Annual Progress Report on Malting Barley Research March, 2009

EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES
<strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Progress</strong> <strong>Report</strong>
on
Malting Barley Research
March, 2009
American Malting Barley Association, Inc.
740 N. Plankinton Ave., #830; Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203; (414) 272-4640, http://www.AMBAinc.org

Two-rowed and six-rowed malting barley germplasm development in California.
Lynn Gallagher, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA
Executive Summary
This project will help meet the goals of AMBA when breeding objectives are met wherein a
developmental pipeline is filled with spring barley germplasm (both two- and six-rowed) having
favorable alleles (genes) conferring resistances to several diseases combined with malting
characteristics resulting in germplasm highly adapted to the Western growing region. The foliar
disease resistances being incorporated include those for barley stripe rust, Barley Yellow
Dwarf (BYD), Cereal Yellow Dwarf (CYD), leaf rust, scald, and net blotch. Both BYD and CYD
were abundant last year. Two-rowed, short statured lines derived from Oregon St selections
(BU, SAL, and BCD) crossed to the ICARDA /CIMMYT line Triumph/Tyra //2*Arupo
‘S’/Abyssinian (TTA) were highly susceptible to CYD-RPV. The causal RPV-virus was
confirmed as present in tissue of Atlas 57. As a result of the unusual ubiquity of CYD, very few
two-rowed lines were sent to CCRU for analyses. Table 1 presents selected data for the
advanced lines retained for further observation.
The ICARDA/CIMMYT line ‘Madre Selva’ is resistant to the CYD-RPV virus and has been
used in crossing. In addition CYD resistance might be found in two-rowed ICARDA/CIMMYT
advanced lines having 28IBON107, 29IBON20, 29IBON58, and 23IBON61 in their parentage.
CYD resistant lines should emerge from the continuous screening of ICARDA/CIMMYT
material. For six-rowed barleys four malting sources have been focused upon: they are from
Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Minnesota. Given the long time but sporadic presence of
CYD-RPV virus, six-rowed UC parents are likely to have resistance and appeared much less
subject \to yield losses than was the two-rowed material. Another round of selection and
generation advance was completed.
Development of 2 and 6-row Spring and Winter Malting Barleys for the Intermountain
West: Variety and Germplasm Development
Executive Summary
Major objectives and expected benefits:
DE Obert
USDA-ARS National Small Grains Research Facility
Aberdeen, ID 83210
Our project mission is two-fold: 1) develop and provide to industry and producers superior
widely adapted malt barley cultivars, and 2) develop improved barley germplasm which can be
used by other public and private barley breeding programs. In addition to variety development
our work also provides valuable information to private industry, other breeders, and barley
producers via multiple location testing of lines from other breeding programs. Therefore, we
assist in meeting the mission of AMBA by the development of improved varieties, assisting
other breeding programs in their effort to release improved cultivars, and providing information
for the management of malt cultivars.

Our major objective is to develop malting barleys that can be grown over large and diverse
production areas to provide a uniform supply of barley for the malting industry. This goal is
being accomplished by testing multiple generations of our breeding lines at all locations in
Idaho that either currently grow malt barley or that have potential for expanded malting barley
production. In addition, we also test our elite spring lines in Montana and our advanced and
elite winter lines in Kansas, Oregon, and Washington. Expected benefits include 1) more
widely adapted cultivars to irrigated and rain-fed areas of current production and 2) lines that
expand the potential for malting barley production into under-utilized cropping systems, such
as winter production in environments currently used only for feed barley.
MINNESOTA BARLEY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
Kevin P. Smith
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, U.S.A.
Executive Summary
The overall aim of this research is to develop new six-rowed barley varieties with
acceptable malt quality, improved disease resistance, and high yield potential. This
research will directly assist in AMBA’s mission to provide an adequate supply of high
quality malting barley. Barley improvement at the University of Minnesota is a
cooperative effort of the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, the Department
of Plant Pathology, and the Research and Outreach Centers of the University of
Minnesota. Specific breeding goals include high yield, enhanced lodging resistance,
resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB), net blotch, spot blotch, stem rust, and
Septoria speckled leaf blotch (SSLB), and favorable malting and brewing
characteristics. To meet these objectives, we are conducting a comprehensive
breeding and genetics research effort funded by state and federal grants. This AMBA
project supports breeding activities (making crosses, population development, trait
evaluation, breeding line selection) directed toward the development of new varieties.
In January of 2008, the variety Rasmusson (experimental designation M109) was
released by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and it has now been added
to the AMBA list of recommended malting barley varieties. Our first variety candidate
with enhanced FHB resistance, M122, is currently in AMBA plant-scale brewing
evaluations which will be carried out with malt from the 2008 crop.
Specific expected outputs on a yearly basis are: 1) development of breeding
populations segregating for useful genes; 2) barley germplasm with specific desirable
traits; 3) a steady flow of variety candidates into the AMBA pilot malting and plantscale
brewing programs.
The following are some of the most significant accomplishments from the previous
year:
Variety Rasmusson (M109) released in January 2008 added to AMBA list of
recommended malting barley varieities.
Variety candidate M122 advanced to plant-scale evaluation and is currently under
evaluation with the 2008 crop.

