Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Public outreach efforts for naked organic barley included speaking at organic agriculture and grain-related conferences, workshops, and events. Such events have allowed us to engage a diverse audience about the potential use of naked organic barley. Producers/growers End-users Grain retailers and wholesalers Processors Millers Brewers Distillers Maltsters Animal feed suppliers and feed mills Chefs Bakers Students K-12 students Undergrad and graduate students Urban agriculture students Academic and industry researchers Organic organizations General Public Instagram viewers (1109 followers, 159 posts on @nakedbarley) Consumers and farmers-market shoppers Business owners Changes/Problems:This project was originally awarded in 2020 to GrowNYC as a subcontractor of Oregon State University.In April of 2021 the PI, June Russell changed employers and moved to the Glynwood Center for RegionalFood and Farming, at which time the project was initially split between GrowNYC and Glynwood. InJanuary of 2022 the remainder of the project moved to Glynwood and a new agreement was createdbetween Oregon State University and the Glynwood Center. June Russell has consistentlymanaged the scope of work throughout the organizational transfer. Patrick Hayes, the original PIon this project, retired at the end of 2023. Brigid Meints, who was a co-PI and project manager, assumed the role of PIupon his retirement through the remainder of the no-cost extension. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Seven graduate students, two postdoctoral researchers, and a number of undergraduate students received training and professional development opportunities through this project. Attendance at conferences conveying the benefits of organic naked barley has allowed for development of professional networks and provided input regarding breeding goals for naked organic barley. Discussion of ideas and challenges at these conferences and events has provided training in how the goals and execution of the project should go forward. The graduate students have had many opportunities for professional development and training. They have learned many technical skills regarding experimental design, field work, plant pathology, disease resistance, data analysis, food science, weed management practices, public speaking, as well as a good sense of what working in academia is like. Attendance at meetings, field days and other activities have provided many opportunities to learn new ideas and points of view. Field related activities also provide the chance to learn many hands-on skills including field and plot management. Also, graduate students funded by this grant learned technical and academic skills to which they would not have otherwise been exposed. Jordyn Bunting (graduated 2021), Chris Massman (graduated 2022), John Hawkins (graduated 2022) Karl Kunze (graduated 2023), Cristiana Vallejos (graduated 2023), Gopika Gopinathan, and Siim Sepp- the graduate students who have been working on this project- have also had the opportunity to develop data analysis and academic paper writing skills. They have had the opportunity to learn and work with different genomic methods in plant breeding including GWAS and genomic selection. They have also gained experience in writing and submission of completed research. Additionally, from interactions at field days or conferences, they have begun to develop valuable networks with researchers and farmers. Through presenting research proposals and results at various functions, they have improved their speaking ability and have been involved in leadership positions of professional scientific societies including the National Association of Plant Breeders, Craft Maltsters Guild, and the Crop Science Society of America. Brigid Meints has had the opportunity to mentor all the graduate students on the grant and serves on the thesis committee for the OSU graduate students (and some at the other institutions) and primary advisor to Cristiana Vallejos. This project has provided her with training in project management, organizing events, malting, disease inoculation, and new data analysis techniques. Additionally, attendance and presenting at the OREI PD meeting gave her exposure to other experts in the field to learn from and instigate collaborations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Outcomes and results from this research have been shared by project members at regional, national, and international conferences, including the Organic Seed Growers Conference, Marbleseed Conference, NOFA-NY, Minnesota Organic Conference, National Association of Plant Breeders Conference, Craft Malt Conference, North American Barley Researchers Workshop, Barley Mutant Conference, Women in Craft Fermentation Summit, Student Organic Seed Symposium, ASA-CSSA-SSSA Tri-Societies Conference, Michigan Brewing and Malting conference, Philadelphia Grain and Malt Symposium, and Organic Agricultural Research Forum. Additionally, university participants have