Canterbury barley yields hit a record high this past harvest season – not necessarily meaning greater beer production but certainly keeping researchers happy.
Based on Cultivar Performance Trial (CPT) results, yields this harvest were the highest ever recorded.
Autumn-sown barley yields for 2023-24 were well above the four-year mean in Canterbury, at both the irrigated site, where an average of 13.2 tonne a hectare was recorded, and dryland site at 13.0t/ha.
These are the highest recorded autumn-sown barley yields in a CPT trial since records began, Foundation for Arable Research CPT manager Tabitha Armour said.
“As this is an average. Some individual trials approached yields of 14t/ha.
“This is close to the former world record barley yield of 13.8t/ha set by South Canterbury growers Warren and Joy Darling in 2015.”
In comparison, the four-year mean for trials sown from 2020 to 2023 is 10t/ha for irrigated barley at Chertsey, near Ashburton, and 10.9t/ha for dryland barley at St Andrews, just south of Timaru.
Irrigated feed and milling wheat yields were also above average in Canterbury this harvest.
Feed wheat recorded 14.8t/ha, averaged across four irrigated trial sites, up 1.8 t/ha on the four-year mean. Milling wheat was 12.2t/ha, up 1t/ha.
Dryland feed wheat yields in Canterbury, Southland and the southern North Island were similar to the four-year mean, although this depended on location, with most sites experiencing below average rainfall for several months during the season.
New feed wheat entry KFW2201 was in the top yielding group in all locations tested and out-yielded all other entries in four of the six Canterbury trial sites.
Some cultivars producing good yields are susceptible to disease, as shown in fungicide treated versus untreated trials, Armour said.
Hail in the Methven region damaged a milling wheat trial and another trial in Fairlie was compromised because of rainfall events during establishment.
For more information, visit the FAR website and search for Harvest Snippets 2024.
FAR also produces autumn and spring cultivar evaluation booklets, which highlight the performance of new cultivars entering the industry.
The autumn edition will be online in early April and in farm mailboxes later in the month.