MANAGEMENT AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BARLEY DISEASES
Ruth Dill-Macky, Amar Elakkad and Karen Wennberg
Department of Plant Pathology
University of Minnesota
St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Executive Summary (non-technical terms): This is an applied research program directed to
the control of the plant disease issues of importance to the barley industry in Minnesota and
the Upper Midwest. The emphasis of the research is directed to research on the foliar
pathogens of barley. Fusarium head blight (FHB or scab) presents the greatest threat to the
production of malt quality barley in Minnesota and research on FHB has been the principle
focus of the program. The foliar diseases of greatest importance in Minnesota include net
blotch, spot blotch, Septoria leaf blotch, and the rusts (leaf and stem). Barley research at the
University of Minnesota is a cooperative effort, conducted by faculty of the Department of Plant
Pathology, the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics and the Research and Outreach
Centers of the University of Minnesota. The joint efforts of these research programs have
resulted directly in the development of new malting barley varieties suitable for production in
the upper Midwest of the United States.
The screening of breeding materials for multiple disease resistance is the most significant
accomplishment of this program. In 2008 this project was instrumental in the screening of
12,368 field rows over three Minnesota locations (St Paul, Morris and Crookston) and 240 pots
in the greenhouse for resistance to FHB. The project was also involved in the screening of
315 rows in the field (Stephen) and 3,537 pots in the greenhouse for response to Pyrenophora
teres (net blotch).
MISSION: The primary purpose of AMBA is to encourage and support an adequate supply of
high quality malting barley for the malting and brewing industry and increase our
understanding of malting barley.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Develop six-row and two-row malting barley varieties broadly
adapted for the barley production areas of North America with suitable agronomic, malting, and
brewing performance.
Investigations on Barley Diseases and Their Control
Brian J. Steffenson
Department of Plant Pathology
University of Minnesota
Executive Summary
Plant diseases are one of the most important constraints to barley (Hordeum vulgare)
production and quality in the United States. Our Cereal Disease Resistance Project is part of
the Minnesota Barley Improvement Program team that develops six-rowed malting barley
cultivars for the Midwest. The primary mission of the Cereal Disease Resistance Project at the

