With the end in sight for harvest 2020, growers are turning their attention to the 2021 cropping season. This week, we look at the winter barley recommended list, which was published earlier this month. The winter wheat and winter oat variety recommended lists are also due out this week.

As always, it is wise for any grower with a sizable acreage to have a spread of varieties. There are no new varieties added, but Quadra has been dropped. The hybrid variety Belfry is rated as having the highest relative yield, closely followed by Bazooka and Kosmos.

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Recommended varieties

  • BAZOOKA: An early maturing hybrid six-row with very high yield potential. Very long straw with moderate lodging resistance but is moderately susceptible to straw breakdown. . Very good resistance to rhyncho, good resistance to net blotch and moderate resistance to brown rust and mildew. Good hectolitre weight. Distributed by Seedtech.
  • BELFRY: Early-maturing hybrid six-row with very high yield potential. Long straw with good lodging resistance and moderate resistance to straw breakdown. Very good on rhyncho, good against brown rust and net blotch and moderate against mildew. Good on hectolitre weight. Distributed by Seedtech.
  • KWS CASSIA: A moderately early maturing two-row with short straw and good resistance to lodging and is moderately resistant to straw breakdown. Good resistance to brown rust and net blotch but is moderately susceptible to mildew and susceptible to rhyncho. Excellent grain quality. Distributed by Goldcrop.
  • KWS INFINITY: A moderately early maturing two-row with short straw, good resistance to lodging and moderate resistance to straw breakdown. It has good resistance to rhyncho and net blotch, moderate resistance to brown rust but is moderately susceptible to mildew. Good grain quality. Distributed by Goldcrop.
  • KWS KOSMOS: An early-maturing conventional six-row with very high yield potential. Its long straw is moderately resistance to lodging but susceptible to straw breakdown. Very good resistance to mildew and good against brown rust, net blotch and rhyncho. Moderate hectolitre weight. Distributed by Seedtech.
  • PIXEL: A very early maturing conventional six-row with very high yield potential. Moderately short straw with good resistance to lodging but is susceptible to straw breakdown. Resistance to mildew and brown rust is good, moderate to net blotch but it is susceptible to rhyncho. Moderate hectolitre weight. Distributed by Goldcrop.
  • LG CASTING: An early-maturing two-row with high yield potential. Its short straw is moderately susceptible to lodging and straw breakdown. Very good resistance to mildew, good against brown rust and net blotch but is moderately susceptible to rhyncho. Good hectolitre weight. Distributed by Seedtech.
  • VALERIE: A very early maturing two-row with short straw and moderate resistance to lodging and straw breakdown. It has good resistance to brown rust, mildew, net botch and rhyncho. Very good hectolitre weight. Distributed by Goldcrop.