VIRGINIA
Winter Barley Production and Research in 2002
W.L. Rohrer, T.H. Pridgen, C.A. Griffey, W.S. Brooks, M.E. Vaughn, E.G. Rucker and D.E. Brann
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Growing Conditions
The 2001-2002 growing season was extremely dry with temperatures fluctuating but generally mild. Very little precipitation fell during the winter months. The dry and mild conditions were briefly interrupted by flash flooding in some areas (particularly southwest Virginia) in March, and two spring freezes, occurring in March and May. Damage from the freezes was widespread and extensive throughout Virginia, resulting in death of primary tillers. As in recent years, both the Blacksburg and Warsaw areas remained extremely dry throughout most of the spring and summer. Incidence of powdery mildew [Erysiphe (Blumeria) graminis f. sp. hordei] was minimal to none while leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) was moderate and net blotch (Pyrenophora teres f.sp. teres) moderately severe. Crop lodging was relatively minimal across the state (3.2 on a scale from 0.2 to 10).
Virginia producers harvested 55,000 acres (20,250 ha) of winter feed-barley for grain in 2002. Grain yields across the state averaged 82 bu/ac (4408 kg/ha) up from last year's 80 bu/ac (4300 kg/ha). Total grain production in 2002 was 4.1 million bushels (89,252 metric tons).
State Cultivar Tests
A total of 29 winter feed-barley entries and 18 hulless barley entries were evaluated at 5 Virginia locations in the year 2002. Twenty-four experimental hulled lines, five released cultivars, and eighteen experimental hulless lines were included in the test. Of the hulled entries, two Virginia experimental hulled barley lines had the highest average yield with 119 bu/ac (6396 kg/ha). Six hulled lines (five experimental plus Nomini) yielded significantly higher than the test average of 107 bu/ac (5751 kg/ha). Yields for the remaining 23 hulled entries ranged from 91 to 111 bu/ac (4891 to 5966 kg/ha). Nomini, Price, Wysor, Callao, and Catchpenny yielded 113 bu/ac (6074 kg/ha), 109 bu/ac (5859 kg/ha), 101 bu/ac(5429 kg/ha), 101 bu/ac(5429 kg/ha), and 91 bu/ac(4891 kg/ha), respectively. Average test weights of all hulled entries ranged from 49.0 lbs/bu (630.6 kg/m3) to 54.0 lbs/bu (695.0 kg/m3) with a statewide average of 51.7 lbs/bu (665.4 kg/m3). Test weights among the released cultivars ranged from 49.0 lbs/bu (630.6 kg/m3) for Catchpenny to 52.8 lbs/bu (679.5 kg/m3) for Callao.
Yields among hulless entries ranged from 74 bu/ac(4972 kg/ha) to 95 bu/ac(6383 kg/ha) with 7 lines performing significantly better than the state average of 84 bu/a (5644 kg/ha). Test weights among the hulless barley lines ranged from 55.0 lbs/bu (707.9 kg/m3) to 58.5 lbs/bu (752.9 kg/m3). The statewide average test weight of hulless entries was 56.8 lbs/bu (731.0 kg/m3).
Two producers participated in the 2002 Virginia Barley Yield Contest. Richard Sanford of Westmoreland County won the contest with a yield of 118.18 bu/ac (6352 kg/ha) over a minimum area of 3 acres (1.2 ha). J.M. Newcomb of Hanover County finished in second place with a yield of 109.66 bu/ac (5894 kg/ha).
Release of ‘Price’ Winter Feed Barley
Formerly designated VA96-44-321, Price winter feed barley was released by the Virginia Experimental Station in May 2002. The name Price was selected in recognition of Allen Mangas Price who devoted over 40 years of his life to the advancement of agriculture and the betterment of mankind. Under Allen Price’s direction, the Virginia Tech Barley Breeding Program undertook a revolutionary change to secure the future of barley as a viable crop in the mid-Atlantic region.
Price is a high yielding, moderately-early maturing, short awned, six-row winter-feed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) with very good straw strength and test weight. Price was derived from the cross ‘Callao’/SC830366. The experimental line SC830366 was derived at Clemson University from the cross ‘McNair 601’/ ’Harrison’// ’Gembloux’/3/’Henry’. The cross was made in spring1990, and the population was advanced from the F2 to F4 generation using a modified bulk breeding method. Barley spikes selected from the F4 bulk where threshed individually and planted in separate 4ft headrows. Price was derived as a bulk of one of these F5 headrows selected in 1995. The line was tested as entry 321 in non-replicated observation tests in 1996 and was designated VA96-44-321. This line was tested in Virginia’s Official Variety Trials from 1997 to 2001. It also was tested for three years (1998-2000) in the USDA-ARS Uniform Winter Barley Yield Nursery and in the USDA-ARS Uniform Barley Winter Hardiness Nursery.
