VIRGINIA

Winter Barley Production and Research in 2005

J.J. Paling, W.S. Brooks, M.E. Vaughn, C.A. Griffey, W.E Thomason, T.H. Pridgen, and E.G. Rucker

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Growing Conditions

Planting conditions in the fall of 2004 were favorable. Temperatures in October were near normal and slightly higher than average in November. Rainfall was slightly below normal for the fall, but November was a little higher than average. Winter and spring temperatures were near average with a warm period during January. Cool temperatures in March delayed the development of some small grains fields in the Southern and Eastern Counties. May was cooler than normal and mostly dry. These conditions were favorable for a long grain fill period resulting in excellent yields and test weights in much of the commonwealth in 2005. Harvest occurred a little later than usual due to the cool temperatures and some untimely rain on the Eastern Shore.

Diseases

Leaf rust (Puccinia hordei) and net blotch (Pyrenophora teres) were the most serious diseases noted in the state tests in 2005. Both diseases were rated or assessed in the barley tests grown at the Kentland Farm near Blacksburg, VA. Leaf rust severity ranged from low to moderately high in the barley lines and cultivars. Net Blotch incidence was moderate to severe in the hulless lines and was low to severe in the hulled lines. Septoria (Septoria passerinii) was present, but incidence was low in the state barley tests at one location in 2005. Incidence of powdery mildew [Erysiphe graminis f. sp. hordei (syn. Blumeria graminis)] in 2005 was low.

Production

Virginia producers harvested 45,000 acres (18,230 ha) of barley for grain, about 75 percent of the estimated 60,000 acres (24,300 ha) planted in the commonwealth in 2005. Both the number of acres planted and harvested were 5000 acres (2025 ha) higher than last year. The average state yield in 2005 was 87 bu/a (4680 kg/ha), 13 bu/a (700 kg/ha) higher than last year and much higher than the very low 62 bu/a (3330 kg/ha) in 2003. A total of 3.92 million bushels (85,300 Metric Tons), almost one million bushels more than in 2004, were harvested in the commonwealth in 2005.

State Variety Tests

A total of 47 barley entries were evaluated in Virginia’s Official Variety Test at several locations in the commonwealth in 2005. Twenty-four hulled and 23 hulless entries were tested. There were six released varieties and 18 experimental lines of hulled Barley in 2005. Among the hulless Barley entries, two released cultivars and 21 experimental lines were tested. Average yields of hulled lines over three locations ranged from 92 to 129 bu/a (4945 to 6930 kg/ha), with test weights from 42.3 to 48.8 lb/bu (545 to 630 kg/m³). Yields of the six released cultivars, respectively, were: ‘Thoroughbred’ - 129 bu/a (6930 kg/ha), ‘Price’ - 120 bu/a (6450 kg/ha), ‘Callao’ - 115 bu/a (6180 kg/ha), ‘Nomini’ - 113 bu/a (6070 kg,ha), ‘Wysor’ - 111 bu/a (5970 kg/ha), and ‘Barsoy’ - 92 bu/a (4950 kg/ha). Test weights of the released cultivars ranged from 43.2 to 47.5 lbs/bu (555 to 610 kg/m³). Yields of the experimental hulled entries ranged from 104 to 127 bu/a (5590 to 6830 kg/ha). Average yield of hulless entries was 80 bu/a (5020 kg/ha) and ranged from 67 bu/a (4200 kg/ha) to 87 bu/a (5460 kg/ha) across three locations. Test weights among the hulless barley lines ranged from 55.1 lbs/bu (710 kg/m³) to 58.4 lbs/bu (750 kg/m³). The statewide average test weight of hulless entries was 56.1 lbs/bu (720 kg/m³). Average yield of ‘Doyce’, a recently released hulless barley cultivar from Virginia, was 82 bu/a (5140 kg/ha) with a test weight of 55.1 lb/bu (710 kg/m³) in 2005. Doyce continues to be an excellent hulless barley cultivar and has the highest 3-year average yield of the hulless entries in the Virginia state tests.

2005 Virginia Barley Yield Contest

Entries were received for both hulled and hulless barley in 2005. There were four entries in the hulled barley section and three entries in the hulless barley section in 2005. This is the first year the Virginia barley yield contest had a separate category for hulless barley. All producers planted certified seed.

Highest yields of hulled barley were obtained by producers growing Thoroughbred and Price barley. Both varieties were recently released by the Virginia Tech Barley breeding program. Richard Sanford of Westmoreland county produced 135 bu/a (7260 kg/ha) of Thoroughbred and Vernon Moyer of Powhatan County produced 133 bu/a (7150 kg/ha) of Price barley. Excellent yields were also obtained by David Taliaferro of Essex County and Arthur Duke of Charles City County. David produced 123 bu/a (6610 kg/ha) of Price barley and Arthur produced 112 bu/a (6020 kg/ha) of ‘Starling’ barley.

The three entries in the hulless barley category were all of Doyce, Virginia’s recently released hulless barley cultivar. Jimmy and J.V. Oliver of Isle of Wight county produced 133 bu/a, Dan and Craig Brann of Northumberland county produced 117 bu/a, and David Taliaferro produced 85 bu/a. The awards were sponsored by the Virginia Crop Improvement Association with the goal of increasing awareness of hulless barley among producers.

Congratulations to all contestants in the 2005 Virginia Barley Yield Contests.

Barley Research and Outlook for 2006

Winter barley is an integral component of the cropping system in the Eastern United States. However, production has declined dramatically due to low world market prices and decreasing subsidies for producers even though the region is a feed grain deficient area. The economic viability of U.S. barley industry will be enhanced by helping farmers to reduce production costs and increase profitability of barley cultivars possessing genes that confer high yields and superior quality, which are more desirable in export and high-value markets.

Efforts have been initiated by the Virginia Tech breeding program to accelerate development of improved and higher quality hulless barley cultivars for use as animal feed, human consumption, and domestic fuel ethanol production. Rapid progress is being made by the breeding program in developing new hulless cultivars for production in the mid-Atlantic region. This year (2006) we will advance around 200 hulless populations, evaluate over 300 pure lines in yield tests, and select pure lines among nearly 4,000 hulless headrows. Thirteen elite hulless lines will be evaluated in cooperating states. An additional 73 advance winter hulless barley lines are being evaluated in five states (Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware, and North and South Carolina). Perdue farms continuing commitment to offer contracts to growers in the region to produce and deliver grain of Doyce hulless barley in 2006 also provides promise for an initial market for hulless barley. This season (2005-2006), approximately 6 acres of one of our most advanced hulless lines (VA01H-68) was grown at the Virginia Crop Improvement Association’s Foundation seed farm at Mount Holly, Virginia in consideration for potential release. VA01H-68 has a higher test weight and better seed quality than Doyce hulless barley. In addition, VA01H-68 is two or more days earlier heading than Doyce and has higher grain protein content.

Our program is also collaborating with other barley breeding programs around the country on a barley Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP) grant from the USDA. This collaboration allows us to send 96 of our advance barley lines to be evaluated with barley lines from 9 other breeding programs for traits of economic interest using DNA markers located throughout the genome. These lines also will be evaluated in field tests for important traits of interest. The marker data and field data for barley lines from all breeding programs will be analyzed together using association mapping, which will allow for the identification of specific chromosomes or chromosome regions responsible for or controlling specific traits of interest. Our program role in this grant is that, we will screen the 96 barley lines sent from each breeding program for reaction to three separate races of barley leaf rust, a significant disease of barley in Virginia. Our efforts will continue toward the development of hulless barley varieties for specific end-use markets benefiting producers in the mid-Atlantic region.