Barley agronomic strategies for the Geraldton Port Zone

This project sought to maximise the profitability of barley in the northern Geraldton Port Zone by providing information to growers to allow them to make informed decisions around barley variety choice, sowing time, in season management and management of their rotations in order to maximise barley productivity and improve the overall profitability of their farming business.The project sort to answer specific questions of -Do barley’s have specific adaptation which can be exploited.Can varieties attain malt quality in the Geraldton Port zone.Do variety maturity and planting times influence yield and grain quality, particularly with early sowing opportunities.Does barley out yield wheat, sown early, or sown late.Was barley profitable compared to wheat.Can early sowing of short season varieties provide a maturity window and low risk option to avoid late season hot/dry finishes and produce a profitable yield.To gather data on barley performance when late sowing on ameliorated soils. Can barley provide a more profitable option than wheat for late sowing on ameliorated soils?Gain a better understanding of nitrogen management with different rotations or soil types (including soil amelioration) for barley yield with feed quality and for malt production.Did barleys differ in their response to nitrogen.Can early sowing and fertilising for high yield feed deliveries be more profitable than wheat.Did project sample an adequate range of seasons.