December 1995
U of M Varietal
Trials for 1995 Small Grains
Barley
By D.C. Rasmusson, J.V. Wiersma, E.A. Oelke, and J.J. wiersma
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
We hoped for a much better year for barley in 1995. Considering 1993 and 1994, we were due for a good year. Like many of you, we wanted to see how the new variety Stander would perform in a favorable year. However, very wet fields early caused late planting, and an unusually hot period in June precluded a good year for barley. Scab was again widespread and reduced both yeild and quality of grain in the major barley growing areas. Vomitoxin levels were variable, but often high and similar to 1994. Other kernel diseases were not as serious as in 1993 and 1994, but still a significant portion of the ahrvested grain was somewhat discolored.
Acreage figures show that stander (43%) and Robust (44%) were the dominant varieties in Minnesota as well as in North Dakota (27% and 44%, respectively) in 1995. Excel at 7% and Morex at 2% were the only other barley varieties to appear in the Minnesota survey.
Yield performance of barley varieties in Unversity of Minnesota trials with 1995 and longer-term comparisons are given in Table 1. Foster barley was not grown until 1992 and not at all locations, so two long-term comparisons (1988-1995 and 1992-1995) are included. Stander and Excel outyielded Robust in when averaged over eight years. In 1995, Stander and Excel outyielded Robust by 18 bushes (Table 1). Stander continued to show superior lodging resistance and a high percentage of plump kernels (Table 2).
However, some growers found that it matured more slowly than desired. Excel tends to have a lower percentage of plump kernels and itchiness and it may be dropped from the "recommended category" for 1996.
The American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) announced in August that Stander would be added to their list of recommended malting barley varieties. In making the announcement, AMBA advised growers to keep it separated from Robust as the two varieties require different handling in the malting and brewing process. From the standpoint of industry users, the two varieties are difficult to distinguish when looking at a grain sample but can be differentiated by a biochemical test.
Foster, a six-rowed malting barley, developed by NDSU researchers, was released last winter and was increased by North Dakota and Minnesota seed growers this past summer. It is intermediate to Robust and Stander in grain yield, with good resistance to lodging and a high percentage of plump kernels.
AMBA is evaluating Foster for malting and brewing characteristics. A decision about malting status will be available in late summer 1996, at the earliest. foster has performed satisfactorily in Minnesota tests (Table 1), exceeding Robust in grain yield. It was lower yielding than Stander and Excel in longer-term (1992-1995) and 1995 comparisons.
Royal, a new forage companion-crop and feed variety, performed satisfactorily in 1995 trials (Table 3). It is a semi-dwarf, about 4 inches shorter than Robust, with excellent resistance to lodging. Royal has improved forage quality compared to the taller varieties. Grain yield of Royal is similar to Robust but lower than Stander.
Scab research was given a high priority in the summer of 1995 with screening trials at St. Paul, Morris, and Crookston. The trials at Crookston were the most informative and suggested that some barley lines in the program have tolerance to scab. Look for more information on scab research, as well as on NDSU wheat variety trials, in the next issue.