Tillage Farmers Warned About Dangers of Barley Surplus
Issued 4thJanuary 2001
Tillage farmers have been urged to use every opportunity to continue planting winter wheat over the coming weeks.
Speaking at the Teagasc National Tillage Conference in Carlow,(Wednesday, 31st January) Paddy Browne, Chief Tillage Adviser with Teagasc, said the difficult weather last autumn has resulted in a 50% reduction of winter wheat acreage. If this wheat acreage is replaced by barley, there could be an over-supply of 250,000 tonnes of barley next autumn.
"While there will be some yield disadvantage from sowing winter wheat in February, it is still a much better bet economically than barley", he said
While the farmers have been allowed to set aside up to 30% of their tillage land in 2001, Paddy Browne said that growing a crop is a better financial option for the majority of farmers. However, where land has been severely damaged by weather, the set aside option should be seriously considered.
The conference was also told that Teagasc researchers at Oak Park have now discovered the causes of the new 'leaf spot' disorder which has resulted in substantial yield reductions in barley and other cereal crops in recent years.
Dr Jim Burke, the scientist who has led the investigation, said the problem is due to a new disease, called Rumularia, not previously found in Ireland. He has also found that environmental factors, especially light radiation, are also involved.
"The damage associated with light radiation is difficult to pin down. Our research indicates that high light radiation may damage the leaf tissue and that the Rumularia disease can progress more rapidly in the damaged leaves, thereby giving a cumulative effect."
"While we are reluctant to link the non-disease damage to climate change, we are keeping an open mind on this possibility," he said.
Meanwhile, he stressed that the new disease can be controlled by the new chemicals now available to tillage farmers.
For the full proceedings of the National Tillage Conference, click here
