Growing conditions for the 1997 growing season were dry across the state from seeding until late June. In western North Dakota, soil conditions were so dry that barley germination was highly variable. Timely rains during late June permitted a crop to be produced. Yield was reduced in these areas; yet, kernel color, test weight, and kernel plumpness were excellent. In eastern North Dakota, timely rains also occurred in late June. Excessive rains continued into July and caused conditions conducive foliar and spike diseases that reduced quality of grain. Foliar diseases were most severe at Carrington and Langdon. The predominant foliar disease was septoria leaf blotch, incited by several Septoria spp. Septoria also was the predominant foliar disease found at Minot. All six-rowed cultivars currently grown in North Dakota are susceptible to Septoria spp., leaf scald, powdery mildew, barley crown rust, and leaf rust. Pathotype QCC of wheat stem rust, incited by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, was found in trace levels in barley nurseries grown at Casselton, Fargo, and Prosper. Heavier levels of stem rust were observed on lines lacking the Rpg1 gene. Pathotype QCC is virulent on plants homozygous dominant for the Rpg1 gene and all cultivars currently grown in the Midwest barley growing region are susceptible to this pathotype.

The major disease problem occurring on barley produced in northeastern and north-central North Dakota was fusarium head blight (FHB), incited by several Fusarium spp. Production of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) is associated with F. graminearum. Barley with excessive levels of DON is not purchased for malting and brewing. Overall, the percent of blighted kernels in 1997 was the greatest since 1993. FHB continued to move west in North Dakota into areas of the state where FHB had not been previously found in large amounts. All cultivars grown in North Dakota are moderately susceptible to the pathogens inciting FHB.

In 1997, about 1.0 million hectares of barley were harvested. Six-rowed cultivars were grown on nearly 91% of those hectares. The decline in the area of two-rowed barley production in North Dakota over the past five years can be partially attributed to a decrease in barley acreage in western North Dakota caused by high prices for wheat and partially to production of more six-rowed barley in northwestern North Dakota. The six-rowed cultivars grown in North Dakota are recommended by the American Malting Barley Association, Inc. for malting and brewing, but the two-rowed cultivars are not.

Foster, released by the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station (NDAES) in 1995, was added to the list of varieties recommended for malting by AMBA in July 1996. Foster has yielded similarly to Excel and Stander, and has similar straw strength as these cultivars. In the northern Red River Valley, Stander and Excel have out yielded Foster. Thus, Foster appears adapted to all malting barley growing regions of North Dakota except the northern Red River Valley. Percent barley protein of Foster is approximately 1.5 percentage units lower than that of Morex. The lower grain protein of Foster may allow growers in the central and western malting barley growing region of North Dakota to produce barley with acceptable grain protein more consistently. Foster was grown on about 83,000 hectares in North Dakota in 1997.

Logan, released in 1995 as a non-malting cultivar for central North Dakota, was sown on 0.5% of the barley hectarage in North Dakota. Two older two-rowed cultivars, Bowman and Stark, were sown on 3.4 and 3.8% of the hectarage, respectively. Logan has large plump seeds, but does not seem to retain plumpness under heat stress as well as Bowman. Production of Logan in eastern North Dakota has been successful for a few growers because it has good straw strength, is moderately resistant to spot blotch, and is resistant to net blotch and powdery mildew. Yield comparisons indicated that Logan is one of the highest yielding barley cultivars recommended for production in North Dakota.

Conlon, a two-rowed line tested as the ND13299, was released in 1996 as a non-malting barley cultivar for western North Dakota. It was designed as a replacement for Bowman and recommended for production in fields where soil moisture at planting is relatively low. Conlon heads more than one day earlier than Bowman and retains test weight well. Conlon is resistant to net blotch and moderately resistant to spot blotch, and has the genes Mlg and Mlk for resistance to powdery mildew. Yield comparisons with check cultivars indicated that Conlon yields more than Bowman and less than Hazen. The straw strength of Conlon is slightly better than that of Bowman, but inferior to that of Hazen. In yield comparisons with other cultivars, Conlon did not produce as much grain as Logan or recommended six-rowed cultivars. Conlon did not respond well to the drought pattern observed in 1997.

Conlon has a much better malt quality than Bowman, even though it was released as a non-malting barley. Malt quality comparisons indicated that Conlon has high extract values. Diastatic power values for Conlon are lower than those for Morex, but alpha-amylase values are about the same. Grain protein values for Conlon are much lower than those for Bowman or Morex.

Two-rowed barley cultivars often have lower scab readings and DON levels than six-rowed barley cultivars when grown in eastern North Dakota. Dr. Brian Steffenson found that Conlon not only had a low scab incidence in 1997 tests, but it also had lower DON levels than the other two-rowed cultivars tested. Tests of DON levels in grain samples from other 1997 trials indicated that Conlon accumulated less toxin than other cultivars developed for production in North Dakota. But the DON levels were not as low as those of Harrington, which is not suited for production in North Dakota.