Spring Barley Varieties Research Articles

Developing an Efficient Cover Cropping System for Organically Grown Barley

Spring barley (SB) (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivar ‘Ūla’ is the most widely grown cereal in Lithuania (hereinafter LIT). Most of the SB varieties bred in LIT (‘Aidas,’ ‘Alsa,’ ‘Aura,’ and ‘Baronesse’) are suitable for growing organically. However, in contrast to conventional farming practices, they are considerably more sensitive to the organic farming conditions and lack of nitrogen required for weed suppression. One of the several organic solutions to the problem of spreading weeds lies in growing false flax (FF; Camelina sativa) as cover crop between the SB plantings. This paper aims to address two questions: 1) development of recommendations to achieve the best performance from a mixed seed drilling and 2) quantitative appraisal of the weed suppression level in mixed crop (FF+SB) against weed incidence in sole crop of SB. For this study, an experimental coulter with adjustable geometries based on a theoretical approach to characterize FF seed movement has been developed. According to laboratory test findings, three-year in-field research trials were conducted to combine both theoretical and practical aspects of integrated weed management. A series of experiments confirmed that FF could effectively limit the prevalence of weeds under certain soil properties and weather conditions typical to LIT. The main conclusion was that drilling FF in strips between SB rows reduced the amount of weeds by 1.79 times in relation to “no-FF” practices without a significant decrease in SB yield. The proposed weed management strategy is effective, reliable, practical, and economical.

The influence of Avadex BW on the yield and chemical composition of spring barley variety 'Aramir', with different NPK fertilization

The combined influence of two doses of herbicide Avadex BW (3 and 6 l/ha) and three levels of NPK fertilization on spring barley variety 'Aramir' was studied in a pot experiment. Only with the highest NPK dose, and only during the initial stage of vegetation the herbicide showed the phytotoxicity toward barley. Avadex BW manifested no significant effect on the yields of ,grain and straw. Increasing doses of N~P brought about significant yield increases of above-ground parts during shooting stage, and of the grain and straw in the final yield. Fertilization gave much more evident qualitative changes in barley than the herbicide. The latter increased Ca content in the straw and decreased that of potassium in the straw and grain.

Комбінаційна здатність вихідного матеріалу ячменю ярого за комплексом біологічних ознак в системі діалельних схрещувань

Specific features of current varieties of spring barley as the original mate- rial for crop breeding by the level and correlation between general (GCA) and specific (SCA) combining ability for traits of resistance to a complex of harmful organisms in F1 hybridic combinations of diallel crosses are shown. As to the relative value of variances of GCA and SCA the inheritance of the complex of biological characters is found under the conditions of additive effect of genes and the genes with dominant and epistatic effects. The varieties being of a breeding value for the creation of new breeding innovations with group resistance to the kinds of helminthosporiose and for the development of the cultivars resistant to helminthosporiose root rots are defined

Evaluation of the use of high-density SNP genotyping to implement UPOV Model 2 for DUS testing in barley

Developments in high-throughput genotyping provide an opportunity to explore the application of marker technology in distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) testing of new varieties. We have used a large set of molecular markers to assess the feasibility of a UPOV Model 2 approach: "Calibration of threshold levels for molecular characteristics against the minimum distance in traditional characteristics". We have examined 431 winter and spring barley varieties, with data from UK DUS trials comprising 28 characteristics, together with genotype data from 3072 SNP markers. Inter varietal distances were calculated and we found higher correlations between molecular and morphological distances than have been previously reported. When varieties were grouped by kinship, phenotypic and genotypic distances of these groups correlated well. We estimated the minimum marker numbers required and showed there was a ceiling after which the correlations do not improve. To investigate the possibility of breaking through this ceiling, we attempted genomic prediction of phenotypes from genotypes and higher correlations were achieved. We tested distinctness decisions made using either morphological or genotypic distances and found poor correspondence between each method.

