Barley production

Barley production in California consists primarily of fall-sown 6-row spring feed barley. Most of the acreage is concentrated in the Central (Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys) Valley and surrounding foothills and in the south-central coastal valley foothills. Barley is grown as an irrigated rotation crop in the Central Valley and as a rainfed crop in the Central Valley foothills and south-central coastal foothills. A substantial acreage of spring-sown feed (6-row) or malting (2-row, primarily) barley also is grown under irrigation in the Tulelake basin in the northeastern portion of California and serves as a rotation crop for potato. Statewide, barley was grown on 170,000 acres in 1998, 26% less than in 1997. About 125,000 acres were harvested for grain; average yields were 1.44 tons per acre (compared to 1.32 tons per acre in 1997).

The 1998 season was very wet and remained very cool through the spring, resulting in high levels of barley scald, net blotch and stripe rust on fall-sown spring barley acreage in the Central Valley, surrounding foothills, and south-central coastal valleys. Stripe rust also was severe on spring-sown barley in the Tulelake Basin in northeastern California. Sixteen collections of barley stripe rust and 8 collections of barley leaf rust were submitted to the USDA Cereal Rust Laboratory for race identification. Barley suffered yield losses to stripe rust of about 15% statewide, the third consecutive year of significant losses. Release of two new stripe rust resistant barley cultivars, UC 960 and UC 937, will help reduce future losses.

Germplasm development and evaluation

The germplasm development program in California includes breeding and selection by public and private plant breeders and coordinated statewide testing of promising advanced lines from both types of programs. The objectives of the University of California barley breeding program are to (1) conduct a barley improvement program using traditional breeding methodologies with the overall goal to develop and introduce cultivars of barley with good agronomic performance and end-use properties for California farmers, and (2) maintain and develop germplasm required to sustain barley production statewide.

Stripe rust has been responsible for a reduction in the acreage sown to spring barley in California as one epidemic after another has occurred in the Central Valley and north into the Klamath Basin during the last four years. None of the older varieties is acceptable for cereal production by growers. To counteract this continued threat the California Experiment Station has released two barley varieties expressing resistance to pathotypes of Puccinia striiformis currently existing in California. Fortunately these lines were present in the breeding program when stripe rust first appeared in California. Two years of observations in Cochabamba, Bolivia suggested that the resistance might be useful against more than a small number of pathotypes. UC 937, which is targeted for the Central Valley, and UC 960, which is adapted to the southern part of the Klamath Basin, are both semidwarf, six rowed, feed barleys selected from the same cross (Gus/Kombyne/ /Sma1 /3/Sma1/Sunbar 401). Sma1 has the parentage Steptoe/2*Diamanat/3/MinnDwarf 64.98-8/Briggs/4/Asse.

Some years ago interest was expressed in a forage type spring barley for the California dairy industry. This year we are evaluating tall, hooded lines in preliminary yield trials. All lines in the first breeding cycle are derived from the initial cross of Hooded Atlas/Sutter. Although none of the parents in the first two populations was resistant to barley stripe rust, only low percentages of foliar coverage have been observed on the selected materials so far.

For the statewide testing program in 1998, evaluations were conducted in the intermountain valleys of northeastern California, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, and in the south central coastal region. Entries in the tests included standard cultivars, new and soon-to-be released cultivars, and advanced breeding lines from both public and private breeding programs. The intermountain winter barley test contained 12 entries, all 6-row feed barleys except for one 6-row malting line (88Ab536) and one spring barley (Steptoe). Stripe rust was severe on Steptoe, Sunstar Pride, Sunstar Double, Showin and Eight-Twelve. Kold, Westbred Sprinter and Strider were resistant. Average yields ranged from 1000 to 5570 lb/acre. Kold and Strider were the highest yielding entries. Boyer and Strider were the highest yielding from 1997-98 while Boyer and Westbred Sprinter were the highest yielding in the three-year period 1996-98.