spoken at annual field days highlighting this project, with several field days organized specifically to showcase the naked barley research. Presentations have included tours of the regional trial and diversity panel to discuss production, potential varieties, disease resistance, weed management, and rotation options. Field day attendance has ranged from 20-100 participants. Over the course of the project, eOrganic has hosted several webinars on naked barley with more upcoming. We have also posted a number of bulletins and other resources to our eOrganic website. Researchers collaborated with a graphic designer to produce a barley zine, which includes information about the project and recipes developed by collaborators and stakeholders. A printed version has been distributed to over 700 people and the digital version (on eOrganic and barleyworld.org) has reached hundreds more. Participants from this project teamed up with organizers of the Cascadia Grains Conference, and members of the Value-added Grains OREI project to host a week-long virtual conference called 'Grains Week' during the Covid-19 lockdown. Five of the presentations focused specifically on this project; the total views for the week were 5,113. This content is on YouTube and may garner further views in the future. Social media postings on Instagram and Facebook allow researchers to share project updates and photos with thousands of followers between @nakedbarley, @culinarybreedingnetwork, @eorganicofficial, and @glynwoodorg. The @nakedbarley account was created specifically for this project and has 1028 followers with 153 posts. These accounts are used to distribute information about this project and have facilitated dialogues between project leaders and followers. We have been involved in the Culinary Breeding Network's Variety Showcase and/or Seed to Kitchen Farm to Flavor Events each year in different locations. We have been paired with various chefs and bakers to highlight breeding lines or new varieties of organic naked barley. These events draw between 100-500 attendees depending on the venue. At the 2022 Farm to Flavor event, which brought in over 200 participants, several members of the project stood at the naked barley table and talked with attendees. In 2023 we had two barley tables at the Variety Showcase hosted by the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming in conjunction with our annual meeting. Researchers collaborated with a graphic designer to produce a barley zine, which includes information about the project and recipes developed by collaborators and stakeholders. A printed version has been distributed to 200 people and the digital version has reached hundreds more. Participants from this project teamed up with organizers of the Cascadia Grains Conference, and members of the Value-added Grains OREI project to host a week-long conference called 'Grains Week'. Five of the presentations (given by Brigid Meints, Cristiana Vallejos, Andrew Ross, Jordyn Bunting, Mark Sorrells, Julie Dawson, June Russell, Kevin Smith, and Pat Hayes) focused specifically on this project; the total view for the week were 5,403. This content is on YouTube and may garner further views in the future. Several manuscripts have been, and are being prepared, and are in various stages of acceptance and submission to different journals, including Crop Science, APS, and the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. These include details on agronomic GxE in the fall regional trials, GWAS of several important diseases of barley, covered smut inoculation, micro-malting, weed competitive ability in naked barley, and brewing with naked malt. The results of several other studies are currently being analyzed and prepared for publication. Each of the breeding programs have uploaded phenotypic data from the regional trials and diversity panels to the T3 (Triticeae Toolbox: https://triticeaetoolbox.org/barley/) database. These data can be accessed by other breeding programs and researchers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Throughout the lifespan of this project, collaborators have grown out approximately 2000 naked barley genotypes in over 70 certified organic trials across the country, characterizing them extensively for agronomic traits, food and malt quality traits, weed competitive ability, winterhardiness, and resistance to other abiotic and biotic stressors. This comprehensive assessment of trait variation coupled with stakeholder guidance on trait importance is providing a solid foundation for new breeding work to develop varieties for organic production. The diversity panel was phenotyped for additional traits and GWAS has been resulting in the discovery of novel QTL and validation of known genes for traits including hydration index, resistance to embryo damage, covered smut, leaf rust, stripe rust, scald, and spot blotch. We initiated the development of the modified NAM population by making 75 targeted crosses, used marker-assisted selection at the F2 stage to select for naked