Manitoba, Canada
Barley Production and Development in Manitoba
Mario C. Therrien
AAFC Brandon Research Centre
Brandon, MB. Canada R7A 5Y3
Barley Production in Manitoba in 2004:
There was approximately 740,000 ac. of grain barley and an estimated 75,000 ac. of forage barley grown in Manitoba in 2004. This is roughly 15% less than in previous years as a downward trend in barley production continues. This is largely, though not exclusively, the result of the BSE cattle problem, as well as the ongoing problem with Fusarium Head Blight (FHB). The FHB problem has shifted production of malting barley from the long-standing six-row varieties to the more FHB-tolerant two-row cultivars, which now occupy over 60% of the barley acreage in Manitoba. This trend is expected to continue, as the six-row malting barley market diminishes. Forage barley production is stable, but may change depending on the numbers of cattle in the province.
AAFC Breeding Effort for the Eastern Prairies of Canada:
The breeding effort is divided between Dr. W.G. (Bill) Legge and Dr. M.C. (Mario) Therrien. Dr. Legge’s program concentrates on developing two-row malting barley, while Dr. Therrien has a more diverse program developing six-row malting, forage, and hulless feed and food barley.
The two-row malting program, initiated in 1987, has been very productive. AC Metcalfe two-row malting barley, released in 1999, is now the most widely-grown barley variety in Canada with production exceeding 1 million MT. More recent releases, including Newdale and Calder, are still undergoing plant-scale testing and show considerable promise in replacing AC Metcalfe. The two-row feed variety Rivers is showing good initial producer acceptance in its first year of full commercial release.
The program will continue to produce high-performance two-row malting cultivars adapted to the Northern Great Plains for both the domestic and export malting and brewing markets. Any high-performance lines that lack sufficient malting quality will be offered as high-yielding feed varieties. Particular attention will be paid to quality, broad adaptability, and low accumulation of the FHB mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON).
The AAFC program continues to have a large FHB nursery that screens 17,000 lines for resistance to FHB and low DON accumulation. This effort also includes breeding material, and germplasm exchange, with the Crop Development Centre (CDC), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. SK.. As well, material from other North American programs, and the NABSEN initiative, are included.
The six-row malting program, which has been at BRC since 1932, is being revitalized through a producer check-off under the auspices of the Western Grain Research Foundation (WGRF), a non-profit producer research organization based in Saskatoon, SK. New elite lines are being developed that will combine the quality requirements for the six-row market with lower DON accumulation, which is a major constraint to six-row malting barley production in many moderate to high rainfall areas. Release of cultivars is not expected for some years.
The forage program, which was initiated in 1982, is rather unique, in that varieties are generated using Male-Sterile Facilitated Recurrent Selection (MSFRS). This approach favours selection for very high biomass yield potential and good horizontal (additive) disease resistance. The first cultivar produced using this approach, FB006, is in the process of being registered and will be released in 2006 under a yet-to-be-chosen name. FB006 has very high dry matter yield potential as well as the ability to be regrazed by cattle under moderate stocking rates. Using conventional breeding techniques, the program has released Virden (1986), which is still in general use, and AC Ranger (2001), a multi-purpose feed/forage variety that is rapidly gaining in popularity due to its wide adaptability and versatility for on-farm and feedlots. The ongoing effort will concentrate on the development of widely-adapted, high yielding, high forage quality varieties for use by cattle producers in higher rainfall areas, or under irrigation.
The hulless, program, which started in 1982, was originally designed to release feed cultivars for swine and poultry rations. Two cultivars were released, AC Hawkeye (1996) and AC Bacon (1998). AC Bacon enjoyed moderate success until changes in the market rendered hulless barley non-competitive to feed wheat and corn. AC Hawkeye, originally released in western Canada, was found to better serve a niche market in eastern Canada, as a swine ration, owing to its high yield, very high test weight, and relatively low DON accumulation. Popularity of this variety is increasing in this area.
Owing to changing market demands, the hulless feed program is being modified to address the issue of relatively low yields. The hulless trait is being introgressed into superior yielding lines from the forage program in order to increase yields by > 20% over current levels, which would make hulless barley competitive to feed wheat and corn in western Canada. This is a long-term goal and is not expected to produce new cultivars for a number of years.
As an off-shoot of the hulless feed program, a two-row hulless food program was started in 1989 as it was recognized that there was the potential for a health-food market for this type of barley with the release of CDC Candle, by Brian Rossnagel at the CDC. Although the market is still small, development of new food items from barley is expected to appeal to an ever-growing health-conscience consumer base. In an effort to expand the market potential, our program focused on developing whole-meal milling barley for production of noodles and for enrichment of wheat-based bakery products. We were able to achieve this with the release of Millhouse barley (2005). Millhouse is the first barley variety that can be used as the main ingredient in the making of sheet noodles and is being assessed for suitability in flour blends that will impart high dietary fibre levels to baked goods without affecting colour, taste or texture. Commercial development is expected to start in 2008. The breeding effort will build on this initial success and seek to develop different types of food barley to cover the entire spectrum of grain-based food products. This will, hopefully, allow producers access to new and diverse markets and add to the choice of healthy foods for consumers.