University of Minnesota is the control of economically important barley diseases. For many
diseases, this goal is best achieved through the development of cultivars with genetic
resistance. Thus, the long-term goal of this project is to develop the knowledge base,
resources, and germplasm for achieving durable disease resistance in malting barley cultivars.
In addition to these goals, it is also essential to conduct disease surveys and monitor pathogen
populations for new virulence types. In 2008, breeding lines were sown for evaluation for
resistance to spot blotch, net blotch, and Septoria speckled leaf blotch (SSLB). Durable
resistance has been achieved for spot blotch. Our evaluations ensure that this resistance is
not lost when exotic material is introgressed into the breeding program. Indeed, we identified a
number susceptible lines from the Busch Agricultural Resources, Inc. (BARI) breeding program
in this test. These lines have now been discarded. We are also working on increasing the
level of resistance to net blotch and SSLB in the Minnesota program. Toward this end, we
have identified a number of agronomically advanced lines with high levels of resistance to both
diseases. Our annual disease survey was conducted on July 16-17 in 2008. Fusarium head
blight and net blotch continue to be among the most common diseases on barley. Additional
pathogen isolates were collected from this survey and were stored in our pathogen collection.
Pathogen isolates are an essential resource for resistance breeding efforts and the
identification of novel sources of disease resistance. They are also useful as a historical
record of virulence shifts in pathogen populations. Our research goals all directly address
AMBA’s primary objective of developing malting barley cultivars with improved agronomic and
quality characters. The deployment of superior malting cultivars with disease resistance will
help ensure that an adequate supply of high quality malting barley is available to the malting
and brewing industry.
Improving Malting Barley Varieties for Montana and the West
Dr. Tom Blake & Dr. Victoria Carollo Blake
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717
blake@montana.edu
Executive Summary:
Malt barley production appears to be continuing to expand in Montana. This derives from
several factors, including the high cost of nitrogen fertilizer and the near-collapse of the wheat market.
Feed barley prices declined in 2008 and 2009, and the spread between malt and feed barley price means
that malting barley will continue its expansion into marginal environments. Malting barley varieties
must compete with feed barley varieties for yield and production reliability, and with wheat varieties for
economic return. The MSU program has focused on the development of high-yielding, more reliable
malting barley varieties for the past two decades, and our program is finally producing tangible results
with the recent release of ‘Hockett’, and the impending release of ‘Geraldine’ and the as yet unnamed
MT010158. In the next two years, we expect these varieties to enter commercial production, and we
predict that barley producers will be happy to produce them.
Improving yield and reliability while retaining Harrington-like quality and flavor is key to
restoring the health of American malt barley production. Domestic barley acreage declined from more
than 12 million acres in 1986 to about four million acres in 2007. North Dakota, Idaho and Montana,
account for about 80% of US barley acreage. If barley is to regain its historical position, it must be more
competitive with its traditional rotation crops, winter and spring wheat. The MSU barley improvement
program took the lead in mapping the location of qGPC6H, the ‘Karl’ gene that confers reduced grain

protein percentage (Distelfeld et al., 2007). The homologue of this gene was recently cloned from
durum wheat (Uauy et al., 2006). We backcrossed the Karl allele into several genetic backgrounds, both
2-rowed and 6-rowed, and the gene performed as predicted, reducing grain protein percentage by
approximately 1.5%. Percent protein reduction appears to be entirely the consequence of increased
starch deposition and dilution by starch. Altering barley’s protein:starch deposition strategy could have
a real impact on the ability of dryland barley growers to reliably produce grain that meets malting
standards.
We began exploring whether genetic diversity for straw digestibility can be found within barley
germplasm resources in 2006. We found substantial diversity in forage and straw degradability in a
subset of lines from the barley core collection. We selected 360 entries from the barley core collection
that represented the range of straw and forage digestibility from the barley core collection and
determined their genetic haplotypes at 1140 loci utilizing the Illumina pilot OPA1. We performed
association analyses to map genes controlling forage and straw digestibility, heading date, and plant
height. This association analysis identified well-known heading date and plant height genes, as well as
genes impacting straw degradability. In 2007 we grew the entire barley core collection at 2 locations
and harvested straw and forage from these 1916 lines. These were subjected to straw soluble
carbohydrate analysis, and substantial variation was observed. We localized six genes contributing to
straw soluble carbohydrate content, and are now backcrossing these genes into a wide array of malting
barley varieties.
Commercialization of Geraldine, MT010158 and Hockett should take place over the next two
years. Determination of the impact qGPC6H on malt quality and variety reliability is well underway.
We feel confident that we will identify germplasm resources containing genes that will confer improved
straw ethanol production. Whether these will also confer increased tendency to lodge, or have other
negative impacts on grain yield, quality or reliability will be determined.
Three severe hail storms in early July of 2008 destroyed our early generation evaluations at the
A.H. Post Research Farm, near Bozeman, MT. Our program was significantly slowed by this natural
disaster, and this document reflects our altered research timelines.
MISSION: The MSU barley improvement program is fully supportive of the AMBA mission. Our
objective is to make malting barley a more attractive alternative to potential barley producers throughout
the western United States. While we have traditionally focused on 2-rowed variety development, the
westward expansion of 6-rowed malt barley varieties encouraged the reestablishment of our 6-rowed
barley improvement program in 2004. Lines from this program are now entering yield trials, and
regionally-adapted 6-rowed germplasm will be aggressively advanced through our trialing system.
Our strong collaboration with the University of Idaho and Idaho-ARS barley programs through
the CSREES-supported ‘Barley for Rural Development’ program has enabled collaborative testing of
our varieties beyond the scope of the Western Regional Nurseries program. Our program took the lead
in collaborative yield trials, growing the USDA-supported Barley CAP spring barley yield trials,
consisting of 768 entries, in two locations (irrigated and dryland) with 2 replications per location. We
identified excellent lines from each of the 8 contributing programs, and will grow the CAP yield trials
and smaller yield trials consisting of the best entries from last years’ trial this spring.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
The MSU barley improvement program is devoted to the development of malting barley varieties
that will result in the reestablishment of expanded malt barley production throughout the Western US.
We utilize the best available genetic and agronomic technologies to accomplish this objective.

