Barley

1. The first requirement in the production of any crop is to see that soil conditions are as close to the optimum as pos­sible. Barley prefers well-drained soils, light to medium in texture with a high pH. When fertility is high and weather conditions are favourable high yielding crops of good qual­ity are obtained. When pH values are recorded below 6.0, it would be wise to lime specifically for this crop and it should be worked into the topsoil in advance of sowing. Since the grain yield with barley is likely to be higher than with oats and due to its better feeding value, it has replaced the traditi­onal oat crop on many dairy farms in Britain. As long as the drilling in the autumn tends to be at slightly lower depths than in the spring on account of the rougher soil surface which is purposely left to reduce the dangers of surface capping. Early spring drilling may also go in deeper than normal in an attempt to reduce losses through bird activity.

The two main advantages of combine drilling are firstly, the seed and fertilizer go on in one operation and secondly, it is possible to obtain maximum benefit from the minimum amount of fertilizer, notably the phosphate and potash content. The main disadvantage lies in the fact that the rate of sowing is much reduced and since delays in drilling usually mean low­er yields the faster method of seeding using a wide drill following a fertilizer spinner is more often employed for win­ter seeding.

Harvest. It has been pointed out that for straw to have additional feeding value the crop should be cut early and this will mean hindering one or two weeks before full ripeness. Very tall crops may be cut earlier than usual to make the har­vesting easier and to avoid risks of late lodging and this will also apply to crops which have been undersown. Quick maturing varieties will often be cut before the rest to avoid grain losses and lodging. Some people suppose the best time to cut a good standing crop of oats is a few days before it is fully ripe. As long as the pH is over 6 and the soil is in reasonable conditions, there is 10 reason why this crop cannot be grown on most soils in Britain, one notable exception being the wet soils associated with upland conditions.

2. When barley is grown in the wetter areas of Britain, it does best when the rainfall is below normal and when sunshine hours are higher than usual. Kramer reviewed the effect of climate on this crop through data from Zealand. Their results suggest that low rainfall in April and early May and cool weather in May, is required for high yields. High rainfall in the previous winter appeared detrimental and warm weather was required during ripening.

3. Winter barley is often sown after early harvested sugar beet on the lighter soils, since seed-beds can often be easily and quickly prepared for sowing in October and November. With large acreage of arable land in cereals, many crops of inter barley will go in after spring cereals, but it would be wise to grow winter barley following winter barley due to the increased disease risks involved. Spring barley may follow almost any other crop provided the land is not in too high state of fertility otherwise wide-spread lodging can result. Under systems of cereal monoculture or close cereal cropping spring barley is the most commonly chosen crop since it appears least affected by disease. Although a yield depression has nearly always been recorded with intensive cereal growing, it has been the least with spring barley and with such a short growing season cultural weed-control, disease control, timely ploughing and cultivation can easily be achieved. It will be noted that where adequate mineral fertilizers are returned to the land or via the application of farmyard manure, the yield of barley can easily be maintained and in most cases it is likely to greatly exceed that recorded at the beginning of the experiment. Results from a twelve-year continuous barley cropping experiment reported by Mundy suggested that yields can be maintained by the application of 75-100 units of nitrogen and although pests and diseases are not serious, perennial grass weeds appeared the greatest hazard to a continuous cereal farming system.

4. There is no conflict between yield and quality where feeding barleys are concerned since a high protein content in grain is desirable and reasonable quantities of fertilizer nitrogen will be required to obtain good yields. Winter barleys require a little nitrogen in the seed-bed when the contribution from the soil is negligible or very small and the phosphate and potash must always be applied before or at seeding to obtain a full and vigorous stand. The majority of the nitro­gen should be applied as a top dressing in the spring. In re­spect of the spring sown crop, under most circumstances all the fertilizer should be applied before or at the time of sowing. The growing season is so short that all the nutrients need to be close at hand immediately following germination so that growth can go ahead unimpeded. However, where large quan­tities of N are required, it may be necessary to split the ni­trogen dressing, half going on with the seed and half to be ap­plied as an early top-dressing. Where the farmers are in doubt about the capabilities of their land, then it will often pay to apply the average levels of phosphate and potash to the barley and half of the nitrogen. Once the crop is well es­tablished, it will be evident if more nitrogen is required and the deficiency can be rectified by a timely top-dressing.

5. For winter barley ploughing will normally take place in September or immediately following the harvest of the prev­ious crop wherever possible earlier turning of the soil being reco­mmended. Where stubble from the previous crop is to be turned in together with weed-seedlings which have germinated as a result of stubble-cleaning, then it may be necessary to plough to a depth of six inches. Barley is a relatively shallow-rooting cereal and without a great deal of material (to be buried) to be turned over the depth of ploughing might well be reduced to four inches. Where close cereal cropping is practised, it is often advisable to vary the ploughing depth to something below the normal once in three years, in order to avoid the build-up of the conditions known as a plough-pan.

Medium to heavy soils should be ploughed early before the turn of the year in order that the weather, especially the ac­tion of snow and frost, may play its part in producing a fine seed-bed. Early ploughing on the light soils may also be use­ful in easing the burden of spring work, however it is not es­sential and spring ploughing will often do just as well.

Cultivation or heavy harrowing will follow to the lowest depths required and where perennial weeds are present, special equipment may be brought into use to remove them at this stage. Medium to light harrowing just prior to drilling will normally be required to produce a fine seed-bed in the top 2 inches of the soil. The object in seed-bed preparation is to produce the right degree of tilth with the minimum oper­ations and soil moisture conservation in many areas must always be kept in mind.