Annual Progress Report on Malting Barley Research March, 2007

derived from the backcross: Strider/88Ab536//88Ab536. STAB 47 and STAB 113 are
doubled haploid lines from the cross of Strider/88Ab536. KAB 50 and KAB 51 and KAB
lines are doubled haploid lines from the cross of Kold/88Ab536.
Quality: Quality data from the 2006 harvest have not been received, due to the
movement of the CCRU to a new facility. Past data on the three lines in first year AMBA
Pilot, plus a fourth selection that will be submitted in 2007, are summarized in Table 3.
These data show a pattern of lower grain protein (and consequently lower enzyme
activity) but as is apparent from the pre-screening data from Aberdeen, ID, these
selections can achieve high grain protein. It remains to be seen what happens to extract
and enzyme activity at these high levels. An advantage of winter over spring barley will
be nitrogen management options. Fall/Spring split applications of N will allow for more
precise targeting of protein and enzyme levels.
Agronomics: The selections all have high test-weight and a high percentage of
plump seed. The yield potential is truly impressive, as is shown in Table 4. Irrigated
winter barley will save at least one application of scarce and expensive water compared
to spring barley grown at the same location. Disease data, as compared to check
varieties, are shown in Table 5. All selections showed excellent stripe rust resistance.
No BYDV symptoms were reported on any of the four selections at UC Davis nor
observed at Corvallis. The selections show a range of reaction to scald under intense
disease pressure at Corvallis – such intense scald levels are usually not observed in
target production areas.
Winter hardiness: We obtained very useful winter hardiness data from two locations.
The data on selections are shown in Table 6 and perspectives on the entire germplasm
array are shown in Figure 1. Two features stand out. One is that we have a limited
number of winter x spring cross progeny with good winter hardiness profiles. Since both
the high and low lines are part of the CAP set, we will have complete genotype data on
this germplasm, allowing new insights into the genetic control of winter hardiness. This
should further facilitate the conversion of elite spring malting lines to winter habit.
Secondly, a set of elite winter lines from Europe was included in the controlled freeze
tests in Hungary. It is gratifying that our germplasm is competitive with the best
European material.
Advanced, preliminary, and early generation materials
These nurseries, and the numbers of lines therein, are shown in Table 1.
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