Breeding and Genetics of Six-and Two-rowed Malting Barley
Richard D. Horsley
Department of Plant Sciences
North Dakota State University
Executive Summary
The objective of the project is to develop and release improved six- and two-rowed malting
barley varieties acceptable to barley producers in North Dakota and adjacent areas in the
United States, and to those who use or process this barley. This objective is being
accomplished using traditional breeding methodologies. Traits receiving top priorities are
improved malt quality, resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) and foliar diseases, reduced
deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation, and improved agronomic performance. In the short-term,
varieties with acceptable malt quality will be developed that accumulate 25% less DON than
Robust for six-rowed lines and less DON than Conlon for two-rowed lines. Long-term goals are
to develop varieties that accumulate 75% less DON than Robust for six-rowed lines and 25-
50% less DON than Conlon. Today’s growers have many choices of crops to produce. All new
varieties with acceptable malting and brewing quality also must have sufficient agronomic
performance to make them competitive with other barley varieties and other crops. Our
improved varieties must consistently meet the quality needs of the malting and brewing
industries and the demands of the growers.
For the first time, a six-rowed line (ND20448) from our breeding project with improved FHB
resistance and acceptable malt quality is being tested in the AMBA Plant Scale Evaluation
program. ND20448 accumulates about 30% less DON than Robust, yields intermediate to
Robust and Stellar-ND, and appears to have acceptable malt quality. ND20448 was grown on
approximately 600 acres in North Dakota during summer 2008 to provide grain for AMBA Plant
Scale evaluation by Cargill Malt, Anheuser-Busch, and Miller Brewing.
The North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station released Pinnacle, tested as 2ND21863, in
July 2007. Pinnacle has a high yield potential across a wide range of growing conditions in the
northern Great Plains, straw strength approaching that of the best six-rowed varieties, and
excellent malt quality. Approximately 400 acres of Pinnacle was grown during summer 2008 to
produce grain for its first year of AMBA Plant Scale evaluation by Rahr Malting, MaltEurop,
Miller Brewing, Bell’s Brewery, and Boulevard Brewing.
MALTING AND BREWING QUALITY OF BARLEY
Dr Paul Schwarz & Dr Yin Li
Department of Plant Sciences
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND 58105
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The primary goals of the Barley Quality Program at NDSU are to provide individuals in the
barley improvement program with barley and malt quality analytical services, 2.) to conduct
applied research that addresses issues of immediate concern and improves the understanding
of malting quality, 3.) to conduct the annual survey of regional barley crop quality, and 4.) to

provide training in cereal chemistry with particular emphasis on the science of malting and
brewing.
Major Objectives and Expected Benefits (goals 1 and 2: AMBA funded projects):
Barley and Malt Quality Analyses: Malt quality analyses provided to individuals in the NDSU
barley variety development program (and others) directly assists AMBA in meeting its mission
of providing the malting and brewing industries with an abundant supply of high quality malting
barley. Early generation screening for malt quality is important in streamlining the overall
malting barley variety development process. Elimination of undesirable materials at an early
stage increases the overall quality of materials submitted for laboratory malting. Barley and
malt quality analyses conducted for breeding research projects contribute to a more complete
understanding of the genetics of malting quality. Likewise, quality analyses conducted for
barley production studies help maintain barley as a competitive crop within the region.
Research Studies - Applied quality research directly addresses the AMBA mission to increase
the understanding of malting barley. Projects which have addressed immediate issues have
had major impact. Our past research work on pre-harvest sprouting and deoxynivalenol are
important examples of immediate issues.
Net Blotch of Barley: Survey of Pathogen Virulence
Timothy L. Friesen
United States Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
Northern Crop Science Laboratory
1307 N. 18 th St.
Fargo, ND 58105-5677
Executive Summary (non-technical terms):
Because net blotch on barley has the potential to cause severe yield loss as well as a
reduction in quality and that most barley lines are moderately to highly susceptible, it is
important that we have an understanding of host resistance and pathogen virulence in this
important host-pathogen system. The research in this proposal was aimed at continued
characterization of pathogen virulence present in the Pyrenophora teres field population.
Successful progress in this research will help our understanding of the virulence as it relates to
specific resistance genes in the host with the ultimate goal of being able to effectively breed for
durable net blotch resistance. In related projects in our lab we are identifying and
characterizing barley resistance genes and pathogen virulence genes and have prioritized
those projects based on this field population survey.
In the present study we are identifying which resistance sources are effective and
ineffective in combating net blotch of barley in the field population in the ND/MN region. In the
process of evaluating the different resistance sources we are able to monitor changes in
virulence within the pathogen population year to year, showing that the pathogen population
has the ability to change if selection pressures such as the introduction of major resistance
genes were applied.

