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 230,000 acres in 1997, 8% less than in 1996. About 180,000 acres were harvested for grain; average yields were 1.32 tons per acre (compared to 1.44 tons per acre in 1996).

Abundant winter rainfall and run-off resulted in severe flood damage in portions of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys during the winter months. About 25,000 acres of wheat and barley were destroyed and 20,000 acres damaged. Barley stripe rust was severe on fall-sown barley throughout the Central Valley and on spring-sown barley in the Tulelake basin in northeastern California. Five collections of barley leaf rust and 24 collections of barley stripe rust were submitted to the USDA Cereal Rust Laboratory for race identification. Estimated statewide yield losses were 20% for stripe rust (compared to 25% in 1996) and 1% for leaf rust.
 

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.

Breeding materials were evaluated at UC Davis in the spring of 1997 and new populations were created wherein UC 933 and UC 937 were hybridized to arrays of stripe rust susceptible parents with high grain yield potential and to F₁ plants. The new F₁ hybrids were grown at Tulelake from May through the first week of September, and the F₂ seed thereby generated, along with materials (F₃ through F₅ generation) selected from the previous year, were sown in the first two weeks of November 1997 for evaluation in the spring of 1998 at Davis. The greatest part of the program was planted to new F₂ populations plus F₃ and F₄ head rows descended from very recent crosses wherein selection for resistance to stripe rust was practiced during the epidemic of 1997. The F₄ head rows of two populations, whose parents were selected from ICARDA/CIMMYT international nurseries for their resistant to stripe rust and agronomic appearance and were hybridized with UC 828, looked promising for their grain yield under the pressure of an extreme stripe rust epidemic. Progenies of forty-three selections made at Davis in 1997 were planted at three locations (Chico, Corcoran, and San Luis Obispo) to obtain preliminary yield information. About one thousand head rows of UC 937 were planted in the Imperial Valley in November of 1997 with subsequent bulk planting at Tulelake planned for April of 1998 for the production of foundation seed.

The semidwarf barley UC 960, which is resistant to stripe rust and to lodging, has been an excellent grain producer in the northern intermountain yield trials in 1996 and 1997. About 1,000 head rows of UC 960 were sown in the Imperial Valley in November of 1997, with subsequent bulk planting at Tulelake planned for April of 1998 for the production of foundation seed for the Klamath/Tulelake Basin. To date no variety selected from the UC barley breeding program has had any commercial impact in the northern intermountain areas. In the past the best varieties from the barley breeding programs of other states have been identified successfully by the yield testing program and multiplied for use by California farmers living in the northern areas.

For the statewide testing program in 1997, evaluations were conducted in the intermountain valleys of northeastern California, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, and in the south central coastal region. Entries in the tests included standard cultivars, new and soon-to-be released cultivars, and advanced breeding lines from both public and private (Resource Seeds, Inc., Western Plant Breeders, Arizona Plant Breeders, Sunderman Breeding Co., World-Wide Seed) breeding programs. The intermountain winter barley test contained 12 entries, all 6-row feed barleys, including two spring barleys, Steptoe and Colter. Severe winter kill occurred at the Butte Valley site, completely eliminating stands of the spring barleys and reducing stands of Showin, Kold, Eight Twelve and Strider by more than 50%. No winter kill occurred at the Montague site. Stripe rust was severe on Showin at the Butte Valley site while BYD was severe on Colter, Showin, and Kold. Average yields ranged from 2050 to 6340 lb/acre at the Butte Valley site and from 4190 to 6730 lb/acre at the Montague site. Strider, Sunstar Pride and Sunstar Double were the higher yielding entries at the Montague site. Boyer was the highest yielding entry at the Butte Valley site. In the three-year period 1995-97, Westbred Sprinter, Boyer, Scio, Hesk, and Sunstar Double have been the highest yielding.

