Getting Bigger Barley Yields - Atlantic Grains...

Getting Bigger Barley Yields

by Jack van Roestel

Prof. Claude Caldwell’s cereal yield triangle

Heads per square metre

Kernels/head Kernel weight

yield

YIELD and Critical stages

• Heads/m2 x kernels/head x kernel weight

= YIELD

• Heads/m2 are set early (seeding and tillering)

• Kernels/head are set at stem elongation

• Kernel weight is set during grain fill

How can you maximize on barley

yields?

• Use the right variety & a high seeding rate

• Planting as early as possible

• Prepare a decent enough seedbed to get uniform seed placement (< 1inch) & emergence.

Maximizing Barley Yields

• Pay attention to soil pH (> 6.0), supply 50-70N, and the required P, K, S.

• Control broadleaf weeds at barley 4th leaf to early tillering. Perennial grass/clovers, etc need to be looked after before plowing.

• Have a combine, drier, storage & market pre-arranged. Harvest on a timely fashion.

Maximizing Barley Yields

Use the Maritime Cereal Trial results from NSCDI, AAFC-PEI, NBDA & NBSCIA

CHOOSING A VARIETY

• “There is huge potential in a bag; the trick is to maximize those genetics on your farm.”

6-row Barley 3-Year Yields (t/ha)

1000 Kernel Weight (g)

Straw Yield (t/ha)

Fusarium DON (ppm)

AC LEGEND 4.5 42 2.1 1.5

RHEA 4.5 43 2.9 1.6

SYNASOLIS 4.4 38 2.2 1.5

PEDIBELLE 4.3 42 2.5 1.2

2-row Barley 3-Year Yields (t/ha)

1000 Kernel Weight (g)

Straw Yield (t/ha)

Fusarium DON (ppm)

CERVEZA 4.4 40 3.1 0.9

ISLAND 4.3 45 3.4 0.6

LEADER 4.6 50 3.8 0.7

SELENA 4.3 45 2.6 0.6

Early Planting Mitigates the Level of

Deoxynivalenol Contamination in Barley in

Eastern Canada Thin-Meiw Choo

Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre

ThinMeiw.Choo@agr.gc.ca

12

Fusarium Head Blight

6-Row Barley

2-Row Barley

13

Barley samples contaminated with mycotoxins in

Eastern Canada in 2000-2003 (163 samples)

• Deoxynivalenol (DON) 79%

• Nivalenol (NIV) 23%

• 3-acetyl DON 16%

• 15-acetyl DON 13%

• Zearalenone 9%

• HT-2 4%

Source: Choo et al. (unpublished data)

14

Maximum Tolerance Level in Canada

Mycotoxin Level

Deoxynivalenol (DON) 1 ppm for swine

5 ppm for cattle

Zearalenone 1 ppm for swine

10 ppm for cattle

T-2 1 ppm for swine

HT-2 0.025 ppm for dairy

Source: Charmley and Trenholm 2000

15

Treatment

2007

2008

Early

Late

Early

Late

Planting

May 9

May 24

May 6

May 28

Harvest

August 27

August 29

August 19

September 5

Effect of Planting Date on DON levels & Grain

Yield of 6-Row Barley cultivars at AAFC, PEI

16

Treatment

2010

2011

Early

Late

Early

Late

Planting

May 5

May 17

May 20

June 1

Harvest

August 23

August 24

Sept. 2

Sept. 13

Effect of Planting Date on DON levels & Grain

Yield of 6-Row Barley cultivars at AAFC, PEI

17

DON vomitoxin content (ppm) over 4 years

Cultivar Type Early Planting Late Planting

OBS4714-1 Early 3.4 4.8

Brucefield Medium 5.2 10.5

AC Alma Medium 4.7 5.4

Chapais Medium 4.0 4.8

AC Vision Medium 4.0 4.7

AC Legend Medium 3.9 5.6

AC Klinck Late 3.8 4.7

Stander Late 4.7 9.4

AC Westech Late 3.3 7.0

Encore Late 6.6 8.2

Synosolis Late 2.7 4.8

Average ( of all

11 varieties)

