Barley agronomy and varieties

Take home messages

• Time of sowing trials highlighted the ability of barley to maintain yield across a wide sowing window.
• The malt accredited variety GrangeR achieved good yields from early to main season sowing, as did Navigator a longer season domestic malt variety from an early sowing window.
• Fathom an early maturing feed variety showed good yield potential in sowing time and NVT trials.
• There are a number of potential malting varieties undergoing evaluation that show promise.
• Compass performed well across a range of environments and appears agronomically similar to Commander but has improved yield potential and adaptability.
• La Trobe a sister line to Hindmarsh also shows good adaptability and yield potential.
• Skipper an early maturing variety appears to perform well in lower yielding/shorter season environments, but does have an increased risk of lodging in higher yielding environments.

Background

Barley continues to play an important role in the Northern grains region. As a crop, it is very adaptable, tolerant of short seasons, less frost sensitive at flowering in comparison to wheat, and exhibits tolerance to root lesion nematodes (RLN) and sub-soil constraints such as salinity. Barleys adaptability means that it is less dependent on the timing of seasonal breaks and soil moisture profiles, and is seen by some growers as the preferred winter cereal in their rotation.

Other factors influencing the possible adoption of barley include improvements in breeding which has resulted in the release or pending accreditation of a number of high yielding malting varieties with improved grain quality. Growers now have the advantage of being able to plant high yielding malt quality varieties in the knowledge that their yield potential is equal to and or superior to feed only varieties, while leaving open the opportunity to achieve a malt premium. It is interesting to note for example, that it is estimated that ~ 85% of barley varieties delivered as feed in the northern region, are malt varieties (GrainCorp, pers. Comm.), reinforcing the view that growers are planting malt varieties in the knowledge that their yield potential is similar to feed varieties, while leaving open the possibility for a malt premium in some seasons.

There is also, the perception among some growers, that barley offers a better management option (in comparison to bread wheat) in terms of crown rot risk management, due to its increased ‘tolerance’. Importantly however, growers need to be aware, that barley is still very susceptible to infection by the crown rot fungus and does not have improved resistance to crown rot infection. Although barley may potentially provide a yield advantage over wheat in the presence of high crown rot infection it will not reduce inoculum levels for subsequent crops. The implications of cereal selection (Barley vs. Wheat) within crop rotations and crown rot risk management and or impact, are outlined in Simpfendorfer et al. (2015a).

This paper provides an update on commercial barley variety releases and considers some agronomic implications, in terms of variety response to management inputs (e.g. time of sowing, nitrogen fertiliser and seeding rate) from a cross-section of VSAP experiments conducted in 2014 on the Liverpool Plains and North West Slopes and Plains.

Variety characteristics and performance

Commander continues to be the preferred malt barley variety grown in northern NSW and represents >85% of malt receivals in the Northern grains region (GrainCorp, pers. Comm.). Commander has improved grain size over Gairdner, and is a lower grain protein accumulator increasing its potential to meet malt specifications. Commander does however, have issues around straw strength and lodging in average to high yielding seasons, and has potential for grain defect issues related to side skinning. Although agronomically inferior to a number of newer varieties, Gairdner as a preferred malt variety still represents around ~10% of malt receivals, due predominantly to its malting quality and market acceptability/demand.

There are a number of promising varieties, currently undergoing evaluation and accreditation that have shown good yield potential and grain quality characteristics across a range of agro-ecological zones in the northern region. Yield results for selected varieties from northern NSW and southern QLD NVT trials are shown in Table 1, and give a synopsis of variety performance in 2014. These results are only for one season, in deciding on varieties for 2015 growers should consider the across season results available on the NVT website and published in the 2015 NSW DPI Winter Variety Sowing Guide.