The fall-sown spring barley test contained 37 entries, including 15 cultivars and 22 advanced lines from seven breeding programs (University of California, Western Plant Breeders, Arizona Plant Breeders, Busch Ag Resources, Inc., CIMMYT, Buttonwillow Research, and World Wide Wheat). Most entries were 6-row spring feed barleys, but there also were three 2-row feed barleys (CMB 89A-915, CMB 89A-952, and CMB 90A-761), one 2-row malting barley (Merit) and one 6-row malting barley (B1614). Barley scald was moderate to severe at eight sites. Cultivars UC 603, Nebula, and advanced lines UCD 92-10588, UCD 92-10585, UCD 92-10615 (UC 937), UCD 95-2407, UCD 95-3167, UCD 95-1540, UCD 95-1398, CMB 89A-915, CMB 89A-952, CMB 90A-362, CMB 90A-761, and APB A-18 were resistant. Stripe rust was severe at six locations. Cultivars UC 603 and advanced lines UCD 92-10588, UCD 92-10585, UCD 92-10615 (UC 937), UCD 95-1540, UCD 95-1398, IBYT 90-84, CMB 89A-915, CMB 89A-952 and CMB 90A-362 were resistant. Leaf rust was moderate to severe at three locations and was most severe on cultivars Patti, UC 603 and advanced lines BA 2391 and WWW BA 4513. Net blotch occurred at five locations and was most severe on advanced line WWW BA 8063 and the cultivar Max. Bushel weights were very low at locations where scald and/or stripe rust were severe. Lodging was severe at five locations. Cultivars UC 603 and Nebula and advanced line APB A-20 had the best lodging resistance. Entries B1614, IBYT 90-84, CMB 89A-915, CMB 89A-952, CMB 90A-761 shattered severely. Average yields ranged from 1450 lb/acre at the rainfed Yolo site to 4350 lb/acre at the Butte site. Entries APB A-20, APB A-25 and APB A-15 were highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley; entries APB A-20, UCD 92-10585, APB A-15, APB A-25 and UCD 92-10588, in the San Joaquin Valley; and entries UCD 92-10588, CMB 90A-761, and BA 2391, in rainfed areas. In the three-year period 1996-98, entries UCD 92-10585, UCD 92-10588, and UCD 92-10615 (UC 937) were the highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley, while UCD 92-10588, BA 2391, Arivat, and UCD 92-10615 (UC 937) were the highest yielding in rainfed areas.

The intermountain spring barley test contained 31 entries (2-row and 6-row feed and malting barleys), including 18 cultivars and 13 advanced lines from twelve breeding programs (University of California, Oregon State University, USDA/University of Idaho, Busch Ag Resources, Coors, University of Minnesota, Utah State University, Washington State University, University of Saskatchewan, Western Plant Breeders, Arizona Plant Breeders, and World Wide Wheat). Stripe rust was severe at Tulelake and Siskiyou. Entries UCD 92-10591, UC/NK 2867 (UC 960), SR 58-4, BCD 47, Orca and Bancroft were resistant. Lodging was severe at Tulelake; entries UCD 92-10591, UC/NK 2867 (UC 960), NK2897/STP-B32, Orca, UT002120, UT004603, and BCD 22 had the best lodging resistance. Average yields ranged from 3920 lb/acre at the Lassen site to 4950 lb/acre at the Siskiyou site. Entries SR58-4 and NK2897/STP-B32 were the highest yielding at the Lassen site; Baronesse, Merit, and UT004603, at the Siskiyou site; and UT004603, UCD 92-10591, and UC/NK 2867 (UC 960), at the Tulelake site. Over the three locations, UT004603, Statehood, and the stripe rust resistant entry UC/NK 2867 (UC 960) were highest yielding in 1998. In the three-year period 1996-98, UCD 92-10591 and UC/NK 2867 (UC 960) were highest yielding at Tulelake; Baronesse and Rollo, at Siskiyou; and UC/NK 2867 (UC 960) and UCD 92-10591, region-wide.