Cereals in Practice 2017: Variety Trials and Current Research
“Cereals in Practice”, the annual showcase of variety trials and research organized by the James Hutton Institute, SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) and the Scottish Society for Crop Research, is to be held on July 6, at Saphock Farm, Oldmeldrum, United Kingdom.
The event brings variety trials and current research together in one place, providing an opportunity to discover and discuss the latest recommendations and developments in the cereals industry.
Cereals in Practice combines the James Hutton Institute’s former cereals event, Cereal Solutions, with the SRUC Angus/Perthshire Agronomy Centre wheat and barley variety and management trials, to create a comprehensive event for anyone interested in cereal farming and associated industries.
Field Trials and Demonstrations
Barley choices will be analyzed, key performers and what to look for in 2017/18. The SRUC spring barley list is the longest in many years, with several new varieties at provisional approval for malting use. The winter barley list brings new high yielding choices in both two- and six-row varieties.
Breeding for Diastatic Power in UK Barley
Diastatic power is an important malting quality characteristic, but there has been little improvement in recently introduced cultivars. This demonstration shows how the researchers have identified genetic variation within current elite varieties that will be available to breeders for selecting a new generation of high diastatic power barley.
Protein Crops and CAP Greening
The event will include demonstrations of intercropping opportunities using protein crops, CAP greening cover crops and N fixing crops in-field and the carry-over effects of these crops from 2016 on a SB crop.
Winter Cereal-Legume Mixtures for Biomass Production
Both winter rye and winter oats are high biomass producers. Winter peas and vetch contribute biomass and nitrogen directly to subsequent crops such as under sown ryegrass.
Fungicide Strategies and IPM Approaches for Barley
The latest updates on fungicides for barley will be discussed, along with new research investigating opportunities for using IPM approaches to reduce fungicide inputs.
Why do Spring Oats Have a Lower N Fertilizer Requirement than Barley?
Research is being conducted to understand the mechanisms by which oats are able to capture more N than barley in order to identify suitable traits for increasing the N use efficiency of barley, according to an update from the James Hutton Institute.
Mains of Loirston Winter Wheat Challenge
This is a competition where the farmers and advisers of the future pit their wits against each other to achieve the crop with the highest gross margin.