Irish Owned
READY FOR HARVEST
This post from
Sophia Kingston | Agricultural Advisor
It is coming to that time of the year, where the combines are exiting the sheds. Some fields down this way have already been cut. For the most, they have not. The time in which the barley is cut determines the quality and grain yield. Malting barley has to have a germination percentage of 98%.
Knowing when the barley is ready to cut
- The grain should not be able to be dented with thumbnail
- Nice golden colour, no greenness across the field
The production phase starts after flowering, lasting through to the grains filling and ripening. Barley is different from wheat (especially spring barley) as flowering can start just prior to ear emergence. During this period the critical yield components i.e. final number of grains /m2 and the grain weight will be determined.
The number of grains on each ear depends on the number of fertile spikelets on the central ‘stem’ or rachis of the ear. In barley, each spikelet contains one floret. In two-row barley, the spikelets form in threes with only the floret in the central spikelet being fertile. For six-row barley, florets in all three spikelets are fertile. Crop management, and particularly nutrition, can significantly influence grains/ear and ears/m2. Grains/m2 and the size of individual grains determines the storage capacity during grain filling.
Leaf area is made up differently in barley. Each successive leaf has a smaller area with the final flag leaf representing 4% compared to the 16% of leaf 5. The ear with the awns is very significant with it representing 11% of the green area. Maintaining the health of all the leaves and awns is critical to maximize grain development. Plant stem carbohydrate reserves are also important and act as a buffer against stress conditions experienced by the crop, such as drought. Up to 50% of yield can come from these reserves which build up and reach their peak shortly after flowering.
