Direct Drilled Strip Trial Highlights Consistent Performance of Belter Spring Barley

Results for the harvest 2025 strip trials carried out by Secobra and Agrii across seven UK locations provided valuable insight into how modern spring barley varieties perform under direct drilling systems.

We have used this technique to assess direct drilling potential before, says John Miles, Seed Technical manager at Agrii. With some many types of drill and systems around direct drilling it casts the net wider by giving a range of growers “a go” with their system. Not all of then come off but we don’t expect that.

Belter spring barley seed was supplied by Agrii to selected growers and drilled alongside their existing variety and using standard farm practice. The aim was straightforward: compare existing approved malting varieties against Belter under real conditions, focusing on yield and grain quality.

Sites covered a wide spread of UK spring barley ground, including Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Suffolk, Kent, Northamptonshire, Dorset and Cambridgeshire. The season itself proved challenging, with a dry spring contributing to uneven crop development and a national picture of variable yields and widespread grain quality issues.

Yield performance: Competitive at all sites

Across the trials, Belter delivered a consistently competitive yield performance:

• Compared with Laureate, Belter matched yield at three sites and outyielded it at two.
• Compared with Skyway, results were more variable, with each variety taking one site advantage over the other.

In a year where environmental stress and establishment differences were significant, this places Belter firmly at the top end for direct drilling options.

Grain quality: a clear strength for Belter

The most consistent differences were seen in grain quality, particularly in a season where high nitrogen levels (1.79%–1.93%) and elevated screenings were a widespread concern across the industry.

Key findings included:

• Nitrogen levels: Belter was broadly similar to Laureate across all sites, and consistently lower than Skyway
• Specific weight (kg/hl): Belter was higher than Laureate at almost every site
• Screenings: Belter recorded lower screenings than both Laureate and Skyway at all seven locations (Belter average 1.1%, Laureate average 1.4%, Skyway average 1.7%)

This combination is particularly relevant in difficult harvest years, where meeting malt specifications can be as important as achieving yield.

What this means in practice

Direct drilling systems continue to grow in popularity as growers look to reduce establishment costs and improve soil structure resilience. However, they can expose differences in variety establishment and grain quality more sharply than conventional systems.

In this trial, Belter demonstrated:

• Reliable performance across multiple soil types and regions
• Stable yield competitiveness in a difficult season
• Clear advantages in grain quality consistency, particularly in screenings and grain size

Summary

While yield differences between varieties were generally narrow in this challenging season, Belter stood out for its grain quality consistency across all sites, particularly in maintaining lower screenings and high specific weights.

Belter’s vigorous growth habit helps it build biomass while a high bushel weight helps when conditions are challenging.

For growers operating direct drilled systems, the results suggest Belter is well suited to environments where establishment variability and harvest quality risk need to be tightly managed, without sacrificing yield potential.

The key to successful drilling of any type is not missing the window of opportunity regales of calendar month. Drilling early can lead to bigger biomass so good straw characteristics are important. During 2024 and 2025 Agrii ran winter vs spring variety trials. Across contrasting seasons Belter performance was stand out in these trials. I think this adds to the appeal of any spring bring barley in a direct drill situation, says John.