Optic

The number 1 UK spring malting barley with outstanding quality characteristics

Parentage: Chad x (Corniche x Force)
Status: HGCA Recommended List 2006 and SAC Recommended List 2006

Yield Potential

Optic has consistently produced high yields in trials and on farm over the last ten years, making it a truly reliable and robust variety, sought after by maltsters, brewers, distillers and exporters.

Optic 2006 chart 1

Source: HGCA Recommended List 2006

Optic 2006 chart 2

Source: HGCA Recommended List 2006

Disease Resistance

Optic has moderate resistance to mildew and brown rust but has below average Rhynchosporium resistance and a specific treatment will be required. Seedling mildew may affect the crop during a very mild spring, although adult plant resistance is moderate. Optic also offers good resistance against BYDV.

Optic 2006 chart 3

Source: HGCA Recommended List 2006

Fungicide Use

Getting early to mid season agronomy right is crucial to establishing a healthy crop.

T0 -	The T0 spray prevents diseases gaining a foothold in long growing seasons or where disease pressure is high. The use of Unix helps keep Rhynchosporium at bay.
T1 -	Timing is key for protecting the canopy during the plants' main burst of growth. Unix + Acanto provides broad spectrum disease control, but consider adding Morpholine or a triazole for curative Rhynchosporium control.
T2 -	Managing late season plant health is also vitally important to ensure a healthy harvest. This is the key time to protect grain fill with awns and green leaf areas being the key targets. Strobilurins protect against foliar diseases and Chlorothalonil has demonstrated control of biotic and abiotic spotting.

CORE PROGRAMME

T0 -	Unix and Tern (should be used where mildew disease pressure is high)
T1 -	Acanto and Unix
T2 -	Amistar Opti + Triazole

Optic 2006 chart 4

Source: Syngenta Seeds, Fungicide input trial. Harvest 2003.

Agronomic Information

Optic produces excellent results across all areas of the UK . It has good standing power and reasonable length straw. Its late maturity may influence drilling date in the more northerly regions of the country.

Optic 2006 chart 5

Source: HGCA Recommended List 2006

Growth Habit

Early Spring	- Semi prostrate, with medium fast growth
Tillering ability	- Medium
Maturity	- Late

Drilling Dates

Suitability for early drilling	- Moderate – good
Optimum drilling date	- January – April
Suitability for late drilling (April)	- Good

Optic 2006 chart 6

Recommended Sowing Rates

Seed rates are dependent on soil conditions at the time of drilling: the more difficult the environment the
higher the seed rate must be to compensate for potential plant loss. The table below shows the suggested
number of seeds per square metre that should be planted under good conditions.

Optic 2006 chart 7

The chart above should always be used in conjunction with the thousand-grain weight of the seed to calculate the sowing rate.

Nitrogen Application

Higher nitrogen inputs increase yields and recent advice has been to lift rates for producing higher grain nitrogen lager malt, however end user requirements generally are shifting back towards <1.75N. Applying too much nitrogen pushes creenings and grain nitrogen too high – especially in seasons like 2002 and 2003 when weather conditions did now allow plants to fully utilise available nitrogen. Varieties have different optimum nitrogen rates, therefore balancing N inputs to end market, variety and season is key. While difficult to advise on exact nitrogen rates, the following is a rule of thumb.

Optic: 125 – 150 kg/ha in most situations

PGR's

NFC advises the use on lush crops and very fertile sites. In these cases use low rate Moddus (0.1 – 0.2 l/ha) at GS 29-30 to stabilise tillers and promote root development.

Quality

Renowned for its reliability, Optic is still the UK 's top selling spring barley, being purchased in significant quantities in both England and Scotland . It is fully approved by the IOB for both Brewing and Distilling. With its top quality ratings in the UK , Ireland , Germany and France along with exports to Asia and the Far East – it is truly a world class malting barley.

Grain Quality

Specific Wt	- 70.2
TGW	Good
Sieving % through - 2.25mm	- 3.0%
Sieving % through - 2.5mm	- 9.5%
Nitrogen Content	1.5N

Source: HGCA Recommended List 2006

Harvesting Priority

Normal priority – it is always advisable to harvest the crop in the best condition as soon as moisture is correct. As with all malting barleys, the variety should be kept separate to prevent contamination and obtain the maximum premium from the end product.

All information is a partial extraction from the New farm crops website and also the HGCA Recommended List 2007/8. See http://www.newfarmcrops.co.uk/ and also www.hgca.com for the full dataset