Stark
NEXT GENERATION OF HOODED BARLEY
- Sowing Time September - October
- Suggested sowing rate (kg/ha) 140 kg/ha
- Grazing Seasons Spring
Stark silage barley is the second and latest generation of hooded silage barley in the Agricom portfolio. Stark is a spring silage barley with a medium maturity bred for improved disease resistance and yield potential. Stark is competitive with modern, elite grain barley cultivars while retaining the hooded trait, which reduces the impact of awns when feeding whole crop cereal silage (WCCS).
- A New Zealand-bred barley from Agricom’s joint venture breeding programme with Plant & Food Research
- Reduced impact of awns during feeding silage
- Very good grain yield for high silage quality
- Improved disease tolerance
Stark silage barley (right) showing reduced awns compared to a traditional awned barley (left).
Sowing & Establishment
Undersowing whole crop cereal silage
Stark can be sown with a number of other species as part of a method of establishing pasture under the cereal silage crop or to improve the legume composition of the silage. Undersowing with a fast establishing ryegrass such as Manta Italian ryegrass or Mohaka AR37 hybrid ryegrass (as seen in figure 1) can often produce very mixed results depending on season and factors such as sowing depth. When executed correctly this can have minimal impact on WCCS yield and result in the positive establishment of a short-medium term pasture. Adding legumes such as Pemberton peas, Relish red clover and Resal Persian clover may not add significant yield potential but may add more legume to the botanical composition of the cereal based silage.
- Sowing Time September - October
Performance Data
Stark has good resistance to net blotch, leaf rust and mildew, however like other elite barley cultivars an integrated approach to disease management is recommended. Growers should consider the use of seed treatments and in-crop fungicide to minimise disease pressure which can rob yield and quality of the end product.
When harvested at the correct growth stage Stark is capable of producing high silage yields with good energy, sugars, soluble starch and digestibility. The recommended sowing window is from September through to November, with days to maturity ranging from 120 days in Southland from an early planting date to 90 days in warmer climates from a November planting date. Silage should be harvested at the ‘cheesy dough’ stage to maximise yield and quality while ensuring moisture content is ideal for good compaction.
Stark has been bred in New Zealand for New Zealand silage systems. Performance data collected from over 4 years of trials from Southland, Canterbury and Manawatu show grain and silage yields equal to or greater than other commonly used grain barley cultivars.
Animal considerations:
Barley awns remain sharp in a silage stack and by using a hooded barley such as Stark, farmers can minimise the damage of these awns to soft, sensitive skin reducing animal stress and maintaining animal performance.