lines, have advanced population using speed breeding, and 1400 mid-generation genotypes were grown in the field in the spring of 2024 for field evaluation and genomic selection. Thousands of growers, processors, and consumers have been provided with trial results and information about naked organic barley at conferences, field days, webinars, website postings, social media, and through personal communication. Goal 1: The value of naked barley as a new potential crop was described to stakeholders through a variety of mechanisms. A brewing study was conducted at OSU on three naked barley lines and one covered check using grain malted at OSU with two brewing technologies. These data were provided to maltsters and brewers at the Craft Malt Conference, an eOrganic webinar, and at the Women's Craft Fermentation Summit. In MN, a six-acre grain increase of MS10S4111-01, an advanced breeding line, was conducted for large-scale end-use testing and distribution to interested end-users. Using this grain, Kevin Smith worked with a malthouse and homebrewing group to demonstrate the potential of naked barley for malting and brewing, which was made into a video and put on YouTube. In WI, blocks of two naked barleys were grown on-farm for larger scale testing. At UW-Madison, sensory analysis on food grade naked barley was performed with professional bakers. Bakers worked with flour from different naked lines to replicate a sugar cookie recipe and a pita recipe. Baked goods were then sampled by customers and other researchers in a blind taste test. Researchers at UW-Madison convened a discussion of key stakeholders, including farmers, bakers, millers and seed company representatives to share these results. Glynwood has been working with Northeast farmers to grow and market white, purple, and black barley lines. Goal 2: The regional variety trials were grown in all years of the grant and comprised two trials of advanced experimental breeding lines and released varieties planted in the fall and spring. For the fall trial, 18 advanced naked barley lines were tested at 5 sites in five states: Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, and New York. For the spring trial, 18 naked barley entries were tested at 5 sites in the same five states. Genotypes were assessed for grain yield, test weight, plant height, heading date, disease resistance, winter survivability and weed competitive ability. The FRT was evaluated for scald in Ithaca and Corvallis. The SRT was also evaluated for FHB in St. Paul and Ithaca, spot blotch, net blotch, and bacterial leaf streak inoculated disease trials in St. Paul and leaf rust and stripe rust in Corvallis. Analyses of agronomic data are in progress. Samples from trials were sent to the USDA-ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit for micro-malting and analysis and will be assessed for food quality traits at OSU. The fall-planted trials had differential winter survival in WI, MN, and CA in the different years of the project that allowed us to gather data on winterhardiness. The trials were terminated after taking notes on differential winter survival. The fall regional trial was included in an inoculated Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) nursery in NY to test for disease reaction and deoxynivalenol (DON, a mycotoxin) levels. Goal 3: Threshability, or ease of hull loss, was identified as a key trait for naked grains in the first cycle of the grant. Using information from the diversity panel, research was done on the genetic basis and plausibility of genomic prediction for threshability. The data set includes nine environments where threshability was scored for 350 distinct barley genotypes. GWAS was performed to identify two QTL with a significant association to threshability. Using genomic prediction models, predictive ability for threshability was 0.84 using genomic best linear unbiased prediction. A manuscript was submitted and accepted with minor revisions in the Crop Science journal. In MN, grain samples from the 2021 FHB trial of the OREI Spring Diversity Panel were processed to separate kernels from hulls and the subsamples were submitted for DON analysis. The results indicate considerable variation for DON concentration in the hulls and kernels among the lines in the panel.Data are being prepared for publication. In Corvallis, inoculation studies for covered smut (incited by Ustilago hordei) were completed. Brigid Meints presented on this project at the North American Barley Researchers Workshop and ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Meeting. Heads from one year and one replication of the spring diversity panel were threshed under four different protocols and a control. Seed was then evaluated and germinated to look at resistance to embryo damage. Preliminary data are still being analyzed but show that there is a genetic component to embryo damage. Goal 4: The modified NAM population was developed, with crosses initially made in the spring/summer of 2020 at each location. Working with the USDA-ARS lab at Fargo, ND, we developed a KASP marker set that was used for marker-assisted selection for the nud allele during the F2 generation. F3 seed from OR, CA, and NY was sent to Madison, WI and St. Paul, MN for generation advance of the entire population. Heads were grown in the field under certified organic conditions in the spring of 2023 to select out genotypes that required vernalization. F4 heads were selected from all families that flowered and seed was planted in the greenhouse to increase to the F5 generation using single seed descent. In the spring of 2024, 1371 mid-generation genotypes from 65 families were sent to Corvallis, OR for a seed increase. 