Limited early harvest information from the AHDB Harvest results report (22 July) is showing that LG Mountain has once again shown its high yield potential in a very testing season, sitting as the highest yielding 2-row for this harvest so far at 106% of control. These results can be seen on the AHDB website under 2020 Harvest Results.
LG Mountain has consistently produced these high yields, since it was brought to the market in 2016 right through to 2020 – which is recognised to be one of the most challenging growing seasons for many years.
“This is a really important attribute in a variety, as growers know that whatever the season throws at them, it is able to cope,” says Ron Granger, arable technical manager for breeders Limagrain UK.
“Over this time, LG Mountain has also demonstrated its ability to produce high yields in both light and heavy soils, showing its flexibility within the rotation.”
“This excellent yield resilience can be attributed to the variety’s good agronomic characteristics of short straw, great disease resistance and good grain quality,” he adds.
Agronomically, LG Mountain is an earlier maturing variety at -1 and benefits from a good all round disease resistance profile, including BaYMV resistance.
Limagrain Agronomy trials
Agronomy work carried out by Limagrain looking at seed rate vs PGR vs fungicide performance confirms that there is little difference in yield when LG Mountain is sown at seed rates of 300 seeds/m2 or 400 seeds/m2, yielding around 11.5t/ha in each scenario.
LG Mountain is a shorter variety, and the Limagrain trials data suggests that yield potential can be compromised if high rate PGR programmes are used, compared to the taller strawed varieties. Limagrain still recommends that a good PGR programme is used to ensure straw strength and reduce brackling, and especially in a high yield situation such as on heavier, fertile soil types.
LG Mountain responds very well to both low and high input fungicide programmes and again programmes should be targeted regarding the situation in hand.
The variety has good grain quality attributes with a very good specific weight of 69.1 combined with good grain screening %, similar to KWS Glacier; an important feature in a 2 row winter barley.
