Teagasc Crop Report
Winter Barley Reference Guide
Winter Barley Reference Guide
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Winter Barley
The 10 year average area of winter barley is 64,000 hectares, ranging from 43,000 ha in 2024 to 83,000 ha in 2019. This variation is influenced by autumn planting conditions and grain prices.
Yields depend on the growing season, with a target yield of 10.0 t/ha being achievable. However, the 10-year average yield is 8.9 t/ha. In years with lower yields, poor crop establishment, Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), and take-all are the primary contributing factors.
To achieve exceptional yields, winter barley crops need optimum growing conditions throughout the season to enable strong vegetative growth, ear growth and development and grain filling. Teagasc research indicates that ear number has the biggest influence on grain yield, there is a relatively low correlation between grain weight or size and final yield. Barley yield is determined early but the number of tillers produced i.e. 1,100 -1,200 tillers/m2 to produce head number of approximately 1,000 ears/m2.
