VIRGINIA
Winter Barley Production and Research in 2000
W.L. Rohrer, T.H. Pridgen, C.A. Griffey, W.S. Brooks, M.E. Vaughn, and
D.E. Brann
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Growing Conditions
The 1999-2000 growing season was relatively dry with warm spells throughout. The most significant amount of winter precipitation fell east of the Blue Ridge with one storm dumping up to 24 inches of snow on some parts of eastern Virginia in late January. Temperatures fluctuated, particularly around February 25th, and soared to 77-83 degrees Farenheit (25-28 degrees Celsuis). Temperatures dropped late in the season when on April 7-9 they dove to around 32 degrees Farenheit (0 degrees Celsius) in the Blue Ridge region.
A considerable amount of rain fell in April, but lodging was kept to a minimum in the state cultivar tests (state average of 1.9 on a scale from 0.2-10, 10 being complete lodging). While traveling through the Northern Neck area of eastern Virginia we observed pockets of completely lodged barley in commercial fields caused by strong winds accompanied by heavy rain. In some cases several acres of barley were lying totally flat on the ground. A dismal sight indeed. The producers farming these fields will surely disagree with our reporting "minimal lodging" in 2000!
Disease pressure was a bit higher in 2000 than in 1999 due perhaps to the slightly wetter growing season. Incidence of powdery mildew [Erysiphe (Blumeria) graminis f. sp. hordei] was minimal while leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) was moderate.
Production
Virginia producers harvested 65,000 acres (26,325 ha) of winter feed-barley for grain in 2000. Grain yields across the state averaged 88 bu ac-1 (4730 kg ha-1) up from last year's 84 bu ac-1 (4515 kg ha-1). This year's yield exceeds the state yield-record set in 1995/1999 by 4 bu ac-1 (215 kg ha-1). Total grain production in 2000 was 5.7 million bushels (124,082 metric tons).
State Cultivar Tests
A total of 31 winter feed-barley entries were evaluated at 4 Virginia locations in the year 2000. Twenty-seven experimental lines and four released cultivars were included in the test. Nomini had the highest average yield with 130 bu ac-1 (6988 kg ha-1) and was the only entry to yield significantly higher than the test average of 114 bu ac-1 (6127.5 kg ha-1). Yields for the remaining 30 entries ranged from 97 to 121 bu ac-1 (5214 - 6504 kg ha-1). Starling, Callao, and Wysor yielded 121 bu ac-1 (6504 kg ha-1), 115 bu ac-1 (6181 kg ha-1), and 112 bu ac-1 (6020 kg ha-1), respectively. Average test weights of all entries ranged from 45.5 lbs bu-1 (586 kg m-3) to 52.6 lbs bu-1 (677 kg m-3). The test mean was 50.6 lbs bu-1 (651.2 kg m-3). Test weights among the released cultivars ranged from 47.6 lbs bu-1 (613 kg m-3) for Nomini to 52.0 lbs bu-1 (669 kg m-3) for Callao. Of the 16 entries with test weights significantly above the test mean, 15 were Virginia experimental lines and 1 was a released variety (Callao).
1999 Virginia Barley Yield Contest
Five producers representing four counties entered the 2000 Virginia Barley Yield Contest. Among participants, Robert G. Sanford of Westmoreland County had the highest yielding barley at 163.7 bu ac-1 (8799 kg ha-1) over a minimum area of 3 acres (1.2 ha). Other producers had yields ranging from 127.6 to 154.5 bu ac-1 (6859 - 8304 kg ha-1).
Barley Research and Outlook for 2001
We are continuing to develop and evaluate hulless barley lines derived from crosses between hulled cultivars and breeding lines with hulless lines from South Carolina and a number of outstanding hulless lines from the breeding program. Other breeding populations derived from crosses including hulless lines introduced from various sources (USDA World Collection, CIMMYT in Mexico, and Australia) are being advanced in the program. In the spring of 2000, we made 101 crosses in the greenhouse involving hulless parents. During the 1999-2000 field season, we grew out F1 progeny from 140 crosses made in 1999 and F2 progeny from 450 crosses made in 1998. In the summer of 2000, pure lines were selected from 8100 headrows derived from 32 hulless populations. The hulless lines that are in the advance stages of testing show a great deal of promise with respect to agronomic performance. Many lines have improved straw strength and grain plumpness and are less susceptible to disease (eg. leaf rust, powdery mildew and scald). In 2000-01, eight of our elite hulless lines will be evaluated in yield tests at ten locations (five locations in Virginia, one location in North Carolina, one location in Texas, one location in Kentucky, one location in Maryland and one location in Australia). In addition, 27 advance hulless lines were sent to cooperators in Maryland, Kentucky and Texas for evaluation in their program's 2000-01 field tests.
There were two new additions to our barley program this year. Two malting barley nurseries were planted at Warsaw in 2000. In the Malting Barley Observation test, 50 malting barley lines and 5 checks were observed. Of the malting barley lines, 6 were released varieties and 44 were experimental lines. This was a one-replication test used primarily to identify varieties with the greatest potential for production in the eastern U.S or that possess desirable traits that could be incorporated in to the breeding program. Average yield in the observation nursery was 90 bu ac-1 (4854 kg ha-1). Average test weight was 45.4 lbs bu-1 (584 kg m-3). The Malting Barley Yield test was replicated and consisted of 10 entries, 5 of which were malting barley. Of the six replications, three were untreated and three received identical seed treatments of Baytan, Captan, and Gaucho. Average yield for untreated reps was 113 bu ac-1 (6074 kg ha-1) while the average for treated reps was 121 bu ac-1 (6504 kg ha-1). Malting barley lines yielded an average of 96 bu ac-1 (5160 kg ha-1) and 104 bu ac-1 (5590 kg ha-1) in the untreated and treated reps, respectively. Average test weight for untreated reps was 49.6 lbs bu-1 (638 kg m-3) while the average for treated reps was 49.4 lbs bu-1 (636 kg m-3). Malting barley lines had an average test weight of 47.8 lbs bu-1 (615.2 kg m-3) and 47.7 lbs bu-1 (613.9 kg m-3) in the untreated and treated reps, respectively.