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1995 Malting Barley Yields from an On-Farm Test in Kittitas County

Objective

To evaluate the adaptation and the quality characteristics of European malt type barley varieties under rill-irrigation as a comparative alternative to soft white spring wheat.

Location: Kittitas County, Washington
Mean Annual Precipitation: 8.8 inches (irrigated)
Mean Precipitation During Growing Season (April through July): 1.9 inches
Soil Classification: Naches Fine Sandy Loam
Previous Crop: Soft White Spring Wheat

Treatments

Six varieties were replicated three (3) times in strips 24 feet wide by 517 feet long using a randomized complete block design.

Comments

Varieties included in the trial along with a brief description of each appear below.

B1215 is a 2-row malting barley from Anheuser-Busch that was included in the trial as a check.

Colter has a malting background, but, as of yet, has not been approved as a malt type by the malting industry. As a feed type, it has been a high yielding variety.

Chinook has been a high yielding 2-row barley for the dryland region. It has been approved for export malt.

Stander, a 6-row barley from Minnesota, is agronomically superior to Morex -- the industry standard. Considered to be a variety with very good potential, approval still must be gained from maltsters and brewers to be designated as a malt type.

Triumph is a 2-row variety that allegedly has a high yield potential. Production is being contracted for the export market and, possibly, as a roast house variety.

Tyne was included for evaluation. A variety from the United Kingdom, it has the potential for export and as a roast house variety.

Driven primarily by an unprecedented escalation in real estate prices, the corresponding increases in land rental and lease rates and in the cost of capital has been reflected in the cost in production. While included in the cropping sequence in the past, feed-type barley has become a net economic loss for producers. However, the contraction in the crop sequencing period due to the loss of a rotational crop has contributed to production-related problems with the county=s mainstay: timothy hay. The intent of the trial was to identify a niche within the malting barley industry that will equate a net economic return similar to that of soft white spring wheat. With an anticipated price of $25 to $45 per ton premium over Portland cash price for feed barley, the goal could be achieved at existing barley yields. However, current yields are 1,500 to 2,000 pounds below a postulated potential. Production criterion included a test weight of 50 pounds or better, protein of 12.0% or less (with an industry maximum of 12.5%), thins of 10% or less, and with a plumpness of 80% or higher.

Kittitas County is uniquely positioned and acclimated for the production of premium malt barleys. The cooler temperatures during seed fill relative to the Columbia Basin is conducive to plumper kernels and, conceivably, to lower protein. To allow for the maximum deposition of starch in kernels and to produce the plump, full-bodied and mellow kernels that are desirable for malting barley, production practices must minimize moisture and temperature stress during pollination and seed fill. Production inputs for malting barley are generally less than for feed barley (notwithstanding seed prices for contracted varieties). To minimize the possibility of high protein -- an objectionable attribute in malting barley, the nitrogen requirement is less than that for feed types. Some varieties are more sensitive to excessive nitrogen levels, as expressed in higher protein.

Data

Test Weight (lbs/bu) and Plumpnenss (%) of malting barley varieties

Variety	Test Weight	Plumpness
Stander	50.8	92
Colter	47.4	82
Chinook	52.6	91
B1215	53.0	94
Triumph	51.3	93
Tyne	51.5	85

Conclusion

Except for Colter (e.g., test weight), the varieties achieved the pre-established criterion for baseline malt characteristics. The trial may have biased the yield for Triumph; a mistake in positioning a replication may have reduced the observed mean for Triumph by 200 to 250 pounds. Although a seedling density of 20 to 22 plants per square foot was desired, a density of 16 to 18 plants per square foot was actually realized. A 10 to 15 percent stand loss can result from a corrugation alone. A lighter than anticipated seeding rate and a week delay in planting could have adversely impacted yield potential. A general reduction in the average yield for the third replication could be a consequence of an untimely irrigation due to the location of the trial in the field. Although total pre-plant nitrogen (soil residual plus a supplemental application) was 15% greater than the 120 pounds targeted, no indication of lodging or undesirable protein levels were detected.

If not for the cooperation, guidance, and support of Pat Clerf and of Kevin Anderson, Great Western Malting Company, this on-farm trial would not have been possible.

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Hans Kok, WSU/UI Extension Conservation Tillage Specialist, UI Ag Science 231, PO Box 442339, Moscow, ID 83844 USA Redesigned by Leila Styer, CAHE Computer Resource Unit; Maintained by Debbie Marsh, Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences, WSU