VARIETY choice has had a greater impact on barley yield and gross income than any other management decision in the past three years, according to Birchip Cropping Group consultant Kate Burke.
Dr Burke said barley agronomy trials at Woomelang and St Arnaud showed variety choice outweighed differences in weed competition, nitrogen application and row spacing.
"Sometimes, we can be a little bit blase about varieties," she said.
"Really, you have to get the fundamental decisions right."
Dr Burke said hindmarsh was the highest-ranking variety for yield, but commander ranked highest for gross income.
The future of hindmarsh depended on the malt accreditation process.
"Based on last year's grain prices, hindmarsh profitability could increase by $200 a hectare if classified as malt rather than feed," she said.
"The improved performance of commander in a more favourable season supports long-term national variety trial results that suggest it is best suited to areas capable of producing three tonnes a hectare or greater."
Dr Burke said choosing barley varieties was more complicated than choosing wheat, because farmers had to consider whether a variety had malt classification and an associated discount or premium, and how often the farmer was actually able to achieve malt quality.
It was important for farmers to "do some calculations" to ensure they did not lose money by choosing the wrong variety for their environment.
In the case of hindmarsh, Dr Burke said its niche was in environments where yields were typically less than 2t/ha.
"You really need to consider the quality and marketing of your variety when you're making these decisions," she said.
Dr Burke said buloke suffered in the heatwave of last spring, which affected grain size, while hindmarsh appeared to respond to inputs of phosphorus and nitrogen at the right times.
"That may be related to the fact that it's got generally poor vigour early - it's a short coleoptile variety and might just need a bit of a kick-along," she said.
"That makes it more sensitive to things such as deep sowing.
"You need to handle it with care early on in the season and you'll reap the rewards later."
Dr Burke warned farmers against sowing hindmarsh too early, because it could "race through the growing cycle very quickly".
Early to mid-April was probably too early, she said.
The trials - in the third year of a tri-state project - compared the performance of buloke, commander, flagship, fleet, hindmarsh and sloopvic barley varieties.
They found negligible differences in yield at different row spacings, but significant effects on plant density, shoot density and brome-grass populations last year.
