Seed Industry

Hybrid barley varieties looking set for another podium position again this season

 11 August 2021, UK: It looks like it could be Gold, Silver and Bronze for the Syngenta hybrid barley varieties in the latest AHDB Published Recommended List Harvest Trial Data (4th August 2021).

Leading the pack this year is new variety SY Thunderbolt and RL candidate SY Canyon with a 108% treated grain yield ((t/ha) as % mean of controls) and UK favourite Bazooka coming in at a respectable 106%.

‘Every year we see some changes in the running order of our established hybrid varieties, says Hybrid Barley Marketing Manager, Sarah Hughes ‘but we are confident that the hybrid barley varieties will always be in that lead group and winning the race when it comes to highest yields’.

‘One thing we know and have the data to support is the stability of the hybrid vigour which is built into our genetics and breeding which provides those consistent, year in year out, high yields.’

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‘With this season’s high feed barley prices, a high yield, combined with reliably high specific weights plus the additional benefit of plenty of straw and grass weed suppression, it has really kept the hybrid barley varieties in the running for top podium positions’.

‘The AHDB are already suggesting that next season is likely to see strong demand again for feed barley due to its continuing popularity as an ingredient in animal feed for compounders’.

‘Hybrid barley is proving a popular choice this year; sales are progressing quickly helped by strong trial and on farm performance.  We have also decided not to increase our recommended seed prices versus last year which has enabled farmers to access the higher yields from hybrid barley at a similar cost, increasing the return on investment.’