Western Region Barley Agronomy 26 September 2011 MALTING BARLEY VARIETIES IN THE PIPELINE KEY MESSAGES The international malting and brewing market loves the malting quality of Baudin. Bass (WABAR2315) is a plumper grained alternative to Baudin of similar malting quality and improved resistance to powdery mildew and barley leaf rust. If Barley Australia accredits Bass as a malting variety, Intergrain will release Bass to a limited number of growers in the 2012 cropping season. Wide scale production would then follow in 2013. The University of Adelaide is looking to release Navigator (WI4262) as a niche variety for the Australian brewing industry in 2012, subject to it successfully completing Stage 2. Paperwork seeking a registration for a relevant BASF Clearfield herbicide on Scope has been submitted. Accreditation of Scope as a malting variety has been delayed due to insufficient seed of a suitable quality being available for malting and brewing trials. Stage 2 will commence in 2012 with the results of the accreditation trials available by March 2013. Varieties carrying an mlo gene conferring resistance to powdery mildew include Henley, Grange, WABAR2537 and Westminster. Limited seed of Henley will be released to growers in 2012. Table 1 - Summary of the varieties in the malting barley pipeline, their breeder and seed licensee, earliest date at which they could complete the accreditation process, their fermentability profile and maturity (based on duration to awn emergence for late May sowing). Variety name Tested as Breeder Seed licensee Potential accreditation date Varieties in the malting barley pipeline Fermentability profile Maturity group Bass WABAR2315 Intergrain - 2012 High M Grange SMBA09-3353 Limagrain Seedmark 2013 Medium M Henley - Limagrain Seedmark 2013 Medium-High M IGB1101 - Intergrain - 2014 High E Navigator WI4262 Adelaide Uni Viterra Seeds 2012 Low M-L Scope VBHT0805 Ag Services Vic SeedNet 2013 High M Skipper WI4446 Adelaide Uni Viterra Seeds 2014 Medium E-M SY Rattler SYN0937-5 Syngenta Grainsearch 2014 Low M WABAR2537 - Intergrain - 2014 Medium-High M-L Westminster GS5033 Limagrain Grainsearch 2013 Medium-High M-L Wimmera VB0432 Adelaide Uni Viterra Seeds 2013 Medium-High M Accredited malting varieties Baudin WABAR2080 DAFWA Free to trade Accredited High M Buloke VB0105 DPI Victoria SeedNet Accredited High M Gairdner WABAR2034 DAFWA Free to trade Accredited Medium M Hamelin WABAR2104 DAFWA Free to trade Accredited High E Vlamingh WABAR2175 DAFWA Free to trade Accredited Medium M Stirling - DAFWA Free to trade Accredited Medium-High E Page 1 of 5
SHORT TERM OUTLOOK Baudin is still the PREFERRED variety for export as grain, export as malt and is suitable for export as shochu barley. Being very susceptible to powdery mildew and susceptible to net type net blotch (NTNB), spot type net blotch (STNB) and barley leaf rust, growers are starting to question why they are growing it when all they do is spray it with fungicide, despite the market signals. The good news is that there are likely to be replacements for Baudin available over the next one to three years. Details of the malting barley accreditation process and varieties under accreditation can be found on the Barley Australia website (www.barleyaustralia.com.au). The most advanced variety in Barley Australia accreditation, with export potential, is the Intergrain variety Bass (WABAR2315). We first evaluated Bass in agronomy trials starting in 2007. Bass has completed Stage 1 of the accreditation process. A series of dry or poor seasons (frost) however have hampered Intergrain in generating sufficient commercial quantities of Bass (within the malt barley receival specifications) for the Stage 2 accreditation trials. Grain from the 2010 harvest grain is currently being malted in Adelaide and brewing trials will commence soon. Hopefully the effect of 2010 being such a dry season does not influence the outcome of the commercial malting and brewing trials. Fingers crossed that a positive result is achieved. Results from the Stage 2 accreditation are expected by March 2012. Overall our experience is that Bass has a nice agronomic profile without being outstanding. Bass is a short strawed, semi-dwarf variety that reaches awn peep a few days earlier than Baudin, Buloke and Vlamingh. It has a better disease resistance profile than Baudin. Specifically it has better mildew resistance (MSp), which is