MANITOBA
Newdale Two-row Malting Barley
W.G. Legge
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Research Centre, Brandon, MB
Newdale, a new two-row malting barley variety from the
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Brandon Research Centre tested as TR258
and BM9123-34, received full registration in December 2001. It has been released
to Quality Assured Seeds Inc. for seed production and marketing with availability
of commercial seed targeted for 2004. The most outstanding feature of Newdale
is its agronomic performance, in particular its yielding capability. Being
especially well adapted to Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Newdale outyielded
Harrington by 24% and Manley by 6% across western Canada during two years
of evaluation in the Western Cooperative Two-row Barley Registration Test.
Newdale has one day later maturity than Harrington and three days earlier
maturity than Manley, shorter height than Harrington and Manley, and good
lodging resistance.
Newdale is one of the first two-row malting barley varieties
in western Canada to have moderate resistance to spot blotch, which has recently
become an important disease in Manitoba. It also has moderate resistance
to net blotch, common root rot, stem rust (except for race QCCJ), and the
surface-borne smuts. Newdale has an intermediate level of resistance to fusarium
head blight. It is susceptible to scald, septoria, loose smut, and barley
yellow dwarf.
Its malting quality resembles Harrington, except that
Newdale has higher friability, and lower hull peeling, viscosity, beta glucan
content and ratio of soluble to total protein content than Harrington which
are positive attributes. However, Newdale has lower alpha amylase and diastatic
power and slightly higher grain protein content than Harrington. Its lower
enzyme activity may be desired by maltsters and brewers who find new varieties
like AC Metcalfe and CDC Kendall too "hot" for their purposes. Newdale
will undergo plant-scale testing by the malting and brewing industry to further
evaluate its quality and determine market acceptability. If Newdale
fails to gain acceptance as a malting variety, it will make an excellent
feed variety given its high yielding capability and good disease resistance
package.