National Need:

As populations increase and people around the globe enter the middle class, they are eating more meat and dairy products. Annual meat production is projected to increase from 218 million tonnes in 1997-1999 to 376 million tonnes by 2030 (Joint WHO\FAO, 2002). One of the urgent needs is a sustainable supply of high quality roughage. Increased climate variability endangers livestock production. Dry hot summers have reduced productivity of rangeland. Cold winters necessitate the greater production of winter feed, which is even harder due to dry summer conditions. Irrigation is limited in Montana with 80% of production rainfed. Forage barley, with its arid tolerance, early biomass and high nutritional value, provides a more sustainable hay than alfalfa, which requires irrigation. Winter barley could provide even greater advantage by making use of spring moisture and requiring fewer inputs per biomass produced, making it the crop of choice for the organic hay industry.

Project Summary

We propose to accelerate the release of Montana adapted barley forage varieties, utilizing a three-pronged approach:

1) The identification of breeder-friendly genetic markers for forage yield and digestibility will accelerate the development and release of superior, regionally adapted cultivars. There are currently no genetic markers available to barley breeders for forage yield or quality. In 2016-17, we evaluated 250 barley lines from around the world for forage characteristics. We associated forage quality and yield traits with genetic markers. Screening with genetic markers early in the breeding pipeline - several generations before selection would be possible in the field – will reduce the number of lines that are advanced to the more expensive field trialing.

2) We will initiate a winter barley breeding program. There has never been a Montana-adapted winter barley. We are evaluating a set of winter barley lines taken from a Russian collection for winter hardiness and forage traits. The identification and introduction of cold-tolerant winter barley for forage production will have both yield and sustainability benefits for Montana producers. Winter barley is expected to out-yield spring barley by 10-20%. Winter barley is established in the fall, allowing the crop to utilize fall and early spring soil moisture and reach maturity before the hottest and driest summer periods. Although winter barley has been too cold sensitive for Montana growing conditions, with increasing winter temperatures in many regions and with access to the Russian collection for the first time, winter barley could be successful in Montana. In terms of sustainability, establishing a crop in the fall is good for soil health and reduces the need for herbicide application. Winter barley prevents soil loss to wind and water erosion during the winter and spring months and outcompetes most weeds, reducing the need for spring herbicide applications.

3) We will utilize doubled haploids to speed the breeding process. It takes longer to breed for winter crops due to longer generation time. We can skip generations, by using double

haploids, vastly reducing the time needed to develop a winter barley forage variety for Montana. Although doubled-haploids are not a new approach, there is not a doubled haploid lab at MSU. It is harder to make doubled haploids in barley than wheat (Pat Hays, personal communication), making paid provider for barley doubled haploids non-existent or exorbitant

Historically, MSU has focused on spring barley malt varieties. One of our primary forms of support is from the state-wide check-off program where dollars are assessed on bushels of seed sold. When forage is cut to feed livestock no seed is sold, no money assessed and so a reluctance for a seed check-off program to contribute to forage breeding. By instituting winter barley breeding, we are doubling our program. Often winter and spring breeding is handled by two different breeders. To save time and resources we want to utilize double haploid technology. Here we request support to accelerate forage and winter breeding. The primary cost will be labor for forage quality testing, marker assisted selection, crossing and double haploid development. A modest supply budget will be required to support these activities. We believe this project is feasible because of preliminary work: 1) we have identified markers to speed forage selection 2) we have winter lines that survived in Bozeman in 2017 that are already being used in crosses 3) Pat Hays, who has successfully developed barley doubled haploids for Oregon, has agreed to help us establish the technology at MSU.

Regional Benefits.

For farmers and ranchers in Montana, improving forage barley production will reduce their largest operational cost, improve whole-farm economic stability, and thus increase their quality of life. Barley with higher yields and improved nutrition will improve land and water use efficiency. Most livestock growers are in rainfed production areas. Forage barley would empower their hay production, reducing need to buy and transport hay. Barely with improved nutrition means more meat production per acre of land and gallon of water. Forage “digestibility” is a measure of how easily vegetative biomass (forage) is digested by an animal. A conservative estimate is that a one percent increase in forage digestibility can lead to a three percent increase in the average daily gains of steers. (Casler et al. 1999, Mohammed et al. 1967)

 

Winter barley forage has the potential for even higher biomass and improved nutritional quality over spring barley. A winter barley forage could be harvested before extreme heat events, improving quality and maintaining yields. A winter barely forage is a sustainable answer to the current need: making use of spring moisture and requiring fewer inputs per biomass produced. Decreased herbicides could be required due to winter barley’s ability to outcompete weeds. Winter barley could avoid pests due to shorter summer life-cycle. Increased winter ground cover could conserve soil and reduce nitrate leaching and phosphorus runoff. A long-term goal is winter malt barley for Montana, with all the sustainability benefits of winter, plus with more stable quality and higher yield than spring malt.