not perfect but a step up from Baudin (VS) and is rated as Rp against barley leaf rust (has a single gene that provides resistance to RpH3 avirulent pathotypes). Its grain yields are often superior to Baudin, especially where yield potential is greater than 3 t/ha. It is generally lower yielding than Buloke, except above 4 t/ha where it can be superior. It has good grain plumpness being similar to Vlamingh, but better than Baudin and Buloke. It has an improved hectolitre weight over Baudin, being similar to Vlamingh. Bass has improved kernel weight over Baudin whilst its grain brightness, grain protein, sprouting risk and grain hardness is similar to Baudin. It is robust for lodging and head loss (not as bullet proof as Baudin but superior to Gairdner and Buloke) and only a few cms taller than Baudin. One pedigree grower even says that it s a lot less itchy at harvest than Baudin! The most promising aspect of Bass is its malting quality. Based on the data presented by Intergrain to the GIWA Barley Council on the 17 August 2011 at Hyden, its malting quality profile is almost identical to that of Baudin for every malt quality trait presented. Baudin has the biggest international demand of the malting varieties grown in Western Australia. So if Bass behaves very similarly in the malt house to Baudin it will not be too difficult to convince maltsters to swap from Baudin to Bass. Potential uptake by the market of Bass could therefore be expected to be more rapid than for some previous varieties (subject to the availability of consistent supplies). Limited seed for sowing in 2012 will be available from Intergrain, subject to accreditation. Seed enquiries should be directed to Intergrain on (08) 9368 3300 or by email at admin@intergrain.com. Tired of spraying? Swapping to a more resistant malting variety is an option but in terms of malting types, Buloke is the only malting variety with any powdery mildew resistance. Due to the high risk of lodging and the potential for head loss, Buloke would have to be swathed in the southern coastal areas to manage this. There is no doubt that Buloke can yield well in the high rainfall areas (approximately 10% more than Baudin in Agzone 3 and 7% more in Agzone 6, Bulletin 4826) and its screenings are similar to Baudin. One Buloke quality characteristic of most concern for the coastal areas is grain colour or brightness. In research trials in Esperance for example, Buloke grain is often noticeably darker than Baudin. Substituting some or your entire malting barley program for a resistant feed variety may make sense (now where did we put that crystal ball for feed prices?). Fleet is good for resistance to mildew (MR-MS) and leaf rust (MR) and its yields are above Buloke and competitive with Hindmarsh, Lockyer and Oxford (other variety options). However lodging can occur in early sown crops of Fleet. In very high yielding environments Oxford is a winner, especially as it has excellent resistance to NTNB, powdery mildew, barley leaf rust and BYDV. Whilst Lockyer can yield as well Page 2 of 5
as Oxford, it is just not as good for powdery mildew, barley leaf rust and BYDV. It is however more yield robust as seeding is delayed. For those environments where the yield potential is below 2 t/ha, Hindmarsh is the highest yielding variety. For more information on accredited malting, accredited food and feed varieties refer to Bulletin 4826 Barley variety guide for WA for 2012. MEDIUM TERM OUTLOOK Each breeding company has one or more barley lines in the pipeline undergoing accreditation for malting. Many of these are expected to complete Barley Australia accreditation in 2013, 2014 or 2015. Information on each of the key lines being evaluated for Western Australia is listed below. Information on their disease resistance profile is provided in Table 2. Grainsearch have an alliance with the global barley breeding company Syngenta, after previously evaluating some lines from the Nickerson-Limagrain barley program. They have two varieties undergoing malting accreditation SY Rattler (Syngenta) and Westminster (Nickerson-Limagrain). SY Rattler (SYN0937-5) We only started evaluating SY Rattler for the first time this year and don t know a lot about the variety other than its malt quality profile is aimed at the domestic brewing industry. This would potentially limit its production to the Kwinana Port Zone. SY Rattler has only been sown in a limited