Barley is a popular agricultural plant. Due to the low level of gluten, its grain is practically not used for the manufacture of bakery products, but pearl barley and barley groats are obtained from it, and it is also actively used in brewing and as a feed base for livestock. Although there has been a recent trend towards a decrease in sown areas, crop yields are still quite substantial.

What affects barley yield

Barley yields can be affected by a wide variety of factors, ranging from the climatic features of a particular region to the timelines for grain harvesting. Also of great importance is the correct choice of variety, which is best suited for certain soils and cultivation goals.

Did you know? From barley, a coffee substitute is prepared, which has small tonic properties and is allowed for use by the elderly.

The difference between winter and spring varieties

There are two main types of barley - winter and spring. The first is sown in the fall, and the growing season is about 280 days. Spring barley is planted in the spring, and the crop is harvested after 3–3.5 months. Winter varieties are more fertile, giving from 1 ha to 70 centners of grain, and spring varieties are 20% less.

The disadvantage of winter crops is that plants do not tolerate severe frosts, especially when winters are snowless. In addition, this type of barley is harder to cultivate. Business executives fear a winter freezing of the crop, so its crops are much smaller, amounting to 10-12%. At the same time, the winter species ripens before the spring, which allows the efficient use of the vacated area.

Growing conditions

The yield indicator largely depends on the conditions in which the crop grows. First of all, it is necessary to take into account the climatic characteristics of the region, since barley, although not picky, but responds well to different weather conditions. Barley is a drought tolerant crop. It is able to withstand temperatures up to + 40 ° C, but it develops better and gives a good harvest in a humid climate. The cereal consumes especially a lot of moisture during the period of tube growth and the beginning of heading.

If the year is dry, there is a risk of collecting a minimum amount of grain, about 25 kg / ha, while in wet weather the yield in the same area can be up to 45 kg / ha. It should be noted that precipitation has a significant effect on the absorption of fertilizers into the soil cover, which has the most positive effect on the development of cereal.

Did you know? Barley was actively cultivated in Egypt about 7 thousand years ago, and only later the culture migrated to Europe.

Besides moisture, barley loves heat. At high temperatures, it develops faster, grain pours better. Cereal planted in the southern regions matures faster. Consequently, they begin to harvest grain before the onset of the dry winds, so the culture does not suffer from heat.

When choosing an area for sowing, one must take into account that barley gives the best yield on neutral and slightly alkaline soils at a pH of 6.5–7.5. Acidic soils are not suitable for this cereal, or they will need to be artificially calcified. Although in some northern regions of Russia, local varieties are successfully grown in soil with a level of 4.5–5.5 pH.

Fertilizer and care

If a person cannot influence the vagaries of the weather in any way, then the quality care that culture needs depends only on him. This applies primarily to soil fertilizer. Barley consumes a lot of phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, so it is recommended to feed the soil periodically. The culture survives well and grows in loamy soil, characterized by fertility and aeration properties. Sandy soils are not suitable, as they cannot fully provide plants with nutrients.

The purpose of the cultivated barley depends on how much and what fertilizer needs to be applied. For example, if the culture is to be used to make feed in the future, more nitrogen will be needed, and if for the production of coffee or beer, mineral formulations are needed. Moreover, the latter are more suitable for barley than organic, which is desirable to bring under the culture of the predecessor. For the formation of 1 ton of high-quality grain, barley consumes from the soil about 10 kg of phosphorus, 25 kg of potassium and 27 kg of nitrogen. Moreover, most of all, culture needs trace elements during tillering and grain formation.

During sowing, it is recommended to use phosphorus fertilizers that activate root development and good spike growth. They are introduced into the soil in the autumn, along with potash top dressing. In spring, you can fertilize the soil with nitrogen-containing compounds, as well as those in which the content of boron is increased (for podzolic soils and peat bogs) or manganese, if the soil is slightly alkaline. Nitrogen contributes to the growth of vegetative mass, bushiness of plants. If it is not enough, the leaves of barley will acquire a light green hue, and the spike, stem will decrease in size. If you "go too far" with nitrogen, the plants will outgrow and lie down early. And in fact, and in another case, this will negatively affect productivity.

The role of man in the cultivation of barley is not limited to the correct approach to planting and harvesting. It is important not to forget about the rules of caring for the crop throughout the growing season. In the spring, when the crops are clogged with weeds, it is recommended that the soil be cultivated, since barley weakly resists such “neighbors”. To do this, use the "Dialen" or "Amine salt" herbicides.

You also need to take care that the culture does not suffer from infections and pest attacks, which directly affects the decrease in yield. It does not hurt to process the sowing with “Fundazol” or “Boyleton”. After sowing on arid soils, rolling is carried out using special equipment - ring-spur rollers. When a crust appears on the ground, seedlings are booked across rows or diagonally. At the same time, farms use both ordinary harrows and rotary hoes. So, the earth becomes light, better saturated with moisture and oxygen.

Crop rotation

Barley is not recommended for sowing in areas where soil-littering crops have previously grown. In order to avoid damage by root rot, you should not plant it after spikelet crops, as well as after sunflower, which withers the soil.

