An average yield in quality and quantity

In Europe, heterogeneous spring barley is growing up. Depending on the time of sowing and the falls of rain during the process of growing, different yields are expected. But to all intents and purposes the branch is expecting an average yield in quality and quantity. Diseases are kept in reasonable limits because of the lasting dryness.

The dryness affected especially the countries in the north and in the north-east of Europe. As a result of the dryness, the stocks are not as constant and solid as in a normal year. Even if there was rain in June, the dryness left its marks. In some areas of Finland, they say it is already to wet. The harvest in Denmark is estimated at 2,4 to 2,5 Mio. tons. In Sweden they are expecting an early harvest at the beginning of august. 6o % to 90% of the stocks is expected with a normal yield. Big differences are expected to occur in the quality.

Barely 1,4 mio. t of spring barley can be harvested with a yield of 3,5t/ha (2007 4,46 t/ha).

The condition of the soil in England is considered good with dryness on the surface and a lot of wetness in the soil. Perfect weather conditions provide good stocks. At the beginning it was also dry in Ireland, but in the last 6-8 weeks rainfalls made gut soil conditions, good plant growth and normal stocks possible. The soil in the key growing areas of France has a good clamminess. The warm weather in May and the downfalls afterwards that lasted almost a month, are accountable that the roots are not as bold as they are supposed to be. The wet weather also helped diseases like Fusarium and lodging to appear. The production in France is valued at 3.1 Mio.t. There are no high protein worths expected from this region.

Because of late sowing the stocks in Austria suffered. The plants already are in the last stage of the process of growing. There was no high risk of diseases for a long time. But at the end of the process of growing net bloch and leaf rust appeared. Infection with Rhynchosporium is to be found in wetter regions. The Austrian expect average yields of 4,5 to 5,0 t/ha and crops of 450 000 t. The condition of the soil in Slovakia during the process of sowing was perfect. Good weather during the period of growing influenced the plants in a positive way. With a harvest in the west as of the beginning of July and in the east as of the end of July a harvest of 800 000 to 850 000 t is expected. Similar to the weather conditions in Slovakia were the weather conditions in Czechia. The harvest has been estimated at 1,4 to 1,5 mio. t. In the south of Poland the condition of the soil is good, in the north and in the west it is rather dry. Because of this, the plants developed early.

The spring barley in Germany is very heterogenic. The reason for that are the emerged dates of sowing this spring. Because of that different yields are expected. The sowing lasted from mid-February to the end of April. At the beginning of this process of sowing the seed could be sowed in dry good soil. At the end the seed had to be sowed in partially unfavourable soil that was too wet. This was approved by a survey from the ``Braugerstengemeinschaft e.V.´´ in the different states. Early sowed stocks could grow equally with enough soil moisture and showed good density of plantation. Late sowed seed suffered because of the dryness in May and at the beginning of June. But those backstrokes were weak to thin. The dry May led especially in the north of Germany to impairment of the plants. Even with sprinkling the stocks suffer. Quality problems are to expect. The stocks are divided in early sowed and in late sowed seed. While the early sowed seed is probably going to bring in yields up to 5 t/ha, the late sowed seed is very debatable. The high temperatures that we have right now also have a negative impact. The begin of the harvest is dated at the end of July. The dry weather is going to relativize the broadening of the area. The stocks in Nordrhein-Westfalen are overall good. When the seed was later, the stock got thinner. High temperatures in May led to less density of plantation in Thüringen. Sachsen-Anhalt is expecting a substandard harvest. Sachsen is not expecting the best results either. The varying weather conditions in Baden-Württemberg and in Bayern are probably going to lead to varying yields in a lot of regions. The risk of diseases is because of the long lasting dryness very low. Infrequent blight and Rhynchosporium are observed. Because of the high temperatures and the rainfalls at the end of June, ``Ramularia´´ and rust are expected.

Spring barley in Euope - End of June 2008