Using a varied barley differential set with published differences, we have identified
which lines contain the most effective resistance. When considering collections from Langdon
and Fargo, ND in years 2004-2008, the most consistently resistant sources were Algerian,
CI5791, and Heartland. All other resistance sources were susceptible to at least one isolate
collected during this period.
The most significant accomplishment in this work was the identification of which
resistant sources are overcome and which ones contain potentially durable net blotch
resistance that could be used in combating net blotch in this region as well as the identification
of virulence changes within the pathogen population from year to year.
MISSION: The primary purpose of AMBA is to encourage and support an adequate supply of
high quality malting barley for the malting and brewing industry and increase our
understanding of malting barley. Our project has messed with that mission by supplying data
that can be used by breeders to more intelligently choose sources of net blotch resistance for
introgression
Primary Objective:
Net blotch caused by the fungus Pyrenophora teres Drechs. f. teres Smedeg.
(anamorph: Drechslera teres) is one of the most economically important diseases in barley
growing regions of the United States and the world. This disease is a perennial problem
especially in cool, wet barley growing regions although it has been seen in dry regions as well
(Mathre 1982). The majority of barley cultivars grown in the United States are moderately to
highly susceptible to net blotch of barley. Therefore, it is critical that we have an
understanding of the pathogen population to properly develop barley cultivars with durable
resistance to net blotch. The objective of this project was to evaluate the North Dakota field
population at two locations. This study focused on the level of variability present in the P. teres
population as it relates to identified host resistance in a differential barley set.
Germplasm Enhancement for RWA Resistance
D.W. Mornhinweg and Gary Puterka
USDA-ARS Plant Science and Water Conservation Research Laboratory
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Executive Summary
Whenever insect pests impact grain yield of barley they affect malting quality. The major
cause of yield loss with RWA feeding is through head trapping which results in reduced fertility
and a severe decrease in plumpness of surviving seed. Not only is less grain available for
malt, but the quality of that grain is greatly decreased. When RWA feeds on susceptible plants,
the new leaves do not unroll and aphids build up in high numbers inside the unrolled leaves
where they are protected from contact insecticides as well as natural parasites and predators,
wind, and rain. In years of severe or early infestation, chemical control can only be
accomplished with repeated applications of systemic insecticides. These chemicals are not
only expensive for barley producers but could quite possibly end up in malt produced from
treated fields. The solution to these problems is resistant varieties. 109 unadapted

