Consistent performance, strong yields and specific weights make LG Capitol top choice

LG Capitol has proven a hit for F. C Palmer and Sons, where it’s performed consistently during a number of seasons, producing more than favourable yields. Running a family farm near Ely in Cambridgeshire, Luke Palmer works predominantly fen soils with heavier land intermixed. “We have a diverse range of cropping including wheat, barley, peas, beans, sugar beet, potatoes, celery, lettuce, turf and alternative crops.”

While growing barley for seed around four years ago, Luke observed that conventional varieties were outperforming hybrids on his land, so he focused on growing Bolton, followed by LG Caravelle.

“Three years ago I grew both Caravelle and Capitol and because Capitol performed better, I decided to grow it exclusively last year, but this year I’ve also planted some Craft.”

Luke particularly appreciates the wide drilling window which Capitol offers, allowing him to plant it into December and still achieve reasonably high yields.

While all cereals on farm are essentially breaks to reset the land for root crops, winter barley’s importance extends to spreading the workload. “I grow it almost exclusively for seed which allows us to empty the sheds and puts cash in the bank early before the main event of harvesting milling wheat and wheat for seed.”

Additionally, growing winter barley also means Luke can spread his sprayer capacity, which is especially helpful because of the catchy local weather conditions.

“I’m a strong believer in not applying too much nitrogen, with winter barley usually receiving around 70kgN/ha, and some fields this year only having 45kgN/ ha. My crops seem to perform well without more than this which is positive because of the savings in both cost and time.”

Calling himself as an ‘advantageous tiller’, Luke uses the cultivation method most suited to the field and conditions at the time, meaning Capitol will have been drilled into different seedbeds, using either a direct tine drill or a power harrow disc drill.

In a similar approach, he applies inputs based on the season. “This year Capitol has had Miravis Plus (pydiflumetofen) at T1 and Elatus Era (benzovindiflupyr+ prothioconazole) at T2.”

Despite several challenging seasons, Luke’s crops of Capitol have consistently achieved better yields than the farm average, and even in 2023 when yields were down across the board, it outperformed the SY Kingsbarn that he grew.

“Capitol has just had the edge for us; producing a bolder sample and much better yields, so it’s a variety I really like.”

This article was taken from the latest issue of CPM. For more articles like this, subscribe here.

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