KWS Barley portfolio provides top options for rotations

A firm favourite amongst winter barley growers, KWS Tardis is an easy to grow two-row winter feed barley with high yields and a particularly strong set of agronomic features suiting it to all UK locations, says KWS’ Will Compson.

“It’s one of the UK’s highest yielding two-row winter feed barleys with a performance that rivals many of the six-row hybrids.

“But there’s much more to KWS Tardis than that. It’s a variety that combines genuine UK-wide yield potential with consistent performance in a wide variety of growing conditions.

© KWS UK LTD

“It’s particularly strong in the east delivering a yield 105% of controls in the latest RL and performs well on light soils although it is best on heavy ones, where yields are at 107% of controls.

“Add in an excellent agronomic package, including a 6 for rhynchosporium resistance, a 5 for net blotch resistance and one of the best untreated yields at 85% of treated controls and you can see why it’s the new class leader.

“It’s also early to mature and delivers marketable grain with a very good specific weight at 70.6 kg/hl and low screenings.

“Barley Yellow Mosaic Virus resistance, allied to stiff straw and superb in-field performance, make it a great choice for growers looking for a simple and reliable way to expand their rotations and spread workloads across the farm.”

© KWS UK LTD

New agronomics to fight BYDV

KWS Feeris also brings some important new agronomics to the UK market making it the ultimate risk management tool for many growers, he says.

“KWS Feeris signals a new level of agronomic strength for UK growers delivering the best of conventional 6-row winter barley yields with the additional benefits of BYDV tolerance and strong overall disease resistance.

“With aphid-borne viruses increasingly difficult to control, KWS Feeris’ tried and tested BYDV tolerance will be a real benefit.

Sitting at 103% of control yield for the UK as a whole, it performs particularly well in the BYDV hotspot of the west of the country.

“Furthermore, these yields have been delivered with exceptional consistency over the very contrasting seasons of recent years even on heavy soils.”

In addition to BYDV tolerance and BYMV resistance, KWS Feeris stacks up very well with other 6-row winter barleys in terms of overall agronomic features, he points out.

“This is evidenced by an untreated yield 85% of treated controls with KWS Feeris getting 6s for both rhynchosporium and net blotch resistances.

“KWS Feeris is a very strong variety in its own right but with its BYDV tolerance and BYMV resistance, it’s an excellent risk management tool for barley growers in high pressure hotspots and those looking to push drilling as early as possible.”