Paradies

Stable Yields Without Excess Chemistry: Field Experience with Paradis Winter Barley

When dealing with winter barley, the main headache is fighting to keep the leaves green until harvest. The 'Paradis' variety from the German breeder Deutsche Saatveredelung didn't end up in my fields by accident. I needed a crop that wouldn't require running the sprayer every two weeks. During its operation, the barley proved to be a 'tough nut', especially in terms of immunity.

A Phytosanitary Shield in the Field

In our conditions, the main issues are net blotch and scald. With 'Paradis', I forgot what early fungicide treatments, which eat up all the profit margin, even mean. The plant possesses phenomenal resistance to:

• Net blotch;
• Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV);
• Barley Yellow Mosaic Virus.

Even in years with high humidity, when neighbors' fields are 'burning', this variety keeps its green mass for as long as possible. Adversaries like ramularia or powdery mildew meet serious genetic resistance here, not just chemical protection.

The 'German Character' in Practice

For an agronomist, 'Paradis' means predictability. The team at Deutsche Saatveredelung clearly focused on endurance. In the autumn, the crops enter winter with excellent tillering, without being overly delicate. The spring start is uniform, and the stems are robust, showing no lodging even with intensive nitrogen application. During harvest, the variety performed perfectly: the grain does not shatter, the combine runs smoothly, and the threshing is clean. For me, as a practitioner, it is important that the variety doesn't require constant 'fussing' and delivers stable tonnage across the board, even when the weather isn't exactly playing along with the agronomic calendar.