Top tips for spring crop options in 2023

22 Dec 2022
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Incorporation of spring varieties into rotations can enhance farm business resilience, especially in the face of increased input costs or weed burdens. When it comes to selecting the best variety for your farm business, end market, agronomic packages and consistency of performance are the most important factors to consider.

Benefits of spring crops

For some growers, spring crops may replace an autumn drilled variety which failed to establish, but for many, they can be a strategic choice. This is because:

The yield gap between spring and autumn sown crops has narrowed
Spring varieties provide an opportunity to reduce input costs, as they require less fertiliser, fungicide, and herbicide applications
Spring cereals provide a means to control grass weeds. 80% of blackgrass germinates in the autumn, so planting any spring crop provides the opportunity to deal with the autumn flush of grass weeds ahead of sowing
There are specific circumstances where a spring variety makes the most sense within a rotation. For fields coming out of stubble turnips, or other late root crops, a spring-sown cereal will generally be the best option, especially given the wet autumn conditions this year

Factors to influence variety choice

Regardless of crop type, the end market is often the primary driver behind which varieties can be considered.

Beyond that, it’s important to look at the annual treated yield for the last five years, to give an indication of whether the variety has performed consistently.

It’s also worth checking the maturity of spring crops and avoiding late-maturing varieties, as they can limit options in the autumn when it comes to what follows them in the rotation.

Barley variety recommendations

End-use is the biggest driver when selecting spring barley varieties. Three strong varieties recommended by Wynnstay are:

RGT Planet is an excellent all-around variety which can be sold for brewing or for animal feed. It has a robust disease package and strong straw   
Laureate is effectively triple use, as it can go into the brewing, distilling or feed markets. It has been around for a long time but remains consistent for our customers
Skyway, which was added to the Recommended List in 2021, is another option. It gained P2 Approval for Brewing in spring 2022 and is very high yielding, has a high specific weight, is strong strawed and provides good brackling resistance

Wheat variety recommendations

Spring wheats have been increasing in popularity in recent years because of the increased yield potential and it can be easier to achieve a higher protein content than with autumn. Wynnstay’s recommended varieties include: 

Escape, a group 4 feed wheat has the best overall agronomic package for disease, and is very high yielding
KWS Ladum in the highest yielding UKFM Group 1 milling wheat, naturally offering the grain quality expected for a Group 1
KWS Fixum has a strong disease package and is the highest yielding group 4 option

Oat variety recommendations

There are also a few options for spring oats:

Canyon is the most consistently performing feed oat, having been on the Recommended List since 2011
For growers looking to progress their crops, Merlin is a high-yielding and early maturing spring oat option, with good resistance to lodging and mildew, with interest from the millers

Spring beans and peas

In addition to cereals, spring beans and peas provide an even greater opportunity to reduce input requirements. 

With beans and peas, a selection of early maturing varieties is best, to avoid combining them late in the season.  

In terms of the agronomic package, Lynx and Ghengis spring beans have proven to be the highest yielding varieties, Ghengis offering strong harvestability and seed size, whereas Lynx has the edge with its Downy Mildew resistance.