number of NVT trials in Western Australia to date, but in Agzone 3 SY Rattler has shown a higher yield potential than Baudin. SY Rattler has excellent resistance to scald, powdery mildew and barley leaf rust and useful resistance to NTNB. Westminster Westminster is an accredited malting variety in the UK. It is a medium height, semi-dwarf variety that reaches awn peep 1 2 days later than Gairdner with May to July sowing, but is 3 days earlier with April sowing. In agronomy trials (in the dry years of 2009 + 2010) the grain yields of Westminster have been below that of Baudin, Buloke and Vlamingh. Westminster has only been sown in a limited number of NVT trials to date. In the Agzone 3 NVT MET analysis Westminster is higher yielding than Baudin. Grain plumpness appears to be similar to Baudin and Buloke. It has excellent resistance to scald, NTNB, powdery mildew and barley leaf rust, but is susceptible to STNB. Westminster is the least likely of the higher fermentability profile varieties to be commercially grown in Western Australia. Scheduled to complete accreditation trials in 2013. Intergrain has two varieties that Barley Australia will be evaluating WABAR2537 and IGB1101 in addition to Bass. WABAR2537 WABAR2537 is a Baudin x Cooper cross with a malting quality profile close to but not quite the same as Baudin. It is scheduled for release in 2014. In agronomy trials WABAR2537 has shown itself to be a short strawed, semi-dwarf variety that reaches awn peep 2 5 days later than Baudin, Buloke and Vlamingh. Grain yields appear similar to Baudin at sites with a potential below 3.5 t/ha, and higher than Baudin at sites with a potential above 3.5 t/ha. WABAR2737 has only been sown in a limited number of NVT trials to date. In the Agzone 3 NVT MET analysis WABAR2537 is higher yielding than Baudin. Grain plumpness is between Baudin and Vlamingh, improved relative to Buloke, but not as plump as Bass. It s sprouting and head loss risk is similar to Baudin. WABAR2537 is resistant to powdery mildew (mlo resistance) and adult plant resistance to barley leaf rust. IGB1101 IGB1101 has entered NVT for the first time in 2011. It is an early maturing variety from a similar family to Hindmarsh, but it has improved malting quality relative to Hindmarsh and is targeted at markets accepting Baudin. It has good resistance to scald and NTNB and is moderately susceptible to the other diseases. Subject to grain production for commercial trials and progress through the Barley Australia accreditation process, IGB1101 is scheduled for release in 2014. Page 3 of 5
Seedmark have a breeding alliance with Nickerson-Limagrain. They have two varieties undergoing Barley Australia malting accreditation Henley and Grange. Those two varieties are scheduled to complete the two stage accreditation process in 2013, although seed of Henley will be released to growers in 2012. Henley Henley is a high extract, higher fermentability variety targeted at markets accepting Baudin. It is widely grown in Europe, particularly in France, and is a competitor to Australian malt barley in China. Henley carries the mlo11 gene conferring durable resistance to powdery mildew. It has intermediate resistance to NTNB and is resistant to barley leaf rust. It appears to be susceptible to scald and STNB when grown in Western Australia. Grain yields of Henley have been above Baudin in NVT trials in a range of Agzones in WA. Limited seed of Henley for sowing in 2012 will be available from Seedmark. Seed enquiries should be directed to Tim O Dea 0429 203 505 or by email at t.odea@seedmark.com.au. The End Point Royalty (EPR) for Henley is $2.50/t. Henley seed will only be available through Seedmark licensed seed agents. Grange Grange is a high extract, medium fermentability variety targeted at markets accepting Gairdner. Grange carries the mlo11 gene conferring durable resistance to powdery mildew. It has excellent resistance to NTNB and barley leaf rust, but is susceptible to scald. Based on a limited number of trials, the NVT MET analysis suggests that Grange is higher yielding than Baudin. Table 2 Disease resistance profiles when grown in Western Australia based on data provided by the breeding companies or by Sanjiv Gupta and Jason Bradley (Bulletin 4826). Variety Scald Net Type Net Blotch Spot Type Net Blotch Powdery Mildew BYDV Barley Leaf Rust Cereal Cyst Nematode Varieties in the malting barley pipeline Bass MR-MSp MSp Sp