430 genotypes were selected and harvested to be used for genomic selection. Goal 5: New lesson plans that meet curriculum standards for multiple grade levels were created that will have options for in-person or virtual learning. Pat Hayes and Brigid Meints presented to a group of teachers interested in agriculture in the classroom who were interested in in-person classroom visits in the upcoming school year. Pat Hayes and Cristiana Vallejos visited middle and high school classrooms to engage with students about genetics and plant breeding related to naked barley. The Oregon Naked Barley Blend has been distributed to teachers and dozens of pounds of the blend have been distributed to interested home gardeners around the country for planting and selection. Goal 6: Details of the project have been disseminated through email, personal correspondence and communication, in-person field days, social media, conferences, and websites. The eOrganic website is updated to reflect progress of the project and contains bulletins, publications, webinars, and social media accounts. UW-Madison, Cornell, UC Davis, OSU, and UMN all hosted in-person field days with hundreds of participants gathering and interacting with researchers and students.At field day events, chefs and bakers prepared barley dishes for participants to taste.
Publications
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Kunze, K.H., Meints, B., Massman, C., Guti�rrez, L., Hayes, P.M., Smith, K.P. and Sorrells, M.E., 2024. Genotype� environment interactions of organic winter naked barley for agronomic, disease, and grain quality traits. Crop Science, 64(2), pp.678-696.
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Mart�nez-Subir�, M., Meints, B., Tomasino, E. and Hayes, P., 2024. Effects of roasting and steeping on nutrients and physiochemical compounds in organically grown naked barley teas. Food Chemistry: X, 22, p.101385.
- Type:
Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Kunze, K.H., Meints, B., Massman, C., Guti�rrez, L., Hayes, P.M., Smith, K.P., Bergstrom, G.C. and Sorrells, M.E., 2024. Genome?wide association of an organic naked barley diversity panel identified quantitative trait loci for disease resistance. The Plant Genome, p.e20530.
|
Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Public outreach efforts for naked organic barley included speaking at organic agriculture and grain-related conferences, workshops, and events. Such events have allowed us to engage a diverse audience about the potential use of naked organic barley. · Producers/growers · End-users o Processors o Grain retailers and wholesalers o Millers o Brewers o Distillers o Maltsters Organic poultry egg and meat producers Animal feed suppliers and feed mills o Chefs o Bakers · Students o K-12 students o Undergrad and graduate students o Urban agriculture students · Academic and industry researchers · Organic organizations · General Public o Instagram/Facebook viewers (996 followers, 150 posts on @nakedbarley, posts also shared by @culinarybreedingnetwork which has 27.5K followers) o Consumers and farmers-market shoppers o Business owners Changes/Problems:In 2021 the subcontract originally awarded to GrowNYC was revised and split evenly with Glynwood due to June Russell's (Key collaborator) move from GrowNYC to Glynwood. In January of 2023 GrowNYC abdicated their role and scope of work on the project and referred the remaining scope of work and project funds to Glynwood. This was agreed to by the Project PI. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Attendance at conferences conveying the benefits of organic naked barley has allowed for development of professional networks and provided input regarding breeding goals for naked organic barley. Discussion of ideas and challenges at these conferences and events has provided training in how the goals and execution of the project should go forward. The graduate students have had many opportunities for professional development and training. They have learned many technical skills regarding experimental design, field work, plant pathology, disease resistance, data analysis, food science, weed management practices, public speaking, as well as a good sense of what working in academia is like. Attendance at meetings, field days and other activities have provided many opportunities to learn new ideas and points of view. Field related