4.2 6.4 18

Grain yield (t/ha) of 11 barley cultivars in the

Harrington Farm, PEI

Year Early Planting Late Planting

2007 4.1 a 3.8 ab

2008 3.3 cd 0.8 e

2010 3.6 bc 3.7 b

2011 3.6 bc 3.0 d

Overall Average 3.6 2.8

19

a-e, grain yield followed by the same letter are not

different at the 0.05 level

Seeding Rate

Suggest the following in viable seeds/m2 (or seeds/ft of row in 6” spacing)

• 6-Row Barley (early): 300 (15)

• 2-Row Barley (early): 350 (17)

• Barley (late): use 15% more seed

• Spring Wheat : 400 (20)

• Winter wheat: 350 (17) from Sept.12-20th in central NS

Weed control in cereals is often left too late!!!

Spring Wheat & Barley

Management Trials 2000-02

• Low Input – 50 kg/ha N @ seeding

• Medium Input – 50 kg/ha N @ seeding +

50 kg/ha N @ Zadoks Growth Stage 32

• High Input – 75 kg/ha N @ seeding + 75

kg/ha N @ Zadoks Growth Stage 32 +

Fungicides + Plant growth regulator

Barley Varieties • AC Queens – 2-Row

• Belmore – 2-Row

• Chapais – 6-Row

• Excel - 6-Row

• AC Legend – 6-Row

• AC Westech – 6-Row

• AC Alma – 6-Row

Mean Barley Yields at Different

Management Levels (2000-2002)

4.3 4.4 4.5

1

2

3

4

5

Low Input Med. Input High Input

Management

Yie

ld t

ha

-1

2002 Protein Results

Barley

Management

Level

Protein %

Low Input 9.7

Medium Input 11.0

High Input 11.8

Evaluation of fungicides on winter wheat,

barley and spring wheat (2010-2012)

Doug MacDonald

N S Crop Development Institute

Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture

Mar. 19, 2013

Experimental design

(1) winter wheat –Pioneer 25R56 (2011& 2012) & Emmit

(2) 6-Row Barley – AC Westech

(3) Spring wheat – AC Helena (milling potential)

• Three year (2010-2012) data with 4 reps

• Fungicides evaluated

(1) ZGS39: flag leaf fully out ( Headline, Stratego,Tilt )

(2) ZGS60: flowering ( Caramba, Proline, & Prosario )

Barley

• All early applied fungicides significantly increased

yield compared to the check and Headline was best

Untreated CheckTiltStrategoHeadline

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

Early fungicide application (ZGS39)

Yie

ld (

t/h

a)

c

bb

a

Barley, 2010-2012

Early timing

of application

ZGS39

Barley

• Late application of Proline & Prosaro increased yield;

Untreated CheckProsaroProlineCaramba

4.0

3.8

3.6

3.4

3.2

3.0

Late fungicide application (ZGS60)

Yie

ld (

t/h

a)

b

aa

b

Barley, 2010-2012

Late timing

of application

ZGS60

DON amounts of barley from 2010-2012

Growth stages Fungicide DON (ppm)

ZGS39

Headline 0.81 a

Stratego 0.53 ab

Tilt 0.45 b

Untreated 0.32 b

ZGS60

Untreated 1.14 a

Prosaro 0.45 b

Caramba 0.27 b

Proline 0.25 b

Spring Wheat ( only if it works for you )??

Spring wheat compared to barley can be ……

• more inconsistent in yield (no more straw)

• requires 20 kg/ha N more

• takes 2 week longer growing season

• often more prone to DON problems

• <4 t/ha yield, there’s ?? profit potential with either spring feed/milling wheat (barley as well)

Prof. Claude Caldwell’s cereal yield triangle

Heads per square metre

Kernels/head Kernel weight yield

www.dal.ca dal.ca

• In a 6 inch row spacing, it is about 20 heads in a

foot of row or about 30 plants in a half-metre of

row.

• To estimate your yield potential after heading,

count the number of heads in a foot of row x 20

x # of kernels/head x TKW

• (45 for 2R barley; 40 for 6R barley; 34 for

wheat)

What does 400 heads/m2 look like?

www.dal.ca dal.ca

Yield compensation will not repair

poor stands Heads/m2 Kern/head TKW (g) Yield (T/ha)

400 22 37 3.25

400 32 36 4.61

400 40 35 5.60

200 22 38 1.67

200 32 37 2.37

200 40 36 2.88