Varietes of Spring Barley for Beer Obtained at Agricultural Research and

Barley breeding laboratory from ARDS Turda created many varieties of spring barley in two rows with superior brewing qualities of which the best quality are grown on large areas. Of varieties obtained from ARDS Turda: Dac iana, Capriana, Jubileu and Romaniţa, the last two are high quality and productive. They maintained their superior qualities during several years of experimentation in different localities. These two varieties are genetically stable in terms of varietal purity correspond to the current rules EU. Spring barley varietes with two rows Daciana and Romaniţa have a high ecological plasticity and can be grown on different areas which can range in climate and soil. These two varietes have superior qualities than older local and foreign varietes, with a very good rezistance to fallen, feature very important to malting barley. This phenomenon is important because greatly depreciates the grain quality and reduce production. Characteristics of barley for beer: varieties containing less than 12.5% protein; varieties with high starch content 60%; varieties with greater than 95% germination energy. Daciana and Romaniţa are superior varietes for brewing and have a low percentage of protein between 10,9-12%. Percentage of starch is high an is between 61-62,3% of dry weight and have a high production potential.

Genome-wide Association Study of Resistant Starch (RS) Phenotypes in a Barley Variety Collection

Barley is primarily grown for feed and malt, but in some regions of the world it is also considered to be a staple food. Some barley types such as high-amylose barley have also gained importance as health-promoting foods. Starch that is not readily digested in the upper mammalian gastrointestinal system, or resistant starch (RS), is considered to be valuable because it prevents some diet-related diseases such as colon cancer. RS was quantified in a diverse collection of 209 spring barley varieties released in Europe during the past 100 years. The RS content varied from <1% to >15% in the collection, with 13 varieties having high RS content (>11%) and 15 varieties below 1%. Combined with genome-wide association scanning (GWAS), SNP markers and candidate genes controlling the RS content in grains were identified. This identified 40 SNP markers with a LOD score above 2, located on chromosomes 2H, 3H, 5H, and 6H, respectively. Among these SNPs, 10 genes with a known role in starch biosynthesis were associated on the basis of synteny conservation to the rice genome. The β-glucan content was quantified in 61 varieties selected to represent extreme as well as medium RS values. The β-glucan amount in the 15 varieties with RS <1% ranged from 1.7 to 3.2%, ranged from 1.76 to 2.54% in the 13 varieties with RS >11%, and ranged from 1.95 to 2.82% for those with 1%< RS < 11%. No statistically significant correlation between RS content and β-glucan content was found. This association analysis of commercial varieties revealed a large variation in RS content and identified a number of SNP markers that can be explored for selection and further dissection of the pathway and control of RS phenotype.

Significance of spring barley variety in energy-saving cultivation technologies

Five spring barley varieties bred by the institute were studied during growth with minimum tillage and application of mineral fertilizers for a planned yield of 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 t/ha. High resistance to stress factors under sharply contrasting weather conditions and the best grain yield and quality were noted in highly plastic varieties.

Development Peculiarities for Agrophyto-cenosis of Spring Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) subject to the Fertilization System and Whether Conditions

Analyzed has been conducted on parameters of productivity and efficiency increase for Helios and Comandor varieties of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) on fertilized NPK background after soya as a forecrop.

Effects of inter-varietal diversity, biotic stresses and environmental productivity on grain yield of spring barley variety mixtures

Varietal seed mixtures tend to increase and stabilize crop yields, yet their application is sparse. Large-scale cultivation of variety mixtures may require a better understanding of how inter-varietal interactions and their interaction with the environment may influence the grain yield of variety mixtures relative to their component varieties. For this purpose, six variety mixtures of spring barley and 14 component varieties were grown in each of 17 trial environments. A total of 28 observed and a priori plant characteristics, including grain yield, disease severity and weed competitiveness, were derived for each component variety in each trial. The relationship between inter-varietal diversity of each characteristic and the mixing effect on grain yield was analysed. Additionally, various types of yield stability were estimated and compared among mixtures and component varieties. One mixture out-yielded all of its component varieties in almost half of the trial environments. Inter-varietal diversity in grain yield potential correlated significantly with mixing effect, as did straw length diversity when weighted with weed pressure. The grain yields of most mixtures were more stable across environments than their component varieties when accounting also for the general response to environmental productivity. Hence, most mixtures adapted slightly better to environmental productivity and were less sensitive to environmental stress than their component varieties. We conclude that the efficacy of variety mixtures may be enhanced by mixing relatively high-yielding varieties differing in responsiveness to environmental productivity.