germplasm lines have been developed in previous years as a part of this project after
screening the entire NSGC. Two lines (STARS 9301B and STARS 9577B) have been officially
released to breeders while the others were available upon request. Inheritance studies for
STARS 9301B and STARS 9577B, accomplished in previous years by this project, have given
barley breeders valuable information on how to best utilize these germplasm lines in their
breeding programs.
Negative affects on yield and malting quality are often associated with the use of unadapted
germplasm in a breeding program, so a prebreeding program was instituted to bring resistant
genes into good malting quality backgrounds adapted to all the barley growing areas of the US.
Due to the common occurrence in aphid populations of biotype change after which the aphid
can overcome resistance, all 109 resistant sources have been utilized in this prebreeding
program in hopes of producing germplasm with genetic diversity for resistance which could
protect barley from any future aphid biotype change. Such a biotype change occurred in the
summer of 2003 when wheat varieties resistant to RWA1 were severely damaged and yields
greatly reduced. This new biotype has since been named RWA2. Since that time yet another
7 biotypes (RWA3, RWA4, RWA5, RWA6, RWA7, and RWA8) have been reported and more
are suspected. All 109 RWA1-resistant unadapted barley germplasm lines were screened
against RWA2, RWA3, and all resistant lines maintained their resistance. In further screening,
all 43 RWA-resistant spring barley germplasm lines (STARS 0601B - STARS 0643B) were
resistant to RWA1 – RWA5. Resistance in STARS 9301B and STARS 9577B has held for
RWA1 – RWA8.
Fifty adapted germplasm lines have now been released from the backcross breeding program.
Nineteen, RWA resistant, 6-rowed, spring, barley germplasm lines in 6-rowed, malting barley
backgrounds (STARS 0601B –STARS 0619B) and 17, RWA resistant, 2-rowed, spring, barley
germplasm lines in 2-rowed, malting barley backgrounds (STARS 0620B – STARS 0636B)
were released in 2006. Breeders should be able to utilize these germplasm lines directly in a
breeding program with reduced detrimental affect on malting quality as well as grain yield.
Seven, RWA-resistant, winter, feed barley germplasm lines in a Schuyler background (STARS
0501B – STARS 0507B) were released in the fall of 2005 and seven, RWA-resistant, 2-rowed,
spring, feed barley germplasm lines (STARS 0637B – STARS 0643B) were released in 2006.
There are 34 different sources of resistance involved in these 50 germplasm lines. All 43
spring germplasm releases were tested against 5 biotypes of RWA in 2006.
Burton, a RWA-resistant, high yielding, spring, 2-rowed spring barley was released in 2004.
Stoneham and Sidney, RWA-resistant, drought hardy, spring, 2-rowed, feed barley cultivars
were released in 2006. These barleys are not only RWA-resistant but also adapted to the high
and dry production areas of eastern Colorado and Wyoming and western Nebraska and
Kansas where the RWA is a constant production threat. RWA 1758, a RWA-resistant high
yielding, spring, 2-rowed, feed barley cultivar in a Baroness background was released in 2007.
Burton and Sidney have resistance from STARS 9301B while Stoneham and RWA 1758 have
resistance from STARS 9577B. QTL analysis reported in 2007 and 2008 supported traditional
inheritance study results which indicated genetic diversity in STARS 9301B and STARS 9577B.
The second phase of the pre-breeding program is to determine the inheritance and genetic
diversity of resistance in released germplasm lines. This was the focus of research for
2007and 2008. Inheritance studies give breeders information on how best to utilize RWA-

esistant germplasm lines in their breeding programs. The genetic populations necessary for
inheritance studies have been developed through crossing and seed increase in previous
years. Inheritance studies are labor intensive and time consuming limiting the number of
studies to 2 or 3 within an acceptable screening environment any given year. Information from
two inheritance studies completed in 2007 will allow breeders to best utilize malting barley
germplasm lines STARS 0604B, STARS 0613B, and STARS 0636B as well as feed barley
germplasm line STARS 0639B and STARS 0502B. The inheritance study completed in 2008
provides the same information to breeders for malting barley germplasm line STARS 0623B.
Cooperative projects are currently underway to identify genetic markers and map genes for
RWA resistance in 3 RWA-resistant populations. In the future, marker analysis will be
combined with traditional multiple allelism tests to determine genetic diversity of RWA
resistance in released germplasm.
Bird cherry-oat aphid (BCOA), most often considered a crop pest because of its ability to
vector yield devastating BYDV, has been reported to cause yield reduction of up to 50% from
aphid feeding alone. BCOA is adapted to barley production conditions world wide and can
damage winter barley in the fall as well as winter and spring barley in the spring. Yield
reductions are most often attributed to a reduction in seed number and seed weight and have
been associated with BCOA damaged plants inability to withstand environmental stress.
Resistance to BCOA would protect malting barley from feeding damage and could reduce
BYDV incidence by a reduction in phloem feeding. Application of established seedling
screening techniques to identify BCOA resistance has not been successful because seedlings
under standard conditions are asymptomatic. A screening technique has been developed by
the USDA-ARS, Stillwater, in which seedlings, screened under high temperatures and long day
lengths, show a varied response (from live to dead) to BCOA feeding. A rating scale of 1-7
with 1= resistant and 7=dead was described. A 960 line subset of the Barley Core Collection
was screened twice with this technique in the summer of 2006 in an attempt to demonstrate
repeatability with the new screening technique and to evaluate the rating scale. Morex, used
as a susceptible check, died after 3 weeks of infestation while other lines survived. Seedlings
from approximately 10% of the 960 accessions in the BCC survived the screening and were
rescued. The 900 surviving seedlings were rescued and grown to harvest in the greenhouse
in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007. Plant height, grain yield and yield components were
measured in the summer of 2007. Screening was determined to be repeatable and evaluation
of the rating scale suggested that a scale of 1-4 might best describe BCOA resistance in barley.
Seedlings from the highest yielding plant from each of 364 successions were screened in the
summer of 2007. An identical set of control flats, kept aphid free with insecticide applications,
was grown in the same greenhouse. Seedlings were rated on a 1-7 scale, transplanted to pots
in the greenhouse, and grown side by side with transplanted seedlings of their respective noninfested
controls. Data collected from this study in the spring and summer of 2008 indicated
that the 1 - 7rating scale was inaccurate and should be modified. Further screening in the
summer of 2008 identified a line with resistance superior to the highest resistance described
by the 1 – 7 rating scale which also indicated that a new rating scale should be defined. The 1
-7 rating scale has been modified to a 1 – 4 scale. The ultimate validation, planned for future
years, would be evaluation of grain yield and yield components of identified resistant lines
under field infestation of BCOA. Once the screening technique is validated, screening of the
NSGC will begin.

