Earliness, very high yield, good disease resistance and excellent quality make Iina an excellent starch and feed barley for the whole of Finland — a dependable choice for northern conditions.
Iina is an early six‑row barley suitable for Finnish zones I–IV. Iina requires 847 growing degree days, making it slightly earlier in growing time than Aukusti, the control variety of early barleys.
Iina’s yield is very high considering its growing time, and it outyields many later‑maturing six‑row barleys. In Finnish official variety trials, Iina has been 11% higher yielding than Aukusti. Compared with Kaarle, the control variety of late six‑row barleys, Iina’s yield has been 5% higher in trials (official variety trials 2015–2022). Iina is a highly adapted variety that produces high yields in different Finnish cultivation zones and soil types and adapts well to different intensities of cultivation. Considering the variety type and earliness, Iina has performed extremely well in Boreal’s breeder trials in clay soils of Finnish zones I–II, suggesting it may also do well in drier conditions. According to Boreal’s own trials, Iina also tolerates soil acidity.
In terms of quality, Iina is excellently suited for starch barley production and feed use. Iina has the highest starch content among early six‑row barleys. Its percentage of larger grains is excellent and very high for an early six‑row barley — clearly higher than, for example, Kaarle. Its hectoliter weight is high for an early six‑row barley and clearly higher than that of Aukusti and Kaarle. Iina’s thousand grain weight is at a good level. As typical for high‑yield barley, Iina’s protein content is lower than average among early six-row barleys.
Iina’s straw is slightly longer than average and moderately strong.
Iina’s overall disease resistance is good. Iina is resistant to powdery mildew and has excellent resistance to net blotch. The combined amount of leaf blotch diseases and physiological leaf spots in official trials has been at a good low level.
Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd Line number: BOR 16572 Added to variety list: 2023
Early six‑row barley varieties. Source: Official variety trials 2017–2024, px.luke.fi, (M) = control variety
Official variety trials 2017 – 2024, px.luke.fi, (M) = Standard variety
Plant Breeder
Forage grasses, six-row barley