Despite the significance of barley crop in Alberta, there was a decrease in the acreage of cultivated barley in 1998. Low grain prices in the international market made growers looked for alternative crops. According to Statistic Canada, there were about 2.104 million ha (5,200,000 acres) of barley in Alberta in 1998. This was 45% of the countrys barley acreage and 49% of the barley acreage in western Canada. Estimated mean yield for Alberta was 3041 kg/ha (55.6 bu/acre) somewhat above the Canadian average of 2,975 kg/ha. Harrington, a good malting variety and AC Lacombe, a high yields feed variety were again the predominant varieties grown by farmers. Other major field crops in Alberta were seeded with spring wheat (2,300,000 ha), canola (1,760,000 ha), oats (546,000 ha), durum wheat (425,000 ha), rye (50,600 ha), winter wheat (24,300 ha), and flax (28,000 ha).
Breeding Program
In 1998, the new barley variety Mahigan was released by the Alberta Field Crop Development Centre, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. Mahigan, is a six -row, hulled, semi-dwarf, feed cultivar. It is spring habit, with high yield and good field disease resistance. Seed of Mahigan will be available in the spring of the year 2000.
Jaeger, a six row, hulless, semi-dwarf barley was approved for registration by the Canadian Prairie Registration Recommending Committee for Grain (PRRCG) in 1998. Jaeger was evaluated as HB 608 in the Western Cooperative Hulless Barley Test. Jaeger will be released in 1999.
Malting Barley
Two-row malting barley is primary barley grown in Alberta. Under the development of new two row malting varieties research project, fifteen barley populations have been developed by a single seed descent method. In 1998, more than 2000 head-rows derived from these populations were grown out in Lacombe.
Sprouting Barley
To determine the heritability of and selection efficiency for sprouting tolerance in hulless barley, 1780 F2 lines were grown out in hills in Lacombe. These crosses were made to incorporate and study the sprouting tolerance of Samson barley to hulless material.
Germplasm
As part of the creation and development of barley germplasm, more than 1000 barley lines were introduced and evaluated for desirable traits. The observation nursery was inoculated with a scald-infected barley straw. These introductions came from CIMMYT and other breeding institutions nationally and internationally. Nine hundred twenty four F2-F6 bulks were grown out in California and Lacombe as part of the barley breeding process.
Foliar Diseases
In Alberta, cereal leaf diseases such as scald and net blotch reduce crop yield and quality annually. In 1998, 1,000 advanced lines were screened for net blotch resistance at AAFC and CDC Saskatchewan. Fifteen hundred lines were inoculated with a scald infected barley straw at Lacombe and Edmonton sites. Adverse climatic conditions occurred in Edmonton, affected the process of inoculation; while the Lacombe site was severely infected. Continuing evaluation of breeding barley lines for resistance to these diseases is required due to changing virulence patterns.
Pest Prevention
T. K. Turkington and K. Xi participated in the development of Albertas Fusarium Head Blight Response Plan, Pest Prevention and Management Unit, Plan Industry Division (Walter Yarish), Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Spring 1998. The response plan was developed to help prevent or minimize the threat posed by this disease to Albertas agricultural industry.
On July, T. K. Turkington organized and hosted an information session at the Lacombe Research Centre on Fusarium Head Blight of cereals.
Molecular study on scald races:
Dr. kequan Xi, pathologist with Alberta Agriculture in Lacombe, has initiated a study to characterize molecular variability of the scald pathogen races. Using random primers to screen representative races, unique bands of 2,500 and 650 bp in DNA profiles have been obtained. DNA fragments of the unique bands have been isolated and cloned. DNA sequence of these fragments will be determined. This information is potentially useful in differentiating avirulent from virulent races and determining the basis of variation in the pathogen. In addition to the determined sequence can be used to design specific primers for race identification, and the genetically identified races can be used to screen breeding materials with multiple genes for resistance.
Smuts
Crosses were made between our breeding lines to incorporate the gene Run8. This gene conditions immunity to all currently known biotypes of loose smuts in the field. One thousand advanced breeding lines were inoculated with loose smut. The airbrush and aqueous spore suspension technique was used in this process. After harvested, the inoculated spikes were grown in the new growth facilities for verifying smut resistance.
Genetics
For several years Dr. Bob Wolfe has been developing genetic populations to explore the possibility that xenia combined with genetic male sterility can be used to improve the effectiveness of reciprocal recurrent selection in hulless barley. Three of a possible eight distinct genetic population types for this have been developed, and are available for distribution.
They are:
Also, seed has been produced that is segregating for the other five genetic combinations. The orange lemma is coupled with sex1 in this material. Selection for a dark blue aleurone proved difficult. There appear to be a number of recessive mutations conditioning yellow aleurone. Two of these are very closely linked or in the same gene, one each in the yellow aleuroned HB 334 and the Lacombe line I94404N. When these two lines were crossed some of the F1 seed was blue. The F2 and F3 seed from blue seed of the cross, segregated 1:1 for blue and yellow aleurone.
The Web:
For more information about the barley crop in Alberta, "Ropin the Web" at http//www.agric.gov.ab.ca. Also, see the "Barley Development Council" at this web.
Contact the Secretary of this Council: Email: jim.helm@agric.gov.ab.ca
50-30 Street, Lacombe, AB. T4L 1W8 Canada
phone: (403)-782-4641 Fax: (403)-782 5514