Barley agronomy in southern NSW 2016

The 2016 season

NSW experienced above average rainfall during winter and early spring in conjunction with warmer winter temperatures followed by cool spring temperatures. Winter crops in NSW approached record yields in many places, with the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) estimating 2,346kt of barley harvested across NSW in 2016, a 24% increase from 2015. However, above average rainfall resulted in significant crop losses in some areas due to waterlogging and lodging in susceptible varieties. Adequate soil moisture and milder spring temperatures enabled the production of later tillers (particularly in lodged areas), which delayed harvest and impacted on grain quality. 

The 13 National Variety Trials (NVT) sites across NSW performed well, with mean site grain yields ranging from 3.29t/ha at Gilgandra to 6.96t/ha at Lockhart. The most consistent varieties across all sites were RGT Planet and Rosalind which recorded the highest yields at eight and four sites, respectively. Note: Take care when interpreting one season of data. Long term yield comparisons available on the GRDC National Variety Trials website. 

New barley varieties

Biere (Grainsearch)

Biere is a short season variety with malt potential. Flowering seven days earlier than La Trobe, it is intended for medium to low rainfall zones due to faster maturity. It has entered Stage 1 malt accreditation in 2017, with an intended limited commercial release for 2018. 

Compass (University of Adelaide)

Compass is derived from Commander, with improved grain yield and grain plumpness. It is slightly later to flower than La Trobe, with increased tendency to lodging. Compass has been released as a feed barley, but is being evaluated for malt accreditation with a possible decision in March 2017. 

Litmus (Intergrain)

Litmus is a feed barley with enhanced tolerance to soil acidity and aluminium toxicity. It is early maturing, high yielding, with good grain plumpness. Litmus has been found to exhibit blue aleurone, which has halted its accreditation, due to zero tolerance policies on blue aleurone. Due to high uptake and support from growers because of  its high tolerance to acidic soils, particularly in WA, its application has not been withdrawn entirely, pending an industry decision on blue aleurone acceptance policies. 

RGT Planet (Seed Force) 

RGT Planet was released in Europe in 2010 and has since been the top yielding malt variety in many countries. It was introduced to the NVT program in 2016 and was the highest yielding variety in 60% of the sites. Preliminary field trials indicate RGT Planet is early flowering and late maturing, allowing for optimum grain filling. 

Rosalind (Intergrain)

Commercially released for 2017 plantings, Rosalind (IGB 1302) is a short season, semi dwarf, feed quality variety demonstrating excellent yields and consistency across multiple environments in NVT evaluation. It flowers about 2-3 days later than La Trobe and is similar in stature.

Spartacus CL (Intergrain)

Spartacus CL is an imidazolinone tolerant barley with similar grain yield, quality and agronomic characteristics to La Trobe. Spartacus CL is higher yielding than Scope CL, flowering 10 days earlier and has a lower risk of head loss. Spartacus CL has been released as a feed barley, though it is being evaluated for malt accreditation, with a possible decision by 2018.

2016 trial results

Varietal response to sowing date

Trials were conducted at Condobolin and Matong in 2016 to evaluate varietal performance in response to sowing date (Table 1). The Matong site included five wheat varieties for comparison. Both sites received above average rainfall from June to September, resulting in several waterlogging events during early vegetative growth which compromised later sowings. The third sowing time at Matong (1 June) had poor establishment, was re-sown later, however it failed to establish a second time and was excluded from the trial.

Table 1. Site characteristics for Condobolin and Matong, 2016.

The mid-May sowing (17 May 2016) resulted in the highest yields (Table 2 and 3), as with 2014 and 2015 at Matong. In contrast to the series of early frosts and the hot, dry finish in 2015, the mild conditions experienced later in 2016 resulted in an extended grain filling period at both sites. This resulted in minimal grain yield penalties often associated with later heading dates (Figures 1 and 2), with longer-season varieties, such as Urambie, Navigator, Westminister and Oxford achieving high yields at both sites (Table 2 and 3). Whilst each season is unique, it is important to consider suitability of varieties based on matching phenology and sowing time for your growing environment. Despite 2016 seasonal conditions, varieties such as Rosalind, La Trobe and Spartacus CL performed solidly at both sites, and have performed well across multiple environments in NVT evaluations. 

There was significant lodging in both trials, particularly in earlier sowings. This highlighted susceptible varieties such as Compass, Commander, La Trobe and Scope which all suffered yield penalties due to lodging in the first sowing time (Table 2 and 3). Lodging also amplified the growth of later tillers, resulting in variability in physiological maturity, delaying harvest and altering grain quality.

