CALIFORNIA
L.F. Jackson and L.W. Gallagher
Department of Agronomy and Range Science
University of California, Davis
Barley production
Barley production in California consists primarily of fall-sown 6-row spring feed barley. Most of the acreage is concentrated in the Central (Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys) Valley and surrounding foothills and in the south-central coastal valley foothills. Barley is grown as an irrigated rotation crop in the Central Valley and as a rainfed crop in the Central Valley foothills and south-central coastal foothills. A substantial acreage of spring-sown feed (6-row) or malting (2-row, primarily) barley also is grown under irrigation in the Tulelake basin in the northeastern portion of California and serves as a rotation crop for potato. Statewide, barley was grown on 110,000 acres in 2002.
Barley stripe rust was the most important disease in 2002. Several new races appeared, but the stripe rust resistant barley cultivars UC 933 and UC 937 were not affected.
Germplasm development and evaluation
The germplasm development program in California includes breeding and selection by public and private plant breeders and coordinated statewide testing of promising advanced lines from both types of programs. The objectives of the University of California barley breeding program are to (1) conduct a barley improvement program using traditional breeding methodologies with the overall goal to develop and introduce cultivars of barley with good agronomic performance and end-use properties for California farmers, and (2) maintain and develop germplasm required to sustain barley production statewide. UC 1047 (UCD PYT 99-A13), derived from the cross of UC 960/UC 828, is now being considered for release, depending on its performance during the current (2003) season. In three previous years of testing UC 1047 yielded 4.7% more grain than UC 933 in the Sacramento Valley and 10.2% more than UC 937 in the San Joaquin Valley. UC 1047 averaged 5,990 lb./ac., 6,270 lb./ac., and 3210 lb./ac. in the Sacramento Valley, the San Joaquin Valley, and on dryland, respectively. However under rainfed conditions UC 1047 yielded 9.3% less grain than UC 933. An advanced line (23 IBYT 7, Egypt 4/Teran//P.Sto/3/Quina) from the CIMMYT/ ICARDA barley breeding program had the highest grain yield in the 2002 UC statewide barley tests in the Sacramento Valley. This year Bella Union from the CIMMYT/ICARDA program was added to the test. Subsequently we learned that these two lines were reported to be resistant to PAV, MAV, and RPV biotypes of BYDV and to scald, both important diseases in California.
Evaluations for the University of California Cooperative Extension statewide testing program were conducted in the intermountain valleys of northeastern California, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, and in the south central coastal region in 2002. Entries in the tests included standard cultivars, new and soon-to-be released cultivars, and advanced breeding lines from both public and private breeding programs.
Intermountain winter barley. The fall-sown winter barley test in Siskiyou county contained 8 cultivars. Very severe moisture stress (irrigation cut-off too soon) at the anthesis-watery ripe stage reduced grain yield and bushel wt. Grain yield ranged from 3420 to 5840 lb/acre. Steptoe (spring barley check that survived the winter) and Eight-Twelve were the highest yielding. In the three-year period 2000-2002, Eight-Twelve was the highest yielding.
Fall-sown spring barley. The fall-sown spring barley test, grown at 6 locations, contained 25 entries, including 10 cultivars and 15 advanced lines. Scald was severe at the Butte county site by the watery ripe stage. UC 476, Max, Patti, Meltan, Legacy, Commander, 6B95-2482, 6B95-2482#1, and 6B95-2482#2 were severely affected. Stripe rust was severe on several entries (UC 476, Max, Legacy, Commander, UC 1047, UCD PYT99 C-3, 6B95-2482, 6B95-2482#1, and 6B95-2482#2) at the UC Davis and/or Kings county sites. The UC Davis test was sown very late (1/25/02) due to very wet conditions at the normal sowing time (late November to early December). As a result, very severe BYD developed on many entries (Meltan, Legacy, UCD 97-4286, 6B95-2482, 6B95-2482#1, 6B95-2482#2, UCD 99-320 and UCD PYT01 C6). Average yields ranged from 1980 lb/acre at the rainfed Tulare county site (severe drought stress) to 5090 lb/acre at the Madera county site where the top-yielding entry (Max) yielded 7120 lb/acre. Entries 23 IBYT 7, UC 933, and UC 1047 were highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley; entry UC 1047, in the San Joaquin Valley; and entries UCD 97-4286 and UCD 99-3230, at rainfed sites. In the three-year period 2000-2002, entry UC 1047 was the highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley; and entry UCD 97-4286, at rainfed sites.
Intermountain spring barley. The intermountain spring barley test, grown at two locations, contained 40 entries, including 21 cultivars and 19 advanced lines. Early season frost damage reduced stands and late-season drought stress reduced yields and bushel weights at the Siskiyou county site. Average yields ranged from 3900 lb/acre at the Siskiyou county site to 7450 lb/acre at the Tulelake site where the top-yielding entry (93Ab688) yielded 9640 lb/acre. In the three-year period 2000-2002, Brigham, Statehood and Xena were highest yielding region-wide and at Tulelake. The 2002 Western Regional Spring Barley Test (37 entries) grown at Tulelake was disease-free and high yielding. Some entries had moderate to severe lodging. Yields ranged from 5350 to 8740 lb/acre. The highest yielding entry was from Western Plant Breeders (BZ594-20) and was the only entry to out-yield Steptoe.
Barley stripe rust was severe on susceptible lines and cultivars in both the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley in 2002. Barley stripe rust was evaluated at UC Davis on about 2000 lines (primarily assembled by USDA-ARS, Aberdeen from the NSGC and public and private breeders; additional lines were received directly from breeders). Germplasm included cooperator lines from Erickson (Idaho), An Hang (Idaho), Bregitzer (Idaho), Hensleigh (Montana), Hayes (Oregon), Lewis (Washington), Ullrich (Washington), Cooper (BARI), Franckowiak (North Dakota), Adams (Coors), Marshall (Texas), Roche (Utah), Carleton (Arizona Plant Breeders), and Pickering (New Zealand), and 1000 lines from the NSGC. There was very strong barley yellow dwarf virus pressure at the seedling stage and many lines were severely affected. Stripe rust was first detected in mid-April and became severe throughout the nursery on check cultivars and susceptible entries by mid-May. By the time of the final disease severity rating (May 23-24), about 12% of the cooperator lines and 26% of the accessions from the NSGC showed a 60-100S reaction. Many lines (28% of the cooperator lines and 21% of accessions from the NSGC) remained BSR-free. A similar nursery is being screened again this (2003) season. At the time of this report (mid-May, 2003) stripe rust pressure is high throughout the nursery (natural infection of spreader rows and known susceptible checks ranges from 50-100% severity). Ten barley stripe rust collections were submitted to USDA-ARS from California in 2002. Sevenraces of barley stripe rust were identified from those collections, including several new combinations of virulence (new races). Statewide yield losses due to stripe rust were estimated at 2% in 2002.