Throughout harvest 2024, we are updating our handy map with the latest data from 2024’s AHDB spring barley Recommended List harvest results.

Use the map below to find the five highest-yielding spring barley varieties at your nearest trials site.

See also: Harvest 2024: The 5 top-yielding winter barley varieties map

Spring barley summary

Final results from the Recommended Lists spring barley trials have now been published, with 16 of the 21 fungicide-treated and six of the nine fungicide-untreated trials being accepted as valid. The other trials were rejected for yield because of lodging or strong field effects.

Yield of the control varieties in the fungicide-treated trials has averaged 7.84 t/ha, very close to the five-year average of 7.80 t/ha. Yield of the controls in the fungicide-untreated trials is 5.76 t/ha, well below the five-year average of 6.70 t/ha, pulled down by very low yielding trials in Lincolnshire and the Scottish Borders.

2024 season

Most varieties have yielded at or close to their five-year averages in the fungicide-treated trials in 2024.

Highest yielding at 106% of controls is Bounty, which has provisional approval for brewing, and Belter (105%) which has provisional approval for brewing and malt distilling. Both were newly recommended last year.

Behind these are the feed variety Hurler and Gambit which is not being progressed by the Malting Barley Committee, so has been re-classified as a feed variety and will be reviewed as a feed by the RL committee in November. Both of these varieties have finished on 104%.  

Diviner, which is provisionally approved for malt distilling, Aquarius, which is provisionally approved for brewing use and market leader Laureate have finished on 103%.

Three varieties are on 102% of controls, Firefoxx, Olsen, which is provisionally approved for brewing and malt distilling and Munro which is not being progressed by the committee so has been re-classified as a feed variety.

Tennyson, which was given full approval for malt distilling by the MBC in the spring is on 100%.

The Null-Lox described variety CB Score has had a good 2024 finishing on 101%, as has the described grain distilling variety Fairing, which is on 93%. Both are above their five-year averages.

Updated 16 October