activities also provide the chance to learn many hands-on skills including field and plot management. Also, graduate students funded by this grant learned technical and academic skills to which they would not have otherwise been exposed. Karl Kunze (graduated 2023), Cristiana Vallejos (graduated 2023), Gopika Gopinathan, and Siim Sepp- the breeding graduate students who have been working on this project- have also had the opportunity to develop data analysis and academic paper writing skills. They have had the opportunity to learn and work with different genomic methods in plant breeding including GWAS and genomic selection. They have also gained experience in writing and submission of completed research. Additionally, from interactions at field days or conferences, they have begun to develop valuable networks with researchers and farmers. Through presenting research proposals and results at various functions, they have improved their speaking ability and have been involved in leadership positions of professional scientific societies including the National Association of Plant Breeders, Craft Maltsters Guild, and the Crop Science Society of America. Brigid Meints has had the opportunity to mentor all the graduate students on the grant and serves on the thesis committee for the OSU graduate students (and some at the other institutions) and primary advisor to Cristiana Vallejos. This project has provided her with training in project management, organizing events, malting, disease inoculation, and new data analysis techniques. Additionally, attendance and presenting at the OREI PD meeting gave her exposure to other experts in the field to learn from and instigate collaborations. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Details of the project have been disseminated through email, personal correspondence and communication, conferences, social media, and websites. UW-Madison, Cornell, UC Davis, OSU, and UMN all hosted in-person field days with hundreds of participants gathering and interacting with researchers and students.At field day events, chefs and bakers prepared barley dishes for participants to taste. Several manuscripts have been, and are being prepared, and are in various stages of acceptance and submission to different journals, including Crop Science, APS, and the Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists. These include details on agronomic GxE in the fall regional trials, GWAS of several important diseases of barley, covered smut inoculation, micro-malting, weed competitive ability in naked barley, and brewing with naked malt. The results of several other studies are currently being analyzed and prepared for publication. The Culinary Breeding Network organized the 2022 Sagra del Radicchio, which brought in over ~375 attendees. Jordyn Bunting prepared a barley risotto dish to highlight whole grain barley and several members of the project stood at the naked barley table and talked with participants throughout the evening. Glynwood hosted a Hudson Valley Value-Added Grains School and a Home Bakers meet-up that both featured barley and included barley packages and zines for guest giveaways. Social media postings in Instagram and Facebook allow researchers to share project updates and photos with thousands of followers between @nakedbarley, @culinarybreedingnetwork, @eorganicofficial, and @glynwoodorg. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, and Cristiana Vallejos presented in oral and poster presentations at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA in the Plant Breeding section on weed competitive ability, malting quality of naked barley, and covered smut. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, Cristiana Vallejos, and Kevin Smith presented at the 2022 North American Barley Researchers Workshop on weed competitive ability, resistance to embryo damage, malting naked barley, FHB in naked barley, and covered smut. Each of the breeding programs have uploaded phenotypic data from the regional trials and diversity panels to the T3 (Triticeae Toolbox: https://triticeaetoolbox.org/barley/) database. These data can be accessed by other breeding programs and researchers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?· Scholarship Develop and implement two webinars with eOrganic. Submit publications to eOrganic and scientific journals about projects: Food quality from spring regional trial Weed competitive ability GWAS results on diseases Brewing trials Malting research Smut and FHB inoculation studies · Education Work with teachers at the local schools to implement previously developed lesson plans Work with teachers at the local schools to find ways to involve students in the naked barley project. · Outreach Continue to educate our target audience through workshops and conferences- either in-person or virtual (Variety Showcase, Winter Vegetable Sagra, MarbleSeed, Organic Seed Growers Conference, Craft Malt Conference, Barley Improvement Conference). Gather and provide information on research and opportunities for growers, processors, bakers, and brewers to gain access to naked barley. Conduct expanded outreach to professionals in the craft beverage and culinary sectors. Host field days and other outreach events to increase community involvement and awareness. Research Advance the NAM population to further assess naked barley germplasm and gather more data on traits determined to be important for its production. Conduct loose smut inoculation trials on the diversity panel in the greenhouse at OSU. Conduct brewing trials with the OSU Fermentation Science program. Consider variety release of MS10S4111-01, Purple Prince, and other advanced germplasm.