Important! The alternation of crops of barley and wheat will help to avoid the defeat of Fusarium diseases.

The best yields can be achieved by sowing in areas where the predecessors were plants that do not condense or clog the soil, but leave more nutrient components, such as potatoes, corn, legumes. If barley is grown for fodder and food purposes, it is better that it legumes were predecessors, since after them quite a lot of nitrogen fertilizers are stored in the soil.

Seed quality

For sowing barley, they try to select the highest quality grain, which also has a positive effect on germination and, as a consequence, crop productivity. Grains of the 1st class with high germination energy are used, therefore careful sorting is necessary. Planting stock should have uniformity in size and weight.

Grains should be large, medium humidity. Waterlogged specimens strongly lose their germination ability, the ability to develop seedlings normally. If, on the contrary, dried grains are used, the seedlings will be weakened and rarefied. You should also pay attention to the fact that no impurities and specimens with defects are present in the seeds.

Other growing rules

Equally important in the successful cultivation of barley is timely sowing. If this process is prolonged, the root system develops poorly in plants, and field germination is reduced. During the research, it was found that barley planted at a later date gives a yield of 0.5-0.7 kg / ha less than it could. In addition, the quality of grain is deteriorating. The optimal period for planting spring crops is mid-May, and for winter crops - mid-September.

One of the reasons for the decline in yield may be insufficient seeding rate. For the conditions of the forest-steppe, the average portion should be about 4.5 million grains per hectare, and for the steppe - 4 million. It is recommended to sow in a narrow-row and cross method, so you can increase the yield by several centners per hectare. Seeds are usually planted to a depth of 4–5 cm, but in a dry year it is better to sow, deepening by 7–9 cm into the soil.

Important! You can determine the best time to harvest by grain quality. — it should be hard and crack slightly when pressed, but sit quite firmly, not fall out without help.

In order to avoid crop losses, it is important to start harvesting it in time, since stopping barley on the vine can lead to breaking of ears and stems, as well as lowering grain quality and shedding. Spring barley is harvested in August 5–8. Winter is harvested one and a half to two weeks earlier.

The most productive varieties

One of the important points for obtaining a high yield is a competent approach to choosing a variety. Today, about 200 varieties of barley are cultivated in Russia, among which you can choose the most suitable for various purposes or climatic conditions.

Winter

The most popular varieties of winter barley are the following:

• Gladys - medium-sized variety with a high yield potential. In different areas of cultivation. Suitable for all types of soils, giving up to 99 kg / ha;
• Avalon - Brewing variety, unpretentious to climate change, but slightly inferior in drought tolerance to other crops. Maximum fertility was noted when grown in the Moscow region - up to 74 c / ha;
• Dobrynya-3 - cereal is grown for courage. It is famous for its high productivity - up to 103 centners of grain are collected from 1 ha. The culture is frost-resistant, easily adapts to any weather conditions and develops well on soils of any type;
• Rostov-55 - The grain of this variety has excellent feed quality. The average yield is about 50 kg / ha, but the culture is practically not affected by powdery mildew, dwarf rust and some other diseases. At the same time, barley is resistant to droughts and low temperatures. Actively grown in the North Caucasus region.

Spring

From a considerable number of varieties of spring barley, the advantage should be given to such as:

• In memory of Chepelev - a high-yielding variety resistant to disease and lodging. The culture is characterized by a developed root system, so less than others suffer from a lack of moisture. About 1 ton of grain comes from 1 ha;
• Margaret - fodder grade, suitable for cultivation in any areas. The plant is stunted, but has good bushiness and resistance to dropping spike. Productivity - about 7.5 t / ha;
• Gin - High-quality malt is obtained from grain of this variety, therefore, the culture is grown for brewing. It relates to high-yielding - from 1 ha receive up to 90 centners;
• Gonar - It is grown in almost all regions of Russia, as well as in Belarus. The plant is well acclimatized in the new conditions. Cultivated for fodder and for food purposes. The disadvantage is susceptibility to powdery mildew, brown rust, but, with timely preventive treatments of these ailments, you can avoid and harvest up to 53 kg / ha.

How to calculate the yield

To calculate the total yield of barley in a certain area, you need to know several indicators:

• how many ears per 1 m²;
• the average number of grains in one ear;
• how much does one thousand grains of one sort or another weigh.

Knowing each of the values, all that remains to be done is to multiply them and translate them into simpler units of measurement. For example, if there are 200 ears of corn per 1 m², each of which has 10 grains, and one thousand of them weighs 26 g, then the calculation will be as follows: 200 × 10 × 26 = 52000 (g), i.e. 5.2 c / ha.

Indicators of average barley yield in Russia

Russia is the largest producer of barley, being the world leader in areas occupied by this crop. Despite the fact that crops have declined somewhat recently due to less demand for feed from livestock, yields continue to surprise, which can be seen in the following table:

In Russia, barley is cultivated in all regions. Annually new improved varieties appear, cultivation technologies are developed, however, human care remains the key to obtaining a high yield of this useful crop.