This can be attributed to the variety’s good agronomic characteristics of short straw, great disease resistance and good grain quality.
LG Mountain offers a significant step forward in yield for 2-row barley varieties.
It sits at the top of the AHDB 2020/21 Recommended List, with a UK yield of 104%, performing particularly well in the east and north (105%), says Ron Granger, Arable Technical Manager.
He points out that these high yields have been consistent over seasons and regions from 2016 to 2019, in fungicide treated AHDB RL trials.
“This resilience and robustness in yield, is a really important attribute in a variety, as growers know that whatever the season throws at them, it is able to cope.”
LG Mountain is also the highest yielding 2-row in both light and heavy soils, showing its flexibility within the rotation. It is an earlier maturing variety at -1, and benefits from a good all-round disease resistance profile, including BaYMV resistance.
Limagrain trials have shown that LG Mountain moves quicker in the spring than its stable mate, LG Flynn.
Limagrain Agronomy Trials
Agronomy work carried out by Limagrain, looking at ‘seed rate vs PGR vs fungicide performance’, confirms that there is little difference in yield when LG Mountain is sown at seed rates of 300 seeds/m2 or 400 seeds/m2, yielding around 11.5 t/ha in each scenario.
LG Mountain is a shorter variety, and the Limagrain trials data suggests that yield potential can be compromised if high rate PGR programmes are used, compared to the taller strawed varieties. Limagrain still recommends that a good PGR programme is used to ensure straw strength and reduce brackling, especially in a high yield situation such as on heavier, fertile soil types.
LG Mountain responds very well to both low and high input fungicide programmes, and again, programmes should be targetted regarding the situation in hand.
The variety has good grain quality attributes, with a very good specific weight of 69.1, combined with good grain screening percentage, similar to KWS Glacier; an important feature in a 2-row winter barley.
David Waite, regional seed manager with Frontier, sees one of the key attributes of LG Mountain being its consistent set of yield scores over the past four years – maintaining the top yield for the AHDB North region, with one of the better specific weight scores.
He said, “Along with these consistent yields, a strong (7) for standing with average straw length, provides growers with a sound agronomic package.”