Attendees: Darrell Wesenberg-Chair, Harold Bockelman, Michael Davis, Berne Jones, Dolores Mornhinweg, Gary Muehlbauer, Steve Ullrich, and Allan Stoner

Darrell Wesenberg welcomed the attendees to the meeting. He then asked Berne Jones to provide an overview of the activities of the Madison ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit. Berne gave a brief description of the Unit's mission and the research programs of the four SY's - Cynthia Henson, Berne Jones, David Peterson, and Ronald Skadsen.

Michael Davis discussed the status of barley production and the malting industry in the U.S. and globally. He indicated that a few multinational companies now dominate the malting industry and that very few family owned companies remain. Mike discussed the financial impact that Fusarium infected barley was having on U.S. growers by reducing the grain's value for brewing and forcing growers to sell their crop as feed barley.

Allan Stoner reported on activities in the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) including personnel changes; the results of the GAO study of the NPGS; the June 1997 Intellectual Property Rights III Meeting held in Washington, D.C.; and the efforts of the American Genetic Resources Alliance to seek increased support for the NPGS.

Brian Rossnagel suggested that the CGC address the issue of germplasm exchange from the USA to Canada in relation to phytosanitary requirements for Karnal bunt. Darrell Wesenberg initiated a discussion on how the concern over Karnal bunt has affected the exchange of barley germplasm with Canadian cooperators. He pointed out the difficulty he has experienced in getting phytosanitary certificates in Idaho caused by the state requirement to inspect every seed packet and the location of inspectors. He also indicated that Canadian officials require an import permit and they now test all incoming seed for Karnal bunt. Harold Bockelman reported that he sends National Small Grain Collection (NSGC) germplasm to the Beltsville Plant Quarantine Office for phytosanitary certificates and transmittal to Canada and has had no problems. Darrell will draft a letter to the Canadian plant health officials, on behalf of the CGC, addressing the concerns associated with the movement of barley seed across the border and asking for them to consider modifying their requirements.

Darrell Wesenberg and Harold Bockelman discussed the status of NSGC barley germplasm evaluations. Cooperative barley evaluations continued in 1997 for reaction to Russian wheat aphid; barley stripe rust; spot and net blotch; and barley stripe mosaic virus as well as evaluations of beta-glucan, protein, and oil content. They distributed a handout that summarized the 1997 evaluations of the collection and a summary of the barley evaluation data currently on GRIN. Darrell indicated that screening for Russian wheat aphid resistance and characterization of growth habit is essentially complete. He also indicated that there seems to be useful sources of resistance to Fusarium head blight (scab), the number one problem with barley, that needs to be incorporated into adapted breeding lines. A discussion was held on the need to continue to evaluate for stripe rust resistance in Mexico since it is now prevalent in the Davis, CA area and there is a trial there in 1998.

Harold Bockelman presented a curator's report. PI numbers were assigned to 97 barley accessions from January 1997 to February 1998. These included 38 PVPs and 7 Crop Science registrations. Harold indicated that the Hordeum collection now contains 27,347 accessions and continues to grow slowly. An Hang's report on maintenance of barley genetic stocks was included in the handout with the curator's report.

Brian Steffenson was unable to attend the meeting due to cancellation of his plane to Madison. He was therefore contacted via a conference call. He was informed of discussions that had been held and asked to comment on any item he wanted to bring before the committee. Brian discussed the status of resistance to Fusarium head blight. He indicated that the resistance identified approximately 60 years ago by Dr. R. G. Shands in the variety Chevron, and its derivatives, was still probably the best source of resistance. Brian indicated that Busch Agricultural Research was apparently interested in additional screening of the NSGC for scab resistance. Brian also commented on the status of Septoria on barley in North Dakota and Minnesota.

Steve Ullrich inquired about the status of development of a Barley Core Collection. Harold Bockelman reported that he had identified approximately 2200 Hordeum vulgare accessions, based on geographic data, for an initial core subset. The accessions are marked in the GRIN database. Harold indicated that he expects to reduce the number of accessions somewhat. Harold reported that in addition to development of a U.S. barley core collection, efforts are continuing to develop an International Barley Core Collection. A committee comprised of coordinators from the different regions of the world has been appointed for this project. Harold is the coordinator for North and South American. He has identified about 150 accessions from his region for possible inclusion in the international collection.

Harold Bockelman discussed a project that Robert Webster, Botanist with the National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, is working on to help identify and prioritize areas for future collecting of Hordeum germplasm. The procedure being studied uses geographical information systems data to define ecogeographic zones. Then published taxonomic data and information of the existing germplasm collection are overlayed to help define areas for possible future collecting. Robert recently visited Aberdeen to discuss his project with the staff there and to seek their input.

A discussion was held on intellectual property rights issues as they impact the use of protected germplasm in breeding work and germplasm collecting and international exchange.

(Note from the Chair - The minutes of the meeting are available courtesy of Dr. Allan Stoner, USDA-ARS National Germplasm Services Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. The issue of Canadian phytosanitary requirements was rendered moot by changes in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada requirements relative to Karnal bunt.)