Vernalisation, the need for a period of cold over winter before a plant can switch from vegetative to reproductive development, is sometimes seen as a bit of a nuisance. It imposes a 'last safe sowing date', meaning that seed sown in the spring will not produce grains.
However, if the vernalisation requirement is very low or non-existant, early autumn sown crops are vulnerable to precocious ear development and frost damage as seen in the ICARDA-bred barley below. October sowing of this variety has been OK in the past, but September 20 was too early, especially with the very mild autumn we had in 2013.
Fortunately the variety bred at Harper Adams from a UK x ICARDA cross (on the left) looks better (ICARDA on the right). Best ear I have found in this population so far is a 6-row with 18 triplets on each side = 18 x 3 x 2 = 108 grains per ear! Hope we get enough sun to fill all those grains.
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