Soil preference: Suitable for all soil types and performs well especially on heavy land
Regional positioning: Performs well in all regions
Sowing rate: Approx 200 seeds/m2 in good conditions. Up to 250 seeds/m2 in grass weed situations
Key features: SY THUNDERBOLT is the hybrid barley variety with consistently high regional yields. This variety is especially strong on heavy land. In addition, it offers outstanding grain quality, a good disease resistance profile – especially for brown rust and mildew – and its early maturity helps to add flexibility at harvest. SY THUNDERBOLT is a great choice for the North and West and will have a special appeal to growers on heavy land who need a variety which will suppress grass weeds.
We've compared SY THUNDERBOLT and KWS Orwell on the AHDB Recommended List 2024/25 and shared some key statistics we think you'll be interested in.
Yield
Untreated Yield*
Treated Yield*
Eastern Yield*
Western Yield*
Northern Yield*
SY THUNDERBOLT
88
106.7
106
108
107
KWS Orwell
83
99.6
99
100
99
* % treated control
Grain quality
Specific Weight
(kg/hl)
Screenings
(% through 2.25mm)
Screenings
(% through 2.5mm)
SY THUNDERBOLT
70.2
2.0
7.2
KWS Orwell
68.9
1.7
5.4
Disease profile
Mildew
(1-9)
Brown rust
(1-9)
Rhynchosporium
(1-9)
Net blotch
(1-9)
BaYMV
SY THUNDERBOLT
7
6
7
6
R
KWS Orwell
3
7
6
5
R
[ ] = limited data
Agronomic features
Resistance to lodging with PGR
(1-9)
Straw height without PGR
(cm)
Straw height with PGR
(cm)
Ripening
(days +/- Orwell, -ve = earlier)
SY THUNDERBOLT
6
115
107
-1
KWS Orwell
8
96
87
0
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SY Thunderbolt Variety Vision
Breeding Insight
SY THUNDERBOLT is a variety showing strong yields across all regions and has performed well on heavy soils. It is also early maturing to help with harvest flexibility.
