Advanced agronomic practices to maximize feed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) yield, quality, and standability in Alberta environments

• Author / Creator

  Perrott, Laurel A

• The grain yields of feed barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) have increased at a slower rate than the yields of other major crops in Alberta, and seeded barley acres have declined over the past 20 years. Agronomic management and cultivar specific responses to management may provide solutions to increase grain yields and address production constraints such as lodging and quality limitations. Field experiments were conducted in 2014, 2015, and 2016 at four rainfed and one irrigated site in Alberta to evaluate the effects of seeding rate, post-emergence N, the plant growth regulator chlormequat chloride (CCC), and foliar fungicides on feed barley production. A separate field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of an advanced agronomic management package comprised of post-emergence N, CCC, and dual foliar fungicide on 10 feed barley cultivars. The largest yield increases (up to 19%) occurred when post-emergence N was applied in irrigated or high precipitation conditions and when levels of N applied at seeding were relatively low. Foliar fungicides resulted in small (3%) yield increases in the low disease pressures encountered in the study. Some agronomic and yield responses to dual fungicide and CCC depended on seeding rate. Chlormequat chloride did not markedly reduce height and lodging. Genetic lodging resistance was the best tool for lodging reduction in the study. Advanced agronomic management increased grain yield by 9.3% across all cultivars that all responded similarly. The highest yielding and quality cultivars were two-row. Of concern, recently registered cultivars (2008-2013) demonstrated static or negative yield gains compared with cultivars registered up to 13 years prior (2000). The 9.3% yield increase from advanced management was three times larger than the genetic yield gains observed across 10 cultivars registered between 2000 and 2013.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Cultivar
  • Seeding rate
  • Plant growth regulator
  • Chlormequat chloride
  • Genetics
  • Fungicide
  • Lodging
  • Grain quality
  • Agronomy
  • Yields
  • Post-emergence nitrogen
  • Feed barley

• Graduation date

  Fall 2017

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3319SG86

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.