Compass is similar in maturity and plant type to Commander and has a potential malt accreditation target date of March 2016. In 2014, Compass was above the site mean at all sites, significantly (P<0.001) out yielding Commander at 4 out of 9 sites, and achieved comparable yields (not significant) at the remainder (Table 1). Compass has a similar malt quality profile to Commander, giving it a potential fit into existing market requirements for the northern region. La Trobe, a sister line to Hindmarsh with a possible malt accreditation of March 2015, is very similar in plant structure and maturity to Hindmarsh but has improved malting/brewing characteristics, also performed well across the northern sites in 2014. La Trobe is an early maturing line with good adaptability and an agronomic fit in low to medium rainfall environments. Fathom an early maturing dedicated feed only variety released by the University of Adelaide, also performed well across the northern region. GrangeR a 2013 accredited malt variety undergoing market development, has performed well in medium to high rainfall environments, showing a yield advantage over Gairdner in NVT across sites/years analysis for northern sites. GrangeR can under certain environmental conditions be predisposed to physiological leaf spotting (PLS) often characterised as being similar to ‘brown fingerprint type blotches’ this should not be confused with necrotic damage due to plant pathogens. Scope CL a 2013 accredited malt imidazolinone tolerant variety was equal to or above the site mean at 7 of the 9 sites (Table 1) and offers an additional weed management option/system (N.B. always refer to current herbicide registrations for registered product rates).

It is important to note that unless there is an established niche or defined market, the expectation, should be to deliver newly accredited and or potential malting varieties as feed, until there are clear segregation, market demand and pricing signals.

Agronomy trials - variety response to sowing time

Variety response to sowing time trials help to determine how new varieties compare in yield and maturity with benchmark varieties across the sowing window at a regional level, assisting growers to better match variety with sowing time. Individual trial reports can be accessed through the NSW Department of Primary Industries publication ‘Northern Grains Region Trial Results Books’.

Time of sowing –Narrabri 2014

Due to the unreliability of the seasonal break in the Northern grains region and the wide sowing window (March – June), growers often look to barley to complement and or replace wheat as the preferred winter cereal, in their crop rotation. It is interesting to look at variety performance for both barley and wheat, across the sowing window, to gauge relative yield response. The following trial was conducted at the IA Watson Research Centre at Narrabri, in 2014 and gives a case study overview of barley versus wheat varietal performance, in a given season.

Twenty four barley and wheat entries, either commercially available or advanced breeder lines, with varying maturities, were included in individual trial sets. Both trials (barley and wheat) were sown at the same time over the four sowing dates of the 23^rd April, 15^th May, 12^th June and 4^th July in a split plot design with three replicates. In crop rainfall April to October was 164 mm with the pre-sowing (December to March) rainfall equalling 219 mm. Both the barley and wheat trials had 60kg/ha of Starter Z applied at sowing and received the same in crop management, no additional nitrogen (N) was applied to either trial, as starting soil available N (Nitrate N) levels were high at 304 kg/ha (0-120 cm). Yield results from selected commercially available, named barley and wheat varieties are shown in Tables 2 and 3 respectively.

Table 2. Grain yield of fourteen barley varieties sown at four sowing times at Narrabri in 2014

*Denotes malt accredited variety

Yield results from the 2014 Narrabri trial illustrate the yield potential of some of the newer barley varieties. Compass demonstrated its ability to maintain yield across the sowing window. The new malt accredited variety GrangeR achieved good yields from early to main season sowing window opportunities as did Navigator a longer season domestic malt quality variety from an early sowing date. The early maturing barley varieties Fathom, Hindmarsh, La Trobe and Scope CL also did not appear to suffer any significant yield penalties from the earliest sowing date (April 23). In comparison, the early maturing wheat varieties Dart and Spitfire, experienced yield reductions of 42% and 28% respectively (Table 3). This is likely to have been due to frost induced sterility. In comparison to the wheat varieties listed, the early to mid maturing barley varieties were still able to achieve comparatively good yields (~3.5 t/ha) from a very late sowing opportunity (July 4).

Table 3. Grain yield of selected wheat varieties sown at four sowing times at Narrabri in 2014

(Nb. -2.4⁰C and -3.3⁰C frost events, 2^ndand 12^th of August respectively).

Implications – cereal varietal choices

These results highlight the ability of some barley varieties to maintain yield potential across a relatively wide sowing window (e.g. Compass). Importantly, the findings also illustrated the yield benefit obtained from sowing varieties in the early part of their optimum sowing window, examples of this being the longer season varieties Navigator and Oxford, which showed significant yield reductions with delayed sowing dates. Although the early maturing varieties such as Fathom, Grout, La Trobe and Scope CL did not suffer a yield penalty from an early sowing, the yield difference or benefit, was not significant, bringing into question risk management considerations. Based on observations from these trials, it would appear that barley, particularly with some of the new varieties becoming available to growers, offers good flexibility/adaptability across the sowing window and depending on seasonal and economic factors, is a viable alternative to wheat based on yield potential.

