Soil Fertility

Soil fertility guidelines for winter malting barley are the same as winter wheat, except for nitrogen application. Nitrogen management is extremely important, as grain protein increases with increasing nitrogen application. No more than 30 pounds of N per acre should be applied in the fall. In the spring, great care should be taken to avoid over-fertilization. High N application may result in grain protein levels too high for quality malt. Spring N application rates of 60–80 pounds of N per acre generally result in an acceptable protein concentration. However, the influence of N application rate on grain protein level is extremely variable depending on the environment. Spring N application should occur between green-up and Feekes GS 6.0 (first node visible), as this timing coincides with rapid N uptake by the plant. Nitrogen fertilizer applied prior to green-up is subject to loss by leaching and/ or denitrification.