Crop Production Ag Focus
Every year, the Department of Agriculture brings out a list of recommended varieties based on certain characteristics, including the following: Strength of straw Earliness of ripening Resistance to disease such as Rhynchosporium
The quality of the grain
Qmoisture during the growing season, dry soil conditions during ripening and harvesting lead to improved grain quality and drier grain at harvest. grains. The crop ‘falls over’ and as a result, the yield is affected.
The depth of sowing for any crop depends on the size of the seed ie the food reserve and its ability to force the shoot above the ground. Potatoes, for example, have a big food reserve and so a depth of approximately 10cm would suit this crop. For barley, a depth of 3-5cm should suffice. Deeper sowing could in fact delay emergence.
Barley, like all gramineaceous plants, tillers to a greater extent than its counterparts, wheat and oats. Tillering involves the growth of side shoots from the main shoot, each with their own root system. Spring barley tillers more vigorously than winter barley and it has a better rate of establishment. As a result, its sowing rates are usually lower ie approximately 180-200kg/Ha. Barley is usually sown using a combine drill which drills in seed and fertiliser adjacent to each other, approximately 18cm apart.
QQexact requirements of the soil for the various elements essential for growth of the crop.
Phosphorus is needed for adequate growth of the root while potassium is needed for strong stem formation. Both are applied at sowing for winter and spring barley using the combine drill, but they may also be broadcast and harrowed into the soil.
Nitrogen is important for growth of the leaf and is applied in the spring and summer, at sowing for spring barley and broadcast for winter barley. Extra nitrogen can cause problems such as lodging — other causes of lodging include wind, rain, tall plants, weakened straw and late harvesting. In malting barley excess protein can render the grain unacceptable for the malting process. The excess protein produces malt that makes poor quality beer. The protein content for malting should be less than 11.5pc
Applications rates can vary depending on many factors including existing soil fertility levels but average application rates are as follows:
QQQ— WINTER: 150kg/Ha N, 30kg/ Ha P, 70kg/Ha K
— SPRING: 120kg/Ha N, 25kg/Ha P, 55kg/Ha K.