Annual Progress Report on Malting Barley Research March, 2002

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were planted at two locations. Half of the 15,000 head rows were planted at Casselton on
19 May and the other half at Prosper on 29 May. Stand establishment was good, but
standing water damaged the head rows at both locations. Head rows were selected for
harvest based on spot blotch reaction, plant height, and estimated plant vigor. After
harvest and threshing, nearly half of the seed lots were discarded based on thin kernels,
poor seed color, or undesirable threshing characteristics. Seed lots from 1310 head rows
and 36 check rows were submitted to the Department of Cereal Science for determination
of grain protein values. Based on the results, two spikes from each of 693 head rows
were planted in a winter nursery near Yuma, AZ to increase seed for the 2002
preliminary yield trials. Diastatic power values will be estimated using remnant seed
before rows are selected for harvest. Relative straw strength, early maturity, and general
appearance will also be used as criteria to identify rows for harvest.
The crosses planted in the 2001 head rows were made to combine leaf spot resistance
with low grain protein and high malt extract. However, a severe spot blotch epidemic
was observed in nurseries at both Casselton and Prosper. Only a few head rows were
found to have low leaf spot incidence. This was unexpected because most parents were
moderately resistant to spot blotch. Isolates were made from infected leaves of
2ND16461 by Mr. Yongliang Sun, Department of Plant Pathology, NDSU. The causal
agent was identified as Cochliobolus sativus. Seedling disease tests conducted by Mr.
Sun and Dr. Stephen Neate showed that many two-rowed lines and several six-rowed
cultivars are susceptible to this new isolate, but resistant to older isolates.
The F2 progenies of 119 crosses were planted at Fargo and Prosper on 26 May and 29
May, respectively. During late June and early July standing water damaged plants in both
F2 nurseries. Spikes were selected from individual plants in the best progenies at both
locations. Also, F2 progenies of 99 promising crosses were sent to Christchurch, New
Zealand or Yuma, AZ for rapid generation advance in winter nurseries. Many of these
crosses were made to incorporate FHB resistance and early maturity genes into elite tworowed
breeding materials.
Over 350 crosses were made in 2001 spring and fall greenhouse nurseries. The primary
breeding goal was to combine large seed size and low grain protein with better FHB
resistance. Crosses designed to add resistance to the new spot blotch isolate were a
priority in the fall greenhouse nursery. Because the Eam6.h of Midwest barley cultivars
is located in the repulsion phase with QTLs for FHB resistance in chromosome 2H,
several crosses were made to evaluate the Eam5.x, eam9.l, or eam10.m genes for early
maturity in locally adapted material. A few crosses were made to incorporate the Rph15
gene for leaf rust resistance. The F1 generation of some crosses will be grown in the
2002 spring greenhouse, others will be grown at Langdon this summer.
Special Projects
1. Development of Morphological Marker Stocks in Bowman Barley. Backcrossing
individual morphological marker genes into the Bowman genetic background was
continued in 2001. Selected Bowman backcross-derived lines were grown near
Christchurch, New Zealand to collect agronomic data. Many morphological