The fall-sown spring barley test contained 24 entries, including 11 cultivars and 14 advanced lines from four breeding programs (University of California, Western Plant Breeders, Resource Seeds, Inc., and World Wide Wheat). All entries were 6-row spring feed barleys except for >Alexis= (2-row feed/malting barley). Stripe rust pressure was extremely high at the Kings, UC Davis, and Merced sites. Among released cultivars, UC 603 had the lowest stripe rust rating (most resistant). Advanced breeding lines UCD 92-10615 (UC 937) and UCD 92-10585 (Entry 933) also showed very good resistance. Cultivars such as UC 337, Sunbar 458, Fiesta, Max, Nebula, and UC 828, as well as many advanced breeding lines, were very susceptible. Average yields ranged from 610 lb/acre at the rainfed San Luis Obispo site to 5150 lb/acre at the Kings site. Entries UCD 95-2407, UCD 92-10588, UCD 92-10585, UCD 92-10615 (UC 937), and the cultivar UC 603 were highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley; entries UCD 92-10588, UCD 92-10585, UCD 95-2407 and the cultivars UC 476 and Penbar, in the San Joaquin Valley; and entries UCD 95-3123, UCD 92-10588, UCD 95-2407 and the cultivars Penbar and Arivat, in rainfed areas. In the three-year period 1995-97, entries UCD 92-10585 , UCD 92-10588, and UCD 92-10615 (UC 937) were the highest yielding in the Sacramento Valley; Penbar, UCD 92-10588, UCD 92-10585, and UCD 92-10615 (UC 937), in the San Joaquin Valley; and Penbar, UCD 92-10615 (UC 937), and Arivat, in rainfed areas.

The intermountain spring barley test contained 27 entries (2-row and 6-row feed and malting barleys), including 16 cultivars and 11 advanced lines from twelve breeding programs (University of California, Oregon State University, USDA/University of Idaho, North Dakota State University, Sunderman Breeding Co., Busch Ag Resources, University of Minnesota, Utah State University, Washington State University, University of Saskatchewan, Arizona Plant Breeders, and World Wide Wheat). Yields were reduced by mid-late season moisture stress at the Lassen site while yields at the Tulelake and Siskiyou sites were very high despite moderately severe to severe stripe rust which developed late in the season. Cultivars Colter, Maranna, and Steptoe were most severely damaged. Advanced breeding lines, UCD 92-10591, UC/NK 2867 (UC 960), SR58-4, SR58-6, and SR 58-8 and cultivars Orca and Alexis showed very good resistance to stripe rust. Most entries lodged severely at the Tulelake site; UC/NK 2867 (UC 960) showed excellent lodging resistance. Average yields ranged from 2430 lb/acre at the Lassen site to 7290 lb/acre at the Tulelake site. Entry NK2897/STP-B32 was the highest yielding at the Siskiyou site; NK2897/STP-B30 was the highest yielding at the Lassen site; and UC/NK 2867 (UC 960) was the highest yielding at the Tulelake site. Over the three locations, stripe rust resistant entries NK2897/STP-B32 and UC/NK 2867 were highest yielding in 1997. In the three-year period 1995-97 (includes a year prior to the onset of severe stripe rust) Sunstar Prince was highest yielding at Tulelake; and Steptoe, at Siskiyou and over-all. The highest yielding entry since the onset of severe stripe rust (1996 and 1997) was UC/NK 2867 (UC 960).
 

Folicur for Control of Barley Stripe Rust
California, as other western states, has requested Section 18 Emergency Exemption for the use of FolicurJ (tebuconazol) foliar fungicide to control stripe rust. In a test at UC Davis in 1997, FolicurJ provided very good control of stripe rust under very severe disease pressure. It was applied to UC 337, a highly susceptible cultivar that was the highest yielding barley in California prior to the stripe rust epidemics of 1996 and 1997. With one application of FolicurJ, UC 337 yielded 6490 lb/acre, compared to a yield of 2460 lb/acre from the non-treated area.
 

Control of Barley Stripe Rust on UC 337 with Folicur 3.6F (applied on 3/30/97 @ 8 fl oz/acre @ 50% headed; lower leaves with high level of infection). UC Davis Agronomy Farm.

Rating scale for stripe rust (area of flag-1 leaf affected): 1=0-3%, 2=4-14%, 3=15-29%, 4=30-49%, 5=50-69%, 6=70-84%, 7=85-95%, 8=96-100%.
Treated area: 50 ft x 12 ft.