Effects of Fungicide on Grain Yield and Quality of Barley Grown in the Southern Cape

The effect of fungicides and their combination on the yield of barley was investigated during this study. Various fungicide treatments (No fungicide, Artea, Abacus and Strobilurin A) and combinations of these were applied at different growth stages. It is important to note that the net blotch incidence was low through out the trial. Furthermore, the results presented and discussed here are from only one location during a two-year period. The results may not be representative of the whole dry land barley producing area. RCB analyses indicated that the double strobilurin applications or a triazole followed by a strobilurin gave the best results. Treatment 2 (double strobilurin) and Treatment 7 (triazole/strobilurin) showed the highest income difference deviation, 13.6% and 10.8% respectively from the control. Treatment 2 provided an additional R1778 per hectare in 2007 and Treatment 7 an additional R2402 per hectare in 2008. Erica (12%) followed by Nemesia (10%) and S7 (10%) showed the highest average yield difference compared to the standard SSG 564.

Feasibility study of Organic Barley Production

Growing small grains organically means using sustainable methods that exclude the use of standard commercial fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of organic farming production, in comparison to conventional practices. The organic treatment showed a significantly lower yield than all the other treatments (except Treatment 2). The input cost of the organic treatments was the lowest. The average cost of the organic treatment was 56.6% lower than the average cost of the conventional treatment. However, the treatment also had the lowest average income, 39% less than the conventional treatment. With the current data, the preliminary conclusion can be made that the organic production is not a viable practice for barley production, unless a premium is paid for the niche product.

Cocktail Production Practices Trials

During the 2008 winter season SABM Agricultural Services Department in the irrigation area decided to investigate alternative production practices for the cultivation of the experimental malting barley variety, Cocktail.

The first objective will be to evaluate and establish optimum nitrogen fertilization guidelines for the new experimental variety, Cocktail. The second objective will be to evaluate and establish optimum planting density guidelines for the high yielding variety. The trial would run over a minimum of three years per locality.