Soil Fertility Projects
New winter malting barley lines are being developed at Oregon State University by Dr. Pat Hayes and no information is available on the optimum agronomic practices needed for these varieties to achieve their genetic potential yield and quality. At the present time, we have no information on which to base recommendations for the optimum seeding rate and date; fertilization practices including N, P, S, Zn, or Cl; herbicide tolerance; and agro-climatic zones where these new lines are best adapted. Accurate, research-based local information is essential for growers to make sound decisions about the optimum agronomic production practices needed to produce high yields of good quality grain.
The overall goal of this research is to have information on the key production practices (fertilization, planting rate and date, weed control, disease management, etc.) summarized in “Winter Malting Barley Production Handbook”. This will be an electronic handbook based at the Crop and Soil Science Department webpage and the CBARC webpage.
Objectives:
This research will
result in the development of recommended agronomic practices for the production
of winter malting barley by accomplishing the following objectives:
Justification:
Objective 1
New barley varieties are being
developed and their yield, grain protein and quality response to N fertilizer
has not been assessed. The malting
and brewing industry is seeking grain with protein levels between 11 and 13% for
the domestic malting market with lower grain levels desired for the export
market. Nitrogen management is the
key tool used to manipulate grain protein.
There are questions regarding the
optimum N fertilization practices that are needed to consistently produce
malting barley with acceptable protein levels.
There has been very little research on N management for malting barley in
the Pacific Northwest so N management recommendations for malting barley are
often based on the results from wheat research.
Results from wheat research on N management indicate that split
applications of N often result in higher grain protein levels than preplant N
applications. Spring N
applications are often taken up and used more efficiently by the plant, thereby
increasing the likelihood of producing acceptable grain protein.
Finally, no successful diagnostic or predictive tool exists to help growers predict grain protein levels prior to harvest. Research on N management for hard red spring wheat indicates that flag leaf N can be a useful tool to predict grain protein but there has been little research on flag leaf N in barley and its relationship to grain protein.
A preliminary trial was seeded in the fall of 2000 to assess the effect of fall and spring applied N on barley grain yield, protein, and quality. Fertilizer N was applied at 0, 50, 100, or 150 lbs of N in the fall prior to planting with each fall N rate then receiving an addition 0 or 50 lbs of N per acre in the spring. The largest grain yields resulted from the application of 100 to 150 lbs of N per acre. Grain protein increased from about 9% up to about 12% as the fall N rate increased from 0 to 150 lbs per acre. Grain protein was increased about 1% by the application of 50 lbs of N in the spring, regardless of the fall N application rate. It is essential that we confirm these results and new lines be evaluated in field trials.
Objective
2
Many
soils in the dryland production areas of the PNW are low in phosphorus (P),
sulfur (S), zinc (Zn), and chloride (Cl) using standard soil tests.
There has been no field research on the effects of these nutrients on
malting barley yield and quality. Data
from winter wheat trials suggests that application of P and S will often
increase yield but there is no information on Zn or Cl, even though soil test
levels for these four nutrients are often low. Dr. Neil Christensen is collaborating on these trials.
Results
from preliminary trials indicate that winter malting barley yields were
increased by P fertilization while yield responses to Zn fertilization were
small.
Objective
3
The
optimum seeding date and seeding rate are two critical agronomic variables that
growers need to know to maximize yield. Seeding
date affects the susceptibility of winter barley to soil-borne diseases,
determines fall plant development, may influence winterhardiness, affects the
number of tillers that form, and markedly affects yield potential. We have no information on the effect of planting date
on any of these factors. We
know that seeding rate also influences yield potential but we have no field
research on the effect of various seeding rates on winter malting barley yield
or quality.
Objective
4
The
aggressive growth of winter barley allows it to compete effectively with many
weeds. Nonetheless, herbicides are
widely used to control weeds such as downy brome. Barley varieties are known to vary widely in their
tolerance to common herbicides and determining the tolerance of the new winter
malting barley lines to labeled herbicides is critical. This work is being conducted jointly with Dr. Dan Ball,
weed scientist at CBARC.
Winter
Wheat
Winter
wheat
Winter
wheat is the dominant crop in the region and it has been the subject of
extensive research designed to determine the most effective fertilizer
application rates, methods, times of application, sources of nutrients, and
other issues. Other scientists in the region are continuing to conduct
field research to more completely understand the factors that control nutrient
availability and fertilizer responses to nutrients such as N, P, and S.
In
contrast, there has been only a limited amount of field research on nutrients
such as Zn and Cl and many questions remain about these nutrients.
Field trials are being conducted at both Pendleton and Moro to help
assess the need for these nutrients and determine when these nutrients should be
applied.
Summary
of preliminary results
Preliminary
results indicate that winter wheat grain yields were increased by P
fertilization. Application of
Zn fertilizer did increase the Zn concentration in the leaf tissue but the grain
yield response to Zn was much less than that response to P fertilizer.
Fertilization
with Cl increased flag leaf Cl concentration, grain yield and 1000-kernel weight
of winter wheat at both Pendleton and Moro.