MSp MRp Rp S Grange Sp MRp Sp Rp - MRp - Henley Sp MR-MSp Sp Rp - Rp - IGB1101 MR-MSp MRp MSp MSp MSp MSp R Navigator MRp MR-MSp Sp MRp - S-VSp R Scope MSp MR-MSp MSp MRp - Sp S Skipper Sp MSp MSp MRp - Sp R SY Rattler MRp MR-MSp Sp MRp - MRp - WABAR2537 Sp MR-MSp Sp Rp MRp MRp S Wimmera MSp MRp Sp MSp MR-MSp Rp - Westminster Rp MRp Sp Rp - Rp - Accredited malting varieties Baudin MR-MS S S VS MR S S Buloke MS MS MS MR MR-MS S S Gairdner MR-MS MR-MS S MS MR S S Hamelin S S S S VS S S Stirling S S S-MS S MR-MS S S Vlamingh MR MR-MS S S MS S S VS = very susceptible, S = susceptible, MS = moderately susceptible, MR-MS = intermediate, MR = moderately resistant, R = resistant, p = provisional rating only. All barley varieties with a CCN resistance score are tolerant of CCN. Page 4 of 5
SeedNet have Scope. Scope was developed by Agriculture Services Victoria (a commercial arm of the Department of Primary Industries Victoria). Scope Scope is a tall barley that closely resembles Buloke in its grain yield, grain plumpness, agronomic performance and phenology in Western Australia. Unlike other barley varieties Scope is tolerant of the herbicide imidazolinone. Scope was developed via mutation of the malting variety Buloke. SeedNet is currently working with BASF to apply for a registration for a relevant BASF Clearfield herbicide on Scope. Hopefully growers will be able to use an imidazolinone herbicide on Scope in 2012. Subject to registration, Scope was developed so barley growers could control difficult weeds such as brome grass and self sown non-imidazolinone tolerant wheat in barley crops. It also offers growers a barley option for sowing in rotations where imidazolinone herbicides are used. Scope is moderately resistant to powdery mildew and has useful resistance to all other leaf diseases, except barley leaf rust. Barley Australia is evaluating Scope in its malting accreditation process and it passed Stage 1 in 2011. Due to insufficient seed of malting grade barley being available from the 2011 harvest, Stage 2 of Barley Australia accreditation of Scope has been delayed until 2012. The earliest it could be accredited therefore is 2013. University of Adelaide has three varieties under evaluation by Barley Australia Navigator, Skipper and Wimmera. Navigator (WI4262) Navigator is a niche variety for the domestic brewing industry. It may later evolve to export malt sales to some customers in south east Asia over time. Navigator is a late flowering, short strawed, semi-dwarf variety that has a yield potential between Baudin and Buloke. Grain plumpness is similar to or slightly better than Baudin. Navigator has very good resistance to scald, NTNB and powdery mildew, but is susceptible to STNB and very susceptible to barley leaf rust. Navigator has completed Stage 1 and is scheduled to complete Stage 2 by March 2012. Skipper (WI4446) Skipper is derived from Buloke, has improved grain plumpness but a malting quality profile that more closely resembles that of Gairdner. In a limited number of NVT trials in Agzone 3, the NVT MET analysis suggests that Skipper is higher yielding than both Baudin and Buloke. Skipper is earlier flowering than Baudin, Buloke and Gairdner. Likely to enter Stage 1 of Barley Australia accreditation in 2012. Has also performed well in shochu evaluation trials in Japan. Wimmera (VB0432) In agronomy trials (side-by-side comparisons), Wimmera has shown itself to be a short strawed, semi-dwarf variety with a similar grain yield and grain plumpness to Baudin. In barley NVT trials in WA, the NVT MET grain yield analysis suggests Wimmera is higher yielding than Baudin. Wimmera has a malting quality profile targeted at markets accepting Baudin. It has good resistance to NTNB and barley leaf rust, but is susceptible to STNB and moderately susceptible to powdery mildew. In Stage 1 of Barley Australia accreditation in 2011. Note information presented in this factsheet will change as more information on the performance of each variety in field and commercial trials is obtained. Not all varieties can potentially be accommodated by the Western Australian barley industry and growers should wait for market feedback before purchasing seed. For more information, contact: Blakely Paynter Andrea Hills Senior Barley Agronomist, Northam Barley Agronomist, Esperance Ph: (08) 9690 2115 Ph: (08) 9083 1144 blakely.paynter@agric.wa.gov.au andrea.hills@agric.wa.gov.au Page 5 of 5