Barley

Breeding programmes 

Spring barley cultivation aims mainly to produce varieties for Sweden and the rest of the Nordic Region, as well as the major malt barley areas in Germany, France, the UK, etc. We produce a lot of very early varieties for Northern Sweden, Finland and Norway at our cultivation station in Lännäs, Northern Sweden. Extensive testing of SW’s barley takes place at our own stations or via partners in selected countries as part of our cultivation work.

Desirable qualities

The most important objective when breeding spring barley is to improve yield. We also cultivate a certain number of special qualities, such as naked barley, barley with a high protein content and barley with a modified starch composition.

When breeding winter barley, there is great emphasis on resistance to the most significant barley diseases, such as mildew, Puccinia simplex, leaf blotch and yellow leaf spot. Yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV) is a disease that has posed a serious threat to winter barley cultivation in Western Europe. Of course, resistance has to be combined with vital qualities such as straw strength, hardiness and quality. As far as two-row barley is concerned, our sights are firmly set on varieties with a high malt quality, while work with six-row barley aims primarily to produce a good feed barley.

Desirable qualities winter barley

When breeding winter barley, there is great emphasis on resistance to the most significant barley diseases, such as mildew, Puccinia simplex, leaf blotch and yellow leaf spot. Yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV) is a disease that has posed a serious threat to winter barley cultivation in Western Europe. Of course, resistance has to be combined with vital qualities such as straw strength, hardiness and quality. As far as two-row barley is concerned, our sights are firmly set on varieties with a high malt quality, while work with six-row barley aims primarily to produce a good feed barley.