Brewing trials with spring and winter barley varieties

The effects of a set of barley varieties on the brewing process and quality of beer production intermediaries were studied in trial brews (40 l) prepared using the two-mash decoction process. The varieties included in the trial were selected based on the starch granule size distribution determined previously. A significant effect of the varieties on the saccharification time of both mashes was determined. The highest saccharification rate in brews was achieved with the variety Jersey; the saccharification time of the 1&lt;sup&gt;st&lt;/sup&gt; and 2&lt;sup&gt;nd&lt;/sup&gt; mash with the variety Tiffany was markedly longer. The varieties with a greater fraction of large starch granules (Tiffany and Luxor) exhibited a higher haze with sweet wort as well as hopped wort compared to the varieties with a low fraction of large starch granules (Jersey and Tolar). The effect on the lautering time was not demonstrated. Pronounced varietal differences were determined in&amp;nbsp;the extract balance of the brewing process. The varieties Tiffany andLuxor exhibited significantly lower extract yields. The malts from these varieties had lower laboratory extracts and higher extract losses in spent grains. The effect of the variety on the sacharide composition in hopped wort was confirmed. The proportion of fermentable saccharides in hopped wort extract rose from the variety Tiffany (66.9%) to the varietyJersey (83.6%). A significant difference in the final attenuation was also determined (76% in beers prepared from the varieties Tiffany andLuxor compared to 81.5% from theJersey variety). &amp;nbsp;

Photosynthetic responses of spring barley varieties to different stand densities under field conditions

Photosynthesis is affected by many factors on which plant productivity depends; however, little is known about the variation of spring barley photosynthetic characteristics under the influence of different stand densities. A 2-year field study was conducted to determine the photosynthetic rate (A), efficiency of excitation capture by open PSII reaction centres (F'v/F'm) and chlorophyll index (SPAD) response of various spring barley varieties to different stand densities (SDs) under field conditions. Three seed rates were used (200, 400 and 600 plants m−2) and three varieties (Aura DS, Barke and Gustav). The measurements were made three times during the growing season. Varietal effect was significant on all indicators, the influence of the factors' interaction was significant on A, but SD influence was not significant. Varieties differed in tolerance to weather conditions. Maximum A was established for Gustav in wet year, but for Barke in dry year. The highest F'v/F'm was observed for Gustav under dry and warm conditions. The lowest F'v/F'm across varieties was for the lowest SD. The highest SPAD was observed for Gustav, the lowest for Aura DS. SPAD increased with decreasing SD. The correlation between the indicators and grain yield was positive. Meteorological conditions influenced the A data variation by 46.4–82.5%, 60.9–87.8% and 61.9–83.9% for the Aura DS, Barke and Gustav, respectively. Our research showed that under Central Lithuania's weather conditions the most effective photosynthetic process was recorded in the intensive variety Gustav, which is recommended to be grown at a medium crop density of 400 plants m−2.

Characteristics of the formation of amino acid composition of spring barley grain protein depending on agroecological growing conditions in the Middle Volga region

The characteristics of formation of the quantitative and qualitative composition of protein in grain of spring barley varieties differing in provenance and character of use under the effect of markedly contrasting natural and climatic conditions during the years of investigation are presented.

Změny v obsahu a aktivitě vitamínu E jako reakce na abiotický stres odrůd ječmene jarního.

V letech 2009 a 2010 byl hodnocen vliv tří různých půdních vláhových režimů (sucho, pozdní sucho a mokro) na obrannou reakci genotypů ječmene hodnocenou pomocí isomerů vitamínu E, které byly stanoveny metodou HPLC s fluorescenční detekcí. Pro studium byly vybrány genotypy s kontrastní sladovnickou kvalitou (pluchaté Kompakt, Krona, Wabet a bezpluché Wanubet, KM 1057). Nejnižší obsah isomerů vitamínu E (8,38 mg.kg-1) v průměru odrůd a roků byl zjištěn v režimu pozdní sucho. Nejvyšší aktivita vitamínu E v režimu sucha i pozdního sucha měly genotypy Wabet a KM 1057 (9,43 až 18,08 mg.kg-1), což je možné považovat za projev jejich silnějšího obranného mechanismu vůči stresu ze sucha.

