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 2006:
Barley, for grain production, continued to decline in Manitoba, primarily due to reduced uptake of barley for malting purposes. However, forage barley rose significantly to match the increase in beef production in the province. Barley grain production was estimated at around 400,000 acres – a drop of 100,000 acres from 2005 and a drop of 400,000 acres from levels in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The presence of Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is largely responsible for the loss of production. Forage barley production is difficult to estimate, as most forage barley is uninsured and consumed on-farm. Unofficial estimates place the 2006 production of forage barley at around 250,000 acres, based on cattle consumption figures. This is an increase of around 100,000 acres from recent years. Manitoba has slightly over 3 million head of cattle, making the cattle industry the largest single agricultural sector in the province. Anticipated changes to the marketing of barley (elimination of marketing boards) may see a rise in grain acreage over the next several years. This will be assisted with the recent release of new barley cultivars with improved FHB resistance and low levels of deoxynivalenol (DON).
The rain-free Fall harvest resulted in high quality grain in 2006 with a high uptake (40%) of grain for malting. This is up markedly from an average 15% uptake over the last several years and has put pressure on the local feed grain market.
Brief overview of the AAFC barley breeding effort in Brandon:
The Brandon effort is the oldest barley breeding program in Canada, having been initiated in 1928.
The current effort has two breeders, Drs. M.C. (Mario) Therrien and W.G. (Bill) Legge. Dr. Legge is responsible for developing two-row malting barley as the main focus of the program. In addition, Dr. Legge is responsible for a small program in hulless malting barley and shares a two-row feed barley development effort with Dr. Therrien. As well, Dr. Legge has been principle investigator in Canada’s efforts at developing resistance to FHB in barley. This is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional effort most barley researchers in Canada, in some capacity. The main FHB nursery is located at the Brandon Research Centre (BRC) and R&D efforts are co-ordinated from BRC.
Dr. Therrien has a multi-faceted breeding program that includes six-row malting barley, forage barley, food barley, as well as barley for nutriceutical and industrial uses. In addition, Dr. Therrien conducts research in the areas of quantitative genetics, remote sensing and agronomy.
Program highlights – 2006:
Two-row malting barley: This program is run by Dr. W.G. (Bill) Legge and focuses on developing cultivars suited to Prairie-Parkland conditions of western Canada for both the domestic and export malt market. Recent releases include AC Metcalfe, Newdale and Calder. AC Metcalfe continues to be a very successful variety, being the most widely grown barley cultivar in Canada and being successfully commercialized in the U.S., as well. Newdale and Calder are recent introductions that are still undergoing pilot-scale testing and development. Both are showing promise for commercial production. The newest efforts are aimed at producing acceptable two-row malting barley with improved FHB resistance and lower DON. If successful, this would reclaim some of the large acreage lost due to FHB. Hopefully, new FHB-resistant, low DON cultivar will be released in the next 5-7 years.
Two-row feed barley: The jointly-run program continues to focus on three aspects: “failed” malt lines with high yields and good agronomics; single-gene low phytate lines; hybrid-derived high-yielding lines. The second third aspects are new endeavours and new cultivars are not expected for some time. The two-row malting program continues to produce high-yielding lines with feed potential. These are being evaluated annually and some promising lines may attain cultivar status in the near future.
Two-row hulless food barley: With the release of Millhouse in 2006, this effort is finally established since the first crosses were initiated in 1986. This effort differs from other efforts in North America where the focus is not on ‘waxy’ type barleys (waxy endosperm; high beta-glucan). Instead, “normal” starch types are being developed with properties that allow for seamless blending with wheat flour as an enrichment product with added health benefits, as well as extended shelf life and enhanced flavour of end products. Barley, as a species, does occasionally contain a low molecular weight form of gluten (LMW_Gl). This trait is being exploited in the development of future cultivars where a LMW_Gl barley can be easily incorporated into wheat flour, or even stand on its’ own for making some leavened products, such as bagels.
Six-row malting barley: This effort is a continuation of the six-row malting breeding program initiated in Brandon in 1932 and is, therefore, the oldest (original) program in Brandon. The current effort is aimed at developing cultivars that are acceptable to the U.S. market (sole source) and can demonstrate good agronomic performance both in western Canada and the U.S. Upper Midwest. As well, there is an effort to reduce the level of DON as part of the overall FHB resistance program.
Forage barley: This program has seen a resurgence as the result of a strong Canadian beef industry, which routinely utilizes barley as a major source of (annual) forage and grain. The recent release of AC Ranger, Binscarth and (yet unnamed) FB012 are providing beef producers with cutivars with high yield potential for both grain and forage, as well as high quality to help optimize feed conversion. Future releases are anticipated to further increase the yield potential, improve on disease resistance and maintain the high forage and grain quality.
Hulless feed barley: This is the smallest effort of the BRC program. The goal is to produce a high-yielding hulless feed barley, mainly for the hog industry, that would out-compete feed wheat for yield and quality (energy). Wheat is the main competitor in the hog feed market in western Canada and hulless feed barley yields have been at around 80% of feed wheat cultivars. Increasing yields by 30%, over current yields, is seen as a long-term goal and, thus, no new cultivars are anticipated in the near future.
FHB: In the last 8 years, a large effort has been underway to develop new barley varieties with lower DON and FHB levels. The effort involves multiple institutions and breeding programs across Canada and assistance from the NABSEN program in the U.S. To date, there are at least a dozen lines, in advanced testing, that demonstrate very low, or much reduced, DON levels vs. conventional cultivars. Most are hulless lines and the remainder are two-row covered lines. Reduced DON in six-row germplasm is proving to be a much greater challenge. There are several lines with the potential for release in the next 1-3 years, including two hulless and one (two-row) malt lines.
Research: Several new research initiatives are underway. They include 1) determination and quantification of barley nutriceuticals, in collaboration with the University of Manitoba; 2) Determination of the effectiveness of Fibre-Optic Near-Infrared Scanning (FONIRS) in detection of DON mycotoxin in barley, in collaboration with the Brewing and Malting Barley Research Institute; 3) Genetic association between barley and Arbuscular Myccorhyzal Fungi (AMF); 4) Quantification of anti-stalling properties of barley and 5) Quantification of phytic acid content in standard Canadian barley cultivars.