Figure 1. Relationship between heading date and grain yield of twenty barley varieties sown at three dates at Condobolin, 2016.

Figure 2. Relationship between heading date and grain yield of barley (solid marker) and wheat (open marker) varieties sown at three dates at Matong, 2016.

Table 2. Grain yield and heading date of 20 barley varieties from three times of sowing (TOS) at Condobolin, 2016. Lodging scores in parentheses (0, no lodging to 9, completely lodged).

Table 3. Grain yield and heading date of barley and wheat varieties from two times of sowing (TOS) at Matong, 2016. Lodging scores in parentheses (0, no lodging to 9, completely lodged).

*Wheat varieties denoted by asterisk
Physical grain quality data was not available at the time of paper preparation, although it will be presented at the GRDC Updates.

Optimising agronomic inputs for increased grain yield potential

Recent improvements in barley genetics and agronomic management have resulted in growers achieving high barley yields. A trial was conducted at Wagga Wagga in 2016 to determine whether optimising agronomic inputs could further increase achievable barley yields. The trial was sown 11 May and received 592mm of growing season rainfall (GSR) (April to October) (Mean GSR 355mm). A complete factorial design consisting of treatment combinations of variety, seeding density, nitrogen (N) and use of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) were included (Table 4).

Table 4. Treatment details for variety, seeding density, N and PGR combinations included in trial at Wagga Wagga, 2016. 

Rosalind achieved significantly higher grain yields than Compass and La Trobe across all treatments. Grain yield and lodging increased with additional N across all varieties, although there were no interactions between N treatments with variety or PGR treatment.

There was variation in varietal response to application of PGRs. Lodging was significantly reduced with two applications of Moddus^® Evo in La Trobe and Rosalind (Table 5), which resulted in significant increases in grain yield (Table 5). There was no effect of PGR application on either lodging or grain yield in Compass, despite Compass having significantly more lodging compared with La Trobe and Rosalind. There was no significant effect of seeding density on either grain yield or lodging, thus was excluded from the results.

Table 5. Grain yield and lodging score of three barley varieties with four N treatments and three PGR treatments at Wagga Wagga, 2016.

*Lodging scores in parentheses (0, no lodging to 9 completely lodged)

Conclusions

Varietal response to sowing date

Highest grain yields were attained from a mid-May sowing in 2016 at both sites, which together with previous year’s results suggests an optimum sowing window around the  second week of May in southern NSW for many varieties. However, the optimal sowing time for a particular variety is always determined by matching appropriate phenology. Longer season varieties performed well in 2016, however it is important to make decisions based on results across a number of seasons (long term yield comparisons available on National Variety Trials - GRDC). La Trobe has effectively replaced Hindmarsh as the benchmark variety in southern NSW and has achieved solid yields despite some issues with lodging in some areas. Newer varieties such as Rosalind and Spartacus CL have again achieved consistently high yields and are worth considering, whilst Compass suffered due to its susceptibility to lodging.

Optimising agronomic inputs for increased grain yield potential

The application of PGRs reduced lodging and increased grain yield in Rosalind and La Trobe, however did not have a significant effect on Compass, which showed severe lodging. The strategic use of PGRs in barley may offer opportunities for increased grain yield potential in mid-high rainfall areas in specific varieties, where lodging is moderate. Further research will be undertaken in 2017 to explore varietal responses to PGRs.

References

Brown A, Fell J, Smith S, and Valle H. Australian grains. Outlook for 2016-17 and industry productivity. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. December 2016.

Australian Bureau of Meteorology ‘Annual climate statement 2016’ January 5, 2016. 

Acknowledgements

The research undertaken as part of this project is made possible by the significant contributions of growers through both trial cooperation and the support of the GRDC — the author would like to thank them for their continued support.

Thank you to the Hatty family — Stephen, Michelle and Rodney at ’Yarrawong’ Matong for their continued cooperation and interest in the trial. Sincere thank you to Danielle Malcolm, Warren Bartlett, Sharni Hands, Hugh Kanaley, Greg McMahon, Jessica Simpson and Hayden Petty for their technical assistance for Matong and Wagga Wagga trials.

Thank you to Ian Menz and Richard Maccallum for agronomic advice and the technical assistance of Nick Moody, Daryl Reardon, Nick Hill and Kate Gibson for the Condobolin trials.

Contact details 

Felicity Harris
NSW Department of Primary Industries, Wagga Wagga
0458 243 350 
felicity.harris@dpi.nsw.gov.au
@NSWDPI_Agronomy