Performance of spring barley varieties and variety mixtures as affected by manure application and their order in an organic crop rotation

In order to obtain a high and stable yield of organic spring barley, production should be optimized according to the specific environment. To test the performance of spring barley varieties under varying cropping conditions, a field experiment was carried out in 2003 and 2004 in a six-field mixed organic crop rotation. We investigated the choice of variety, the order in a rotation, and the application of manure (slurry and farmyard manure; 0 to 120 total-N ha−1) on grain yields of six selected varieties with different characteristics grown in either pure stands or in two spring barley mixtures, each consisting of three varieties. Average grain yield of the barley varieties varied between 3.3 t DM ha−1 and 4.1 t DM ha−1. Grain yields of the two mixtures were 4.0 and 3.6 t DM ha−1, respectively. The varieties/mixtures interacted with crop order and year. Foliar diseases were more severe in the barley following grass-clover with large annual differences in the individual diseases. Despite different rooting depths and nutrient uptake patterns, there was no interaction between variety/mixture and the manure input regarding grain yield. In the 1st year after grass-clover, one of the two mixtures gave higher grain yield than the average yield of the individual varieties in the mixture. This was not the case in the 4th year after grass-clover and for the second variety mixture. Thus, although the present results did not indicate that some barley varieties were better adapted to conditions with low manure input than others, variety mixtures that give a robust and stable organic production may potentially be developed.

Neškrobové polysacharidy v souboru odrůd ječmene jarního.

Ječmen je nejen základní vstupní surovinou výroby sladu, ale v současnosti nachází využití zejména při výrobě funkčních potravin. Pro zpracování ječmene je kritický obsah neškrobových polysacharidů, které negativně ovlivňují technologii výroby piva, proto je jejich obsah pro toto zpracování požadován co nejnižší. Neškrobové polysacharidy jsou však součástí dietetické vlákniny, pro výrobu funkčních potravin je proto jejich vyšší obsah žádoucí. Mezi hlavní neškrobové polysacharidy zrna ječmene patří zejména arabinoxylany a beta- glukany. Neškrobové polysacharidy byly stanovovány ve vzorcích zrna ječmene sklizených v roce 2010 ze dvou lokalit a dvou úrovní chemického ošetření. Na obsah neškrobových polysacharidů byl zjištěn statisticky významný vliv genotypu, lokality i úrovně ošetření. Průměrný obsah arabinoxylanů byl 4,95 %, beta-glukanů 4,04 %. Mezi arabinoxylany a beta-glukany byla zjištěna statisticky významná negativní závislost (r = -0,64*).

Differences in powdery mildew epidemics in spring and winter barley based on 30-year variety trials

Information on disease severity assists greatly with making decisions about crop protection systems. However, there are no published long-term field trials in different locations to determine the severity of individual diseases. National trials that relate to the agronomic traits of varieties, including disease responses, are available. The current article describes the use of such data to determine disease severity based on official Czech variety trials. In total, 838 and 334 field trials of spring and winter barley, respectively, conducted from 1976 to 2005, were analysed. To compare year to year powdery mildew severity, five parameters were used. Annual disease severity in both crops differed substantially, whereas similarity of the disease severity was rare. During the last 15 years, disease severity in spring barley was stable despite a rapid increase in the area of fully resistant spring barley varieties, particularly those with the gene mlo. During the period 1976-2005, the mean disease severity in winter barley accounted for 64.1% of the mean disease severity in spring barley. The effect of deployment of the resistance genes and growing areas of winter barley on the determined disease severity was analysed. The method described here allows easy comparisons to be made of disease severity among years, locations and different crops and diseases if similar scoring scales for disease infection evaluation are used.

