This is the most common question when choosing barley seed. The short answer: the water in your field decides. Here is the long answer.
What changes in the ear
In a barley ear the grains form in groups of three along the axis. In six-row varieties all three of each group set grain; seen from above, the ear shows six rows. In two-row varieties only the middle one develops, the two at the sides stay sterile — so two rows are visible.
The difference starts here. A six-row ear carries more grains than a two-row ear of the same length. But the nutrients the plant can send to that ear are fixed; the more grains, the smaller the share per grain.
Grain count or grain size
Six-row varieties win on grain count, two-row varieties on grain size and uniformity. In a two-row lot the grains are more alike and the over-sieve fraction is higher. For feed barley the over-sieve fraction is the most practical measure of how uniform a lot is.
From our own varieties: Manava is two-row with a thousand-grain weight of 47-52 g, Sinanbey is two-row at 41-48 g. Six-row Ramata is at 35-38 g. The gap comes precisely from this structure.
Fields with water, fields without
The grain-count advantage of six-row barley turns into yield only if the plant finds the water to fill those grains. On irrigated or lowland fields with a regular rainfall pattern, six-row varieties move ahead.
Where water is limited, the equation reverses. If the plant sets more grains than it can fill, all of them stay thin; hectolitre weight drops and the under-sieve fraction rises. That is why two-row varieties are the safer choice on dry land.
Then there is earliness. In a dry spring, a variety that heads early finishes grain filling before the hot, dry days set in — it reduces risk by escaping the drought.
In short
- Irrigated or lowland with regular rainfall: six-row varieties have the higher potential. Ramata can reach 1000 kg per decare under irrigation.
- Dry land, no irrigation: two-row varieties. Manava if the soil holds the winter moisture, Sinanbey — selected for drought tolerance — if it does not.
- If the sowing window is missed: you need a variety with alternative habit. Manava and Ramata can be left for spring sowing.
How many kilos per decare
There is no single answer; it depends on thousand-grain weight, sowing time, soil moisture and expected emergence. In late sowings the rate is raised, because the plant has less time to emerge and root.
To see the three varieties side by side, use the comparison table on our barley seed varieties page. On each variety’s page we give the seed rate we recommend for dry and irrigated conditions. Describe your field and our agronomist will tell you the rate for your conditions: +90 506 101 01 50.