Cauldshiel and Drumalbin Cereal Trials 2020
Earlier this year the Scottish Farm Advisory Service held a series of cereal trial webinars with the recordings now available to view. Listen back to these events to hear from industry experts and take a tour of the 2020 SRUC cereal trial plots. These recordings give you the unique opportunity to look back on and gain an insight into the trial work carried out at Cauldshiel, East Lothian and Drumalbin, Lanark.
SRUC has trial sites across Scotland, trying to encompass different climatic regions in the country. This also gives different disease pressures and different challenges to the growing conditions for the plant.
SRUC have recently published the 'Scottish Recommended Lists for Cereals 2021/22' which you can read here.
Read more about each trial plot site:
Drumalbin
Drumalbin is the furthest west site and is used with the kind permission of John Bannatyne.
Drumalbin is a high disease site which offers a good test for new barley varieties and fungicide efficacy against diseases including against Rhynchosporium. A range of trials take place on the site including recommended list trials, commercial trials and inoculated trials. There are evidence based IPM trials and the evaluation of new fungicide products which are coming to the market with the efficacy of different products being monitored.
Cauldshiel
Cauldshiel is the south east trial site, used with the kind permission of Keith and Scott Maxwell.
The wheat trials site has 2,000 plots, a lot of which are for variety testing. There are also pathology trials and fertiliser trials on the site. The site factors in early and late sowing dates, winter wheat seed treatments and fungicide programs.
Listen to these webinars and find out which wheat and barley varieties are currently offering the highest potential yield and which ones offer high disease resistance. These factors can be considered when planning future crop rotations and selecting the most suitable varieties. Consider the effectiveness of fungicides and the impact of different application rates as well as the loss of chemical and future replacements.
Consider the world market and prices as well as changes in the quantities grown in the Scotland and the impact on prices. Also, an update on the post-Brexit tariffs and the potential impacts.
These webinars offer a rare opportunity to listen to SRUC specialists Fiona Burnett, Steve Hoad, Neil Havis, Andy Evans, Henry Criessan, SAC rural business consultant Julian Bell and SRUC trials officers.
Kirkton Farm
Kirkton Farm, Kinellar in North East Scotland is also used for cereal and grass trials with the kind permission of Messrs I & N Campbell.
The farm is typical of an arable farm in North East Scotland, with a mixture of winter & spring cereals, and winter oilseed rape. Potatoes are also sometimes grown in the rotation (as well as green manure crops recently). Recommended List trials and commercial trials evaluating new products are monitored here, as well as grass and clover variety testing. The farm is also used for the Mains of Loirston Trust Winter Wheat Challenge enabling SRUC students to grow and manage a plot of wheat using their own agronomy programs to which program is most cost effective
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