CALIFORNIA
California Report
L.F. Jackson and L.W. Gallagher
Department of Agronomy and Range Science
University of California, Davis
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 and/or malting 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 130,000 acres in 2003.
Barley stripe rust remains the most important disease. Low barley stripe rust severity occurred in commercial fields in 2003 since the predominant cultivars, UC 937 and UC 933, are resistant to current races. However, susceptible cultivars in the statewide tests such as Max and Commander had 100% severity by late May in yield trials in the Central Valley. Five races of the stripe rust fungus were detected in California in 2003, including one new (PSH-69).
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. New sources for disease resistance are being used to confer resistance to cereal yellows CYDV-RPV transmitted by Rhopalosiphum padi. For six-rowed barley two lines (Bella Union and Egypt4/Teran78//P.Sto/3/Quina) are being used as donors in new crosses to UC 1047, our best feed barley. For two-rowed barley the line Madre Selva is being used as a parent. All three of these lines were developed by the ICARDA/CIMMYT barley program in Mexico. The best parent used for the development of two-rowed malting barley is 29 IBON 20, which is Canela/Gob//Aleli, and developed in Mexico. This line exceeded the malt check Harrington in its first year of testing at CCRU, USDA Malt Lab in Madison, WI.
Evaluations for the University of California Cooperative Extension statewide testing program were conducted in the intermountain valleys of northern California, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, and in the south central coastal region in 2003. 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.
Intermountain winter barley. The fall-sown winter barley test in Siskiyou county contained 8 cultivars. Frost injury (tips of spikes) was visible on Steptoe (the spring barley check) by the soft dough stage (6/23). Stripe rust was moderately severe on Steptoe and scald was moderately severe on Eight Twelve. Yields ranged from 5170 to 8020 lb/acre. Eight Twelve and Strider were the highest yielding in 2003 and in the two-year period 2002-2003.
Fall-sown spring barley. The fall-sown spring barley test, grown at 7 locations, contained 27 entries (twenty-six 6-row spring feed types and one 2-row spring feed type), including 9 cultivars and 18 advanced lines. Diseases were severe on only a few entries: Stripe rust was severe on Max and Commander at the UC Davis and Madera Co sites; net blotch, on Meltan at the UC Davis and Butte Co sites; scald, on Commander at the Glenn Co site and on Max, Patti, and Commander at the Butte Co site; and BYD, on Meltan at the UC Davis and Madera Co sites and on Commander at the UC Davis site. Average yields ranged from 1060 lb/acre at the rainfed San Luis Obispo Co site to 7900 lb/acre at the UC Davis site. Entry 1090 (UCD PYT01 C6) was highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley (eight other entries also averaged over 8000 lb/acre in that region); entries 1090 (UCD PYT01 C6) and 1113 (UCD C124), in the San Joaquin Valley; and entries 1117 (UCD C142) and 1118 (UCD C147), at rainfed sites. In the three-year period 2001-2003, entry 1047 (UCD PYT99 A-13) and UC 933 have been the highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley; entry 1047 (UCD PYT99 A-13) and Patti, in the San Joaquin Valley; and UC 933, Meltan, and entry 1047 (UCD PYT99 A-13) at rainfed sites.
Intermountain spring barley. The intermountain spring barley test, grown at three locations, contained 32 entries, including 20 cultivars and 12 advanced lines. Late season moisture stress reduced yields, bushel weights and kernel weights at the Lassen Co and Siskiyou Co sites, while high yields, bushel weights and kernel weights were attained at the Tulelake site. Stripe rust was severe to moderately severe on several entries, including Steptoe, Legacy, and entries 1083 (6B95-2482), and 1126 (UCD-TL02-79), at the Tulelake site. Average yields ranged from 2950 lb/acre at the Lassen Co site to 6730 lb/acre at the Tulelake site. In the period 2001-2003, entry 1079 (93Ab688), Millenium and Brigham were highest yielding region-wide; Xena was highest yielding in Siskiyou Co; and entries 1079 (93Ab688), 1105 (UCD-TL163), Millenium, Brigham, and 1099 (UCD-TL20), at Tulelake. The 2002 Western Regional Spring Barley Test (37 entries), sown in the fall, 2002, at UC Davis, had moderate to high levels of stripe rust, powdery mildew, BYDV, and scald. Yields ranged from 2240 to 5250 lb/acre. The highest yielding entries were the stripe rust resistant BCD 47 (from Oregon State University) and BZ596-117 (from Western Plant Breeders). The 2003 Western Regional Spring Barley Test (33 entries), sown in the spring, 2003 at Tulelake, was high yielding (yields ranged from 5300 to 8060 lb/acre) and relatively disease-free (Steptoe had severe stripe rust and a few entries had moderately severe stripe rust). The highest yielding entry was from Utah (UT97B1480-1632).
About 2200 barley lines (primarily assembled by USDA-ARS, Aberdeen from the NSGC and public and private breeders; additional lines were received directly from breeders) were screened for resistance to barley stripe rust (BSR) in 2003. Germplasm included 1000 lines from the NSGC (representing 49 countries of origin) and cooperator lines from An Hang (Idaho), Bregitzer (Idaho), Hensleigh (Montana), Hayes (Oregon), Ullrich (Washington), and Franckowiak (North Dakota); additional lines/populations were screened for Hayes (Oregon), Carleton (Arizona Plant Breeders), and Pickering (New Zealand). The cultivars Russell and Bancroft were repeated checks throughout the nursery, while spreader rows of the California susceptible check cultivar, Max, also were sown throughout the nursery. BSR first appeared in late February on a few very susceptible entries and reached high levels on many susceptible entries by late April. Disease severity ratings were made on April 21 and May 12 for the cooperator lines and on April 22 and May 14 for the NSGC accessions. At the time of the final BSR severity rating (May 12-14), about 14% of the NSGC accessions and 37% of the cooperator lines had a 50-100S reaction. About 50% of the NSGC accessions (including a high proportion of lines from Ethiopia) and 10% of the cooperator lines remained BSR-free. BYD, leaf rust, powdery mildew, net blotch and scald also occurred in the nursery; entries with severe levels of these diseases were noted. Among the NSGC accessions, 137 lines had severe BYD; 106, severe leaf rust; 36, severe powdery mildew; 4, severe net blotch; and 13, severe scald. Among the cooperator lines, 93 lines had severe BYD; 7, severe leaf rust; 47, severe powdery mildew; 30, severe net blotch; and 50, severe scald.
Twelve BSR collections from California were sent to Xianming Chen, USDA pathologist at Washington State University in Pullman, WA for race identification. Five races were identified, including one new (PSH-69). Statewide yield losses due to stripe rust were estimated at 2% in 2003.