The Oregon Barley Improvement Program
Dr. Patrick Hayes, Dr. Alfonso Cuesta-Marcos, Ms. Ann Corey, Ms. Tanya Filichkin
Dept. of Crop and Soil Science
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331
Executive Summary
How the OSU program helps AMBA realize its mission and primary objective:
The OSU program seeks to help AMBA realize its mission by developing (1) winter malting
barley varieties that provide the malting and brewing industries with an abundant supply of
high quality malting barley and (2) molecular breeding tools that will benefit all barley breeders
working to advance the AMBA cause. We are addressing AMBA’s primary objective –
ensuring that barley is a competitive crop – by incorporating malting quality into high yielding
winter habit varieties that provide growers with profitable and productive cropping options.
Major issues, solutions, and expected benefits:
We have developed a winter malting barley germplasm base that will deliver a sustained
stream of submissions to the AMBA Pilot program. Molecular breeding tools will allow us to
make judicious infusions of new genes into this delivery stream.
The selection of winter malting varieties would be much more rational and efficient if we could
provide data sets with equal numbers of observations from all locations. There are a number of
causes of this data imbalance. In the following brief narrative, we identify the issues and
propose solutions.
Checks
Issue: AMBA has specified that Charles and 88Ab536 should be malt checks and Eight-Twelve
the agronomic and winter hardiness check.
Because the focus of our program has been exclusively six-row, we did not historically
include Charles (a two-row) in our trials as a check.
We have used 88Ab536 (a six-row) as a check for years. Because this selection did not
enter commercial production, it is difficult to obtain pure and high quality seed.
We have submitted Eight-Twelve samples for malting quality assessment and confirmed
that this variety is not suitable for malting.
Suggested solutions:
Charles is now, and will be, included in all our advanced nurseries.
Drop 88Ab536 as a check. Or, if it is continued as a check, high quality, pure seed
should be produced, maintained, and distributed from a central location.
Eight-Twelve samples need not be malted.
A regional winter malting barley nursery:
Issue: There is no uniform regional nursery in which all current and prospective winter malting
varieties are evaluated across a set of representative locations.

