TROON HUSBANDRY GUIDE HELPS GROWERS ACHIEVE MALTING SPEC

Nickerson are strongly advising growers to consult the husbandry guidelines that they have produced for their malting barley Troon, to ensure they achieve the optimum malting specification for their crop.

 Troon is earlier maturing than malting barley standard Optic, and so requires different treatment to make sure its grain nitrogen content remains below the desired 1.60%.

 “Troon needs 15-20% less fertiliser nitrogen to achieve the same grain nitrogen as Optic,” explains Nickerson malting barley breeder Mark Glew. “However growers have become accustomed to applying higher levels of nitrogen, because Optic matures later and therefore still reaches its target specification.”

 Troon’s husbandry guidelines includes trial results - carried out in association with Scottish Agronomy - to ascertain the best way of achieving the grain nitrogen specification. The recommendations are to sow early on sites where residual nitrogen levels are low. So now is the ideal time for growers who want the best opportunity to make a premium on their crop.

 Advice is to aim for seed rates for early sown crops of 350-400 seeds per square metre, and apply just 110 – 125kg of nitrogen/hectare, depending on local conditions. All the fertiliser N must be applied by the three leaf stage at the latest.

 The husbandry guidelines: ‘Troon Spring Barley – Guidance for Growers’ is available free from your local merchant, or from Nickerson Direct by calling 0800 581847, or can be downloaded from www.nickersonuk/troon.html

 ENDS

 For further information contact: Frank Curtis on 01472 371471 or fcurtis@nickerson.co.uk or go to www.nickersonuk.com