Apart from sowing window considerations, cereal variety choice can also have a significant impact on the build-up of the RLN Pratylenchus thornei (Pt), defined as resistance. Varietal resistance to Pt is an important consideration as it has implications for subsequent crops in a rotation. Simpfendorfer et al (2015b) observed that following a wheat and barley variety TOS trial, at Narrabri in 2013, that there were significant differences between barley and wheat varieties in terms of the build-up of Pt within plots. Bread wheats produced the widest range in final Pt populations (2.4 Pt/g Sunguard to 6.7 Pt/g Impala), with the range narrower for barley varieties (2.2 Pt/g Compass (WI4593) to 4.7 Pt/g Buloke).

National barley agronomy trials

The Australian barley industry is going through a period of transition, as breeding companies bring online their next generation of malting varieties. Since 2012, nine new barley varieties have received malting accreditation through Barley Australia, with a further four potential releases in the next two year. This commercial accreditation process typically takes three years to complete, details of the process and lines undergoing evaluation can be found at www.barleyaustralia.com.au.

When making a decision to adopt a new variety, growers need to consider agronomic advantage and market potential, as successful uptake of a variety will ultimately depend on both its agronomic performance and market demand. The agronomic response of a variety to management inputs (e.g. time of sowing, nitrogen fertiliser and seeding rate) particularly in terms of probability of achieving malt specifications, will obviously affect likely adoption.

In 2012, a collaborative trial series involving the three GRDC funded barley agronomy projects operating in the Western, Southern and Northern grains region was initiated to compare yield and quality responses of potential malt varieties likely to be grown nationally under a range of management practices. This paper will report on two northern trials conducted in 2014, one at Nowley on the Liverpool Plains and the other Terry Hie Hie on the Northern Plains.

National barley trial (variety x N rate x population)

Nowley

Treatments

Eight varieties were trialled, these included Bass, Commander, Compass, GrangeR, La Trobe, Skipper, Wimmera and Buloke. Varieties were sown with target populations of 75, 150 and 300 plants/m², in a factorial trial design with four nitrogen (N) rates of 0, 30, 90 and 150 kg N/ha, all applied as urea. Nitrogen treatments were side banded at sowing, with no further N applications made throughout the season. The trial was sown on the 22^nd of May, and had a starting soil available N (Nitrate N) level of ~123 kg/ha (0-120 cm).

Results

There was a curvilinear yield response for N applications averaged across all treatments, with a significant increase in grain yield up to 90 kg N/ha, with a yield penalty at the higher 150 kg/ha N rate. There was also a variety by N rate response for grain yield, although most varieties followed the overall N response curve, Bass and Buloke were responsive at the low N rate (30 kg/ha), whilst Wimmera showed no grain yield response to N rates (data not shown) possibly due to increased biomass production pre-anthesis.

Averaged across all treatments, (N rate and population) Compass was the highest yielding variety, achieving a grain yield of 6.49 t/ha, followed by Commander at 6.12 t/ha, and GrangeR 5.97 t/ha and La Trobe at 5.92 t/ha (Table 4a). Increasing plant population resulted in an increase in grain yield (Table 4b) with no variety by seed rate interactions.

Table 4a and 4b. Effect of variety choice and plant population (plants/m²) on grain yield (t/ha) at Nowley in 2014.

Figure 1. Linear relationship between grain yield (t/ha) and grain protein concentration (%) for varieties sown at Nowley in 2014.

In contrast to yield, grain protein concentration (GPC) showed a linear trend with increasing N rates, with no varietal interactions. Increasing seed rate/population resulted in a decrease in GPC which is consistent with a yield dilution effect (data not shown). Results showed when averaged across all treatments (N and population) that Compass, Commander and La Trobe, achieved significantly lower GPC than the other varieties, indicating that these varieties were able to maintain GPC across a range of N and seed rates. Variety responses for GPC trended towards the established yield dilution response (increasing yield decreasing protein), with the exception of Bass, which showed at comparable yields (e.g. vs. Skipper, GrangeR and La Trobe) that it was more grain protein responsive (Figure 1). Another important observation was that varieties such as Commander and Compass could have issues achieving minimum GPC requirements of 9% under low to moderate N rates in high yielding environments (Figure 2). Skipper under moderate to high N rates and in a 5t/ha plus yield environment showed an increased potential to lodge. Results also indicated that Compass responded comparably to Commander, under high starting N rates, in terms of susceptibility to lodging in this environment. Test weights although varying between varieties and treatments, were all above the malt grade specification of 65 kg/Hl, over all treatments.