Suggested solutions:
Establish a regional winter malting barley nursery.
The nursery could consist of checks identified by the AMBA Technical Committee, the
best winter malting lines (two-row and six-row) from the current US winter barley
breeding programs (Oregon and Idaho), other US programs as these generate variety
candidates (BARI, Coors, Minnesota, Utah, ?), and European companies.
This trial would be grown, at a minimum, at a set of locations identified by the AMBA
Technical Committee and participating breeders.
Those growing the nursery would provide agronomic data in time for inclusion in the
AMBA annual report.
The CCRU would malt samples in time for inclusion in the AMBA annual report.
One-year objectives and outcomes:
We developed, tested, characterized, and selected winter germplasm at multiple locations. We
selected lines with excellent yields under irrigated and dryland conditions. These high yielding
lines have good disease resistance and attractive malt profiles. We developed markers for
target traits and implemented these in our breeding program. Malting data received, to date,
from 2008 crop samples are very encouraging.
Most significant accomplishments:
Application of genomics tools to practical breeding. These tools are provided by the
Barley CAP, US Barley Genome Mapping Project (USBGP), and (optimistically) in the
future will be provided by the Enhanced Barley Through Genomics (EBTG) Project.
Systematic introgression of spring malting quality alleles into winter germplasm.
Systematic introgression of winter hardiness alleles from Nebraska feed barley into winter
malting backgrounds.
Executive Summary:
Malting Quality Analysis of New Barley Selections
Allen D. Budde, Chris Martens, Mark R. Schmitt and Stan Duke*.
Cereal Crops Research Unit, USDA Agricultural Research Service
*University of Wisconsin - Madison
The Malting Quality Analysis project at the Cereal Crops Research Unit (CCRU) in Madison is
an on-going effort to provide information to a number of state and federally funded barley
breeders on the malting quality of new barley selections. Upon receipt of seed from
cooperating breeders, we micro-malt the samples of the various lines, and then analyze the
resulting malt for a number of parameters used to assess the suitability of the line for
development of commercial malting varieties. Our goal is to provide accurate and timely data
on the malting quality of the submitted samples to assist barley breeders in making their
breeding line selections. We also carry out investigations on the malting barley in order to
better understand the biochemical basis for malt production and malting quality.

The QA lab moved into our new facility in October of 2006. The move significantly impacted
initiation and completion of our quality analysis of the 2006 crop year submissions, however
we had malted and analyzed enough of the 2006 crop year submissions that A. Budde decided
to complete those analyses prior to initiating the 2007 crop year analysis. Malting of the 2007
crop year submissions was begun in October of 2007, but analyses of these samples were not
begun until December 10, 2007. The QA lab personnel maintained an aggressive analytical
schedule that allowed timely generation of data for most of the 07 crop year submissions.
Malting of the 2008 crop year submissions was initiated in October of 2008, with analyses of
the malted samples begun after a two week “equilibration period”. Analysis of the breeder’s
samples has proceeded in a timely fashion.
The malting of the pilot scale and regional nursery samples has been slowed by a
malfunctioning refrigeration system in one of our Joe White micromalters. We still anticipate
that malting and analysis of these samples will be completed prior to the spring technical
committee meeting.
Mission:
The Cereal Crops Research Unit will support public sector barley breeders by providing the
malt quality analyses necessary to assist in making knowledgeable selections for generation of
high quality malting barleys.
Primary Objective:
Generate malts from barleys submitted to us from public sector breeders. Analyze the malts
and report the data back to the submitting researcher(s).
Osmolyte Concentrations as Indicators of Malt Diastatic Power Enzyme Activities and
Wort Sugar Concentrations
Stanley H. Duke
Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1575 Linden Drive, Madison, WI
53706, shduke@wisc.edu
Cooperator:
Cynthia A. Henson, USDA-ARS-Cereal Crops Research Unit and Department of Agronomy,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cynthia.Henson@ARS.USDA.GOV
Executive Summary: We have completed collecting and partially analyzing data for the first
objective which is to determine the ability of osmolyte concentration (OC) to predict diastatic
power enzyme (DPE) activities and to establish the relative importance of individual DPE
activities and thermostabilities in the development of fermentable sugars in wort. From these
data, one paper is in press (J. Amer. Soc. Brew. Chem.), one paper is submitted (JASBC), two
papers are in preparation, and it is anticipated that two more will be written. The primary
results so far for objective one are that OC is usually a consistent and better indicator of malt
amylolytic enzyme activities than standard measures of malt quality, OC correlates better than

malt amylolytic enzyme activities with malt sugar concentrations, the thermostabilities of βamylase
and limit dextrinase correlate well with malt OC, and the thermostabilities of βamylase
and limit dextrinase correlate well with malt sugars. These results lie within the
primary mission of AMBA in that they can assist maltsters and brewers in predicting malt brew
house performance and will allow barley breeders to more accurately assess germplasm for
important DP traits in malt quality. This has led to our testing commercial malts and worts from
a major brewery for OC to determine if it would be a useful method in predicting RDF and other
malt parameters. The collection of data for the second objective has commenced at should be
completed by 30 June 2009.