded.  

Dr. Hoad notes that amongst the winter barleys, a new six-row variety – KWS Meridian – looks well positioned to compete with the current high yielding feed varieties.

"It has no severe agronomic weaknesses and is relatively stiff strawed for a tall variety.

For wheat growers a new soft endosperm variety called Horatio is attracting interest because it adds to the choice for grain distilling:

“With yield on a par with Viscount, Horatio’s low grain nitrogen and high alcohol yield is ideally suited to the distilling sector”, says Steve Hoad. “It has a relatively high Hagberg falling number for a soft wheat which can also help as a protection against pre-harvest sprouting”.  

However several winter wheat varieties are now becoming outclassed because of increasing agronomic weaknesses, although Oakley, Istabraq and Robigus are retained on the list to meet some specific interests for autumn 2012.

Over the past year there have been changes to some of the HGCA Recommended List disease resistance ratings, in particular some down rating of Septoria tritici resistance in winter wheat.

The revised SAC tables now include an SAC rating for Ramularia leaf spot in both spring and winter barley. The HGCA Recommended List ratings for eyespot have also been added to the SAC list to reflect the importance of this disease.

Dr Hoad Recommends that before choosing a variety growers should consider the following factors in order to help them whittle down selection:

  • Sale for brewing, distilling or milling
  • Specific weight
  • Earliness or need to spread the harvest period
  • Ear loss and sprouting risk
  • Disease risk
  • Straw strength and length, especially if barley straw is of value

Having eliminated the inappropriate varieties, growers can then select from the remainder those varieties with the highest yield potential.

SAC acknowledges the advice and input of the members of the Scottish Variety Consultative Committee (Cereals) in making this recommended list.

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.

For further information, the press can contact Dr Steve Hoad on 0131 535 4342. Pdf’s of the two lists can be forwarded to journalists on request.

Growers seeking further information can consult their local SAC Farm Rural Business Services Office or the SAC Crop & Soil Systems Research Group and Crop Clinic in Edinburgh on 0131 535 4133 or Dr Fiona Burnett via the details below.

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News Release Contacts

SAC Contact

Dr Fiona Burnett
Team Leader (Applied Practice Team)
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work Crop & Soil Systems Research Group King's Buildings
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4133

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News Release Issued By

Mr Ken Rundle
Senior Communications Officer
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4196

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