§ Mr. Skeetasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the increase in crop yields of wheat, barley and oats over the past 10 years; and what would have been the yield per acre if Maris varieties of barley and wheat were planted instead of the traditional varieties.
§ Mr. BishopYield in any one year is subject to significant weather effects. Yields over the long term are affected by farming practice including the use of fertilisers, herbicides and fungicides as420W well as by the varieties of seed available. Fungicides have only been used in significant quantities in the last few years and this has coincided with the increase in the use of Maris varieties of wheat. No estimate is available of the yield per acre if Maris varieties of barley and wheat were planted instead of traditional varieties.
The average yield of wheat, barley and oats in England and Wales in each of the past 10 years are given in the table below:
Yield cwt. Per acre Harvest Wheat Barley Oats 1965 32.4 29.9 26.7 1966 30.5 28.2 27.6 1967 33.1 29.9 30.7 1968 28.0 27.2 28.6 1969 32.0 28.4 29.4 1970 33.3 25.9 26.6 1971 35.0 29.0 31.0 1972 33.7 31.4 32.7 1973 34.7 31.0 31.4 1974* 38.8 31.3 31.5 * Provisional.