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CORE PROGRAMME
Agronomic Information Quench is a relatively short and very stiff variety with excellent resistance to lodging and brackling. Quench is similar maturing to Optic. Growth Habit Early Spring - Semi prostrateprostrate Tillering ability - Medium-High Maturity - Medium-Late (Optic type)
Drilling Dates Suitability for early drilling - Good Suitability for late drilling (April) - Good Optimum drilling date - February March (Scotland). January February (England) Recommended Sowing Rates Quench adapts to variable plant populations, so has no adverse effects to screenings and little variability on yield with variable seed 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. 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 screenings and grain nitrogen too high especially in seasons like 2002 and 2003 when weather conditions did not 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, many growers know how much to apply to Optic for a 1.65% grain nitrogen. For Quench, the following is a rule of thumb. Quench: 125-150 kg/ha N (in most situations) Optic: 125 150 kg/ha N (in most situations)
On heavier land, Quench is more robust than other varieties in terms of grain size and protein level, so residuals and bad weather patterns should not give excessive variability to end quality.
PGR's Normally not required, however NFC advises their use on lush cr ops or 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 Quench is under IBD commercial evaluation for brewing during harvest 2007. Quench is also currently being tested and evaluated across Europe (including France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Latvia and Lithuania) which may offer potential export opportunities. Quench appears to possess a very balanced profile' in quality attributes required by European customers, including good Hot Water Extract (HWE), good levels of DP and low beta glucan.
Grain Quality Specific Wt - 68.6 kg/hl Sieving % through - 2.25mm 2.5% Sieving % through - 2.5mm 7.6% Nitrogen Content - 1.55N TGW - Good Harvesting 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 pr event contamination and obtain the maximum premium from the end product.
Storage Management Storage of malting barley is a must priority to ensure harvest quality remains. Malting barley in storage should be regularly checked, with grain temperatures and moistures being monitored to ensure germination levels are maintained at 98% minimum. The table below shows the importance of low moisture content and grain temperature for storing malting barley, it also shows the approximate safe storage time in days.
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
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