Head emergence of Price is 1-2 days later than ‘Nomini’, 2-3 days later than Callao, and 2 days earlier than ‘Wysor’. Average plant height of Price (34 inches) is 1.5 inches (3.81 cm) taller than Callao, 4.5 inches (11.4 cm) shorter than Wysor and 5.5 inches (14.0 cm) shorter than Nomini. Straw strength (0=no lodging, 10=completely lodged) of Price (1.0) is excellent in comparison with Nomini (1.8), Wysor (2.0), and Callao (5.0). Average grain yields of Price (114.4 bu/ac; 6149 kg/ha) in Virginia have been similar to those of Nomini and Callao. In the Uniform Winter Barley Yield Nurseries (1998-99 and 1999-2000), average grain yields of Price (102 bu/ac; 5483 kg/ha) were similar to those of Nomini, and 3.5 bu/ac (188 kg/ha) higher than those of Callao. Over all locations (11-12 each year), Price ranked 2nd among 20 entries in 1998, 1st among 18 entries in 1999 and 9th among 25 entries in 2000. Average test weight of Price (50.3 lbs/bu; 647.4 kg/m3) in Virginia has been only slightly lower (0.7 lbs/bu; 9.0 kg/m3) than that of Callao, but has been significantly higher than those of Wysor (48.5 lbs/bu; 624.2 kg/m3) and Nomini (47.5 lbs/bu; 611.3 kg/m3). In the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 uniform nurseries, average test weight of Price (47.4 lbs/bu; 61.0 kg/m3) was 0.5 lbs/bu (6.4 kg/m3)lower than that of Callao, but nearly 3 lbs/bu (38.6 kg/m3) higher than those of Wysor and Nomini. Price has expressed good winter-hardiness (92% survival) in comparison with Wysor (95%), a very winter-hardy cultivar. In the 1998-2000 Uniform Barley Winter Hardiness Nursery, Price had a mean survival score of 72%, compared with 63% for ‘Tennessee Winter’, 82% for ‘Kentucky 1’, and 45% for the winter-tender check ‘Trebi’. Price is resistant to powdery mildew (Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei) and barley yellow dwarf. It is moderately resistant to leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) and scald (Rhynchosporium secalis). It is moderately susceptible to net blotch (Pyrenophora teres).
As a feed grain and rotational crop, Price barley is superior to Nomini, Starling, and Callao. Plant height of Price (34 inches; 86 cm) is 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) shorter than Nomini and Starling, thus producing less straw, and its average test weight (48.9 lbs/bu; 629.3 kg/m3) is 2-3 lbs/bu (26-39 kg/m3) higher than these awnless cultivars, thus producing grain of superior quality and marketability. Straw strength of Price is superior to that of Callao, which has been the primary factor limiting the acceptance and broad scale production of Callao. On the basis of its performance in the 1998-2000 Uniform Winter Barley Yield Nurseries and in the 2001 Official State Variety Trials, Price is broadly adapted. It ranked among the top ten yielding barley entries in tests conducted in one or more of the barley production regions in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Authorized seed classes of Price barley are Breeder, Foundation, Registered and Certified. Protection under the amended U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act of 1994 will be sought. Price Breeder seed will be maintained by the Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences and the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Blacksburg, Virginia. Requests for participation in production of Price and availability of Foundation seed should be directed to Bruce Beahm (804-472-3500), Manager, VCIA Foundation Seed Farm, Mount Holly, Virginia.
Since 1996, the Virginia Tech barley breeding program has focused on development and evaluation of hulless winter barley as an improved feed crop. Increased interest in the use of hulless barley in manufacturing food and fuel products, as well as feed, has accentuated our desire to develop hulless varieties having greater marketability in both domestic and foreign markets. Barley grain contains health-related compounds similar to those found in oats, adding to its appeal in the health food sector. The use of barley in ethanol production may soon become a reality and will provide a viable market for mid-Atlantic barley. Hulless barley is ideally suited for ethanol production because it has highly digestible energy due to a reduced fiber and elevated starch content. Other advantages to using hulless barley include its lower price per bushel compared to wheat and corn, plus its potential to produce a distiller grain product with higher protein content for livestock feed.
To date, significant progress has been made in the development of winter hulless barley lines. We are pleased to report that Virginia Tech has released Doyce as the first variety of hulless winter barley in the Mid-Atlantic region. Foundation seed for Doyce will be made available to seedsmen in the fall of 2003 and to growers in 2004. The Virginia Tech program has developed more than 1,100 hulless winter barley populations. In 2003, over 350 hulless populations and 300 pure lines in yield tests will be evaluated and pure lines will be selected among nearly 14,000 hulless headrows. Fifty-seven of our advanced hulless barley lines are being evaluated in four states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Delaware). In addition, 116 advance hulled and hulless barley lines were sent to USDA-ARS-EERC in Pennsylvania for analysis of chemical composition and end-use properties.
Another objective of the barley program is to develop adapted winter barley cultivars with low phytic acid content. This spring, 4 BC1F1 populations will be backcrossed and evaluated for phytic acid content. A lower phytic acid content will improve the nutritional value of barley fed to poultry and swine as well as provide a means for reducing waste-derived phosphorus pollution.