Figure 2.  Effect of N rate on grain protein (%) for selected varieties sown at Nowley in 2014

Terry Hie Hie

The trial was sown on the 29^th of May, (varieties and treatments as per Nowley) and had a starting soil available N (Nitrate N) level of ~70 kg/ha (0-120 cm). Only grain yield results are presented.

In this lower rainfall environment, Compass was again the highest yielding variety, with the early maturing varieties Skipper and La Trobe also performing well. The longer or main season varieties Bass and GrangeR were both lower yielding (Table 5a). There was no increase in grain yield response to N rates. There was a seed rate/ population response, with a yield increase at the targeted 150 plant/m² (Table 5b). The effect of N rate and population on GPC and physical grain quality measurements would obviously determine any net benefit in terms of impact on grain receival standards. Clearly given the dry seasonal conditions, high N rates either in combination with high plant population or alone adversely impacted yield. The ability to still achieve acceptable yields of around 4t/ha given the prevailing seasonal conditions shows the yield potential and adaptability of some of these newer varieties, namely Compass, Skipper and La Trobe.

Table 5a and 5b. Effect of variety choice and plant population (plants/m²) on grain yield (t/ha) at Terry Hie Hie in 2014.

Implications

Compass performed well across both environments and shows good yield potential and ability to achieve GPC, La Trobe also shows good adaptability. Skipper yielded well in the lower rainfall environment at Terry Hie Hie but did show issues around straw strength and increased lodging risk in higher yielding environments such as Nowley in 2014. Compass does appear to be agronomically similar to Commander in terms of N management issues around achieving GPC and lodging but does exhibit higher yield potential and adaptability.

Conclusions

There are a number of new potential high yielding malting varieties currently undergoing accreditation that show promise in this region. Compass has shown good adaptability and has performed well across a range of environments and appears to be able to maintain GPC receival specifications across a range of N rates, indicating its potential to meet malt GPC standards. Commander also performed well, however, Compass does appear to exhibit higher yield potential and adaptability based on NVT and 2014 VSAP trial results. La Trobe also exhibits good adaptability and yield potential, while Skipper another early maturing variety appears to perform well in lower yielding/shorter season environments.

Sowing time trials also highlighted the ability of barley varieties to maintain yield across a wide sowing window. The new malt accredited variety GrangeR achieved good yields from early to main season sowing window opportunities, as did Navigator a longer season domestic malt quality variety from an early sowing window. Fathom an early maturing feed grade only variety performed well in sowing time trials and NVT trials and appears to be an adaptable high yielding variety.   

References

Simpfendorfer S, Graham R, McMullen G (2015a) ‘High crown rot risk – barley vs wheat does it matter?’ GRDC Updates, Goondiwindi 3-4 March, 2015

Simpfendorfer S, Graham R, McMullen G (2015b) ‘ Impact of cereal varieties on the build-up of Pratylenchus thornei across three sowing dates – Narrabri 2013’ ‘Northern Grains Region Trial Results Book 2015’ in press

Acknowledgements

The research undertaken as part of this project is made possible by the significant contributions of growers through both trial cooperation and the support of the GRDC and NSW DPI through the Variety Specific Agronomy Project (DAN00167). The trials would not have been possible without the valuable input of growers and advisors at each location. The trials and data collection were managed by Stephen Morphett, Jim Perfrement, Peter Formann, Jim Keir, Jan Hosking and Rod Bambach (all NSW DPI).

Contact details

Mr. Rick Graham
NSW DPI, Tamworth
Ph: 0428 264971
Email: ricky.graham@dpi.nsw.gov.au

Reviewed by

Dr Steven Simpfendorfer

  Varieties displaying this symbol beside them are protected under the Plant Breeders Rights Act 1994