Evaluation of chlorophyll fluorescence in different densities of spring barley

Over the period 2008–2009, field experiments were carried out at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture on an Endocalcari-Epihypogleyic Cambisol (CMg-p-w-can). The study was aimed to establish the effects of spring barley crop stand density on the chlorophyll fluorescence and to estimate the relationship between grain yield and chlorophyll fluorescence value. The tests involved three spring barley varieties—Aura DS, Barke and Gustav. The three different stand densities were formed with seed rates of two, four and six million viable seeds per hectare. Our research findings indicated that increasing spring barley stand density did not exert any negative influence on major photosynthetic processes and did not result in any significant qualitative changes in light harvesting system. A significant varietal (factor B) influence was established on minimum fluorescence (F o) and maximum fluorescence (F m) values after short dark adaptation indicators (F fact. = 19.66** and F fact. = 9.33**, respectively). Growth stage (factor C) significantly influenced all fluorescence indicators—Fo, Fm and quantum efficiency of PSII after short dark adaptation (F v/F m)—in the five cases of the six tested. A significant effect of variety and growth stage interaction (B × C) was determined for 66.7% of the tested cases. The article presents a correlation between the grain yield of spring barley and fluorescence parameters. In most cases, the correlation was strong and significant. The interaction between the fluorescence parameters for individual varieties was responsible for 53.8–76.2% of grain yield data variation, which averaged over all varieties, amounted to 21.9–46.1%.

Possible trade-off associated with the use of a combination of resistance elicitors

A combination of three resistance elicitors, acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM), β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) and cis-jasmone (CJ) was shown to control powdery mildew ( Blumeria graminis f.sp. hordei) and leaf scald (caused by Rhynchosporium secalis) in two spring barley varieties under field conditions. However, over the two consecutive years of field experiments, levels of Ramularia leaf spot (RLS), caused by Ramularia collo-cygni, an important, emerging pathogen of barley in temperate areas, were increased significantly in both varieties treated with the elicitor combination. Interestingly, treatment of leaves three and four of greenhouse-grown barley, led to up-regulation of the systemic acquired resistance (SAR) marker gene PR1-b in those leaves, but to a substantial down-regulation of LOX2, a gene involved in biosynthesis of jasmonic acid (JA). This suggests that the elicitor combination activates SAR in barley, but suppresses the JA signalling pathway. It is suggested that the increase in levels of RLS in field-grown barley represents a trade-off associated with the use of the elicitor combination, and might be related to the down-regulation of LOX2 observed in glasshouse-grown plants.

Phenolic compounds as cultivar- and variety-distinguishing factors in some plant products.

The aim of the study was to determine whether phenolic compounds in some varieties of buckwheat, winter and spring barley and peas can be used as factors which distinguish selected cultivars and varieties of plant material. It was observed that the content of total phenolics might be useful as a cultivar-distinguishing factor for all the plant materials analyzed, but it was a distinguishing factor for only some varieties. Individual cultivars and varieties were best distinguished by the content of syringic acid. The levels of syringic and vanillic acids were in reverse proportion to the total amount of phenolics soluble in methanol and a positive correlation between syringic and ferulic acid was observed. Moreover, the protein content of plant material was analyzed and a significant (p ≤ 0.05) correlation between this component and ferulic and vanillic acids was noted.

Screening results of diverse spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) varieties and breeding lines for resistance to Fusarium Head Blight

Fusarium head blight (FHB, scab) is a widespread disease of cereals, including barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.), causing substantial yield and quality loss. Varieties with resistance is provide the greatest potential for reducing FHB. In the present study, we adapted cut-spike method for screening FHB severity among 126 spring barley genotypes. The collection consisted of Latvian varieties and perspective breeding lines and foreign varieties with specific quality traits important for food purposes and resistance to several diseases. Screening was repeated for two years, 2008 and 2009. Differences between genotypes in FHB resistance were observed. Two years data showed that genotype has a significant effect on FHB resistance (p<0.001) and genotype effect on resistance was 41.6%. Differences between FHB resistance of accessions of contrasting morphological traits and origin were tested. Only significant difference were found between cowered and hulless barley. There was no significant correlation between plant height and FHB severity and between flowering date and FHB severity, but significant positive correlation (r=0.672, p ≤0.05) were found between days from snowing to maturity and FHB severity. Together 15 genotypes (all with Latvian origin) on this study showed average FHB severity lower than 10%.