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the third year of the grant, participants grew out the third year of trials for this project, including regional trials and breeding lines from the NAM. This involved growing ~1500 naked barley lines (~400 fixed lines including released varieties and advanced breeding lines, and ~1100 early generation segregating lines in 70 families for the NAM) in certified organic trials. Advanced lines were characterized for agronomic traits, food and malt quality traits, weed competitive ability, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stressors. Early generation material was screened for growth habit. Hundreds of growers, processors, and consumers have been provided with trial results and information about naked organic barley at conferences, field days, through personal communication, website postings, and social media. Goal 1: The value of naked barley as a new potential crop was described to stakeholders through a variety of mechanisms. Kevin Smith worked with a malthouse and homebrewing group to demonstrate the potential of naked barley for malting and brewing, which was made into a video and put on YouTube. Glynwood has been working with Northeast farmers to grow and market white, purple, and black barley lines. Andrew Ross's lab began working on a flaking study with four varieties of naked barley in order to educate the public on novel uses of naked barley. This study will continue and the protocol will be published when finished. Goal 2: For the 2022-23 regional variety testing program we grew advanced experimental breeding lines and released varieties in the fall and spring. For the fall trial, 18 advanced naked barley lines were tested at 5 sites in five states: Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, and New York. For the spring trial, 18 naked barley entries were tested at 5 sites in the same five states. Genotypes were assessed for grain yield, test weight, plant height, heading date, disease resistance, winter survivability and weed competitive ability. The FRT was evaluated for scald in Ithaca and Corvallis. The SRT was also evaluated for FHB in St. Paul and Ithaca, spot blotch, net blotch, and bacterial leaf streak inoculated disease trials in St. Paul and leaf rust and stripe rust in Corvallis. Analyses of agronomic data are in progress. Samples from trials were sent to the USDA-ARS Cereal Crops Research Unit for micro-malting and analysis and will be assessed for food quality traits at OSU. The fall-planted trials had low winter survival in WI, MN, and CA and trials were terminated after taking notes on differential winter survival. The fall regional trial was included in an inoculated Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) nursery in NY to test for disease reaction and deoxynivalenol (DON, a mycotoxin) levels. Goal 3: In Corvallis, inoculation studies for covered smut (incited by Ustilago hordei) were completed. Data is being analyzed and prepared for publication. Brigid Meints has presented on this project at the North American Barley Researchers Workshop and ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Meeting. Heads from one year and one replication of the spring diversity panel were threshed under four different protocols and a control. Seed was then evaluated and germinated to look at resistance to embryo damage. Preliminary data are still being analyzed but show that there is a genetic component to embryo damage. Based on hydration index measurements, micro-malting using four protocols was conducted on seven naked genotypes and one covered check. Cristiana Vallejos (MS student) presented on these data at the North American Barley Researchers Workshop. Goal 4: Development of the modified NAM population continued. F3 seed from OR, CA, and NY was sent to Madison, WI and St. Paul, MN for generation advance of the entire population. Heads were grown in the field under certified organic conditions in the spring of 2023 to select out genotypes that required vernalization. F4 heads were selected from all families that flowered and seed was planted in the greenhouse to increase to the F5 generation. Goal 5: Brigid Meints presented to a group of teachers interested in agriculture in the classroom who were interested in in-person classroom visits in the upcoming school year. Pat Hayes and Cristiana Vallejos visited middle and high school classrooms to engage with students about genetics and plant breeding related to naked barley. The Oregon Naked Barley Blend has been distributed to teachers and dozens of pounds of the blend have been distributed to interested home gardeners around the country for planting and selection. Goal 6: Details of the project have been disseminated through email, personal correspondence and communication, in-person field days, social media, conferences, and websites. The eOrganic website is updated to reflect progress of the project and contains bulletins, publications, webinars, and social media accounts. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, and Cristiana Vallejos presented oral and poster presentations at the Tri-Societies conference. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, Cristiana Vallejos, and Kevin Smith presented at the North American Barley Researchers Workshop. Gopika Gopinathan presented a poster at the National Association of Plant Breeders conference. Julie Dawson presented virtually to the Bread Bakers Guild of America and OGRAIN about the project. Brigid Meints presented at the OREI PD Meeting in Washington DC. Participants at OSU, UMN, UW-Madison, Cornell, and UC Davis all hosted field days and interacted with hundreds of growers and other stakeholders. Jordyn Bunting, Brigid Meints, and Cristiana Vallejos participated in the Sagra del Radicchio organized by Lane Selman and served a barley risotto while educating the general public about naked barley.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kunze, K., Meints, B., Massman, C., Gutierrez, L., Hayes, P.M., Smith, K., and Sorrells, M. Genotype x Environment Interactions of Organic Winter Naked Barley for Agronomic, Disease and Grain Quality Traits. In press.
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Ross, A.S., Meints, B.M., and Bunting, J. 2023. Barley , In ICC Handbook of 21st Century Cereal Science and Technology. Eds., Shewry, P.R., Koksel, H. and Taylor, J.R. Elsevier, pp. 153-160.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kunze, K., 2023. Genomic And Phenotypic Characterization of Malting Barley and Naked Multi-use Barley as Winter Crops for New York State (Doctoral dissertation, Cornell).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Gopinathan, G., Sandro Garcia, P., Meints, B., Gutierrez, L. 2023. Speed breeding with early harvest in naked barley to accelerate genetic gain. National Association of Plant Breeders Conference, Greenville, SC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Meints, B., Vallejos, C., Hayes, P. M., 2022. Screening a Diverse Set of Naked Barley for Resistance to Covered Smut. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Kunze, K., Meints, B., Massman, C., Gutierrez, L., Hayes, P.M., Sorrells, M. E., 2022. Genotype By Environment Interaction of Organic Winter Naked Barley. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Vallejos, C., Fisk, S., Hayes, P., Meints, B. 2022. Manipulating Steep and Germination Protocols to Improve Malting Quality Profiles of Naked Barley. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting.
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Public outreach efforts for naked organic barley included speaking at organic agriculture and grain-related conferences, workshops, and events. Such events have allowed us to engage a diverse audience about the potential use of naked organic barley. Producers/growers End-users Processors Grain retailers and wholesalers Millers Brewers Distillers Maltsters Organic poultry egg and meat producers Animal feed suppliers and feed mills Chefs Bakers Students K-12 students Undergrad and graduate students Urban agriculture students Academic and industry researchers Organic organizations General Public Instagram/Facebook viewers (878 followers, 136 posts on @nakedbarley) Consumers and farmers-market shoppers Business owners Changes/Problems:Problem: Visits and experiments with K-12 schools remained challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Solution: Planned activities were canceled and will be restarted in the fall of 2022. Problem: Weather and pests resulted in quality issues and missed planting opportunities. Solution: For harvested grain with quality issues (primarily pre-harvest sprouting as a result of rain prior to harvest), we have an opportunity to look at the different responses of the lines in the trial, which gives us useful breeding and selection information. Problem: Shortage of grain for GrowNYC Grains to work with and market. Solution: Activities pivoted to outreach to farmers. Progress was made with Small Valley Milling producing several varieties on a commercial scale in 2020. Outreach may yield future results in building general capacity for handling. Problem: Heavy rains after planting and crow damage in Davis, CA resulted in loss of the SRT Solution: The trial was replanted at Tulelake, CA. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Indirectly, attendance at conferences conveying the benefits of organic naked barley has allowed for development of professional networks and provided input regarding breeding goals for naked organic barley. Discussion of ideas and challenges at these conferences and events has provided training in how the goals and execution of the project should go forward. The graduate students have had many opportunities for professional development and training. They have learned many technical skills regarding experimental design, field work, plant pathology, disease resistance, data analysis, food science, weed management practices, public speaking, as well as a good sense of what working in academia is like. Attendance at meetings, field days and other activities have provided many opportunities to learn new ideas and points of view. Field related activities also provide the chance to learn many hands-on skills including field and plot management. Also, graduate students funded by this grant learned technical and academic skills to which they would not have otherwise been exposed. Chris Massman (graduated 2022), Karl Kunze, John Hawkins (graduated 2022), and Cristiana Vallejos- the breeding graduate students who have been working on this project- have also had the opportunity to develop data analysis and academic paper writing skills. They have had the opportunity to learn and work with different genomic methods in plant breeding including GWAS and genomic selection. They have also gained experience in writing and submission of completed research. Additionally, from interactions at field days or conferences, they have begun to develop valuable networks with researchers and farmers. Through presenting research proposals and results at various functions, they have improved their speaking ability and have been involved in leadership positions of professional scientific societies including the Organic Seed Alliance, National Association of Plant Breeders, and the Crop Science Society of America.At the 2022 annual meeting for this project, graduate students (current and recent) presented their research projects to co-PIs and stakeholders and helped generate future research project ideas. The food quality analyses being run at OSU provided opportunities to train a graduate student, Jordyn Bunting (graduated Dec 2021) and undergraduate student in wet chemistry and other methods of analyzing flour and cooked grains. This has involved learning cereal quality analytical and end-product testing and assessment, experimental design, statistical analyses, oral and written communication skills. Brigid Meints has had the opportunity to mentor all of the graduate students on the grant and serves on the thesis committee for the OSU graduate students and primary advisor to Cristiana Vallejos. Brigid also had the opportunity to moderate the session on 'Breeding for Organic Management Systems Oral: What Are the Priority Traits and Breeding Methods?' at the 2021 ASA-CSSA-SSSA conference. This project has provided her training in project management, organizing events, malting, disease inoculation, and new data analysis techniques. GrowNYC Grains staff have been trained on the breeding process and culinary attributes of barley through this project. The GrowNYC Teaching Garden staff planted the Oregon Naked Barley Blend in their teaching garden and at the NYU Urban Farm Lab and learned about growing small-scale grain grow-outs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Details of the project have been disseminated through email, personal correspondence and communication, conferences, social media, and websites. UW-Madison, Cornell, UC Davis, OSU, and UMN hosted in-person field days. A report of the field day at Corvallis, OR was posted to the eOrganic research updates page. Several manuscripts were prepared and are in various stages of acceptance in different journals, including Crop Science, Foods, and the Journal of Distilling Science. These include details on agronomic GxE in the spring regional trials, GWAS and genomic prediction of threshability, food quality and functionality traits in the fall regional trials, and an experiment on grain-on whiskey distillation with naked barley. The results of several other studies are currently being analyzed and prepared for publication. The Culinary Breeding Network, Artisan Grains Collaborative, and Seed to Kitchen Collaborative organized the 2022 Farm to Flavor event, which brought in over 200 attendees. Jordyn Bunting prepared a barley panzanella dish to highlight flour and whole grain barley and several members of the project stood at the naked barley table and talked with participants throughout the evening. Glynwood hosted a Hudson Valley Bakers Convening and a Farm dinner that both featured barley, and included barley packages for guest giveaways. Additionally, in collaboration with GrowNYC Grains, they hosted a home baker's meetup that featured barley products, including a barley milk. GrowNYC Grains x Glynwood also put out an updated barley flyer on 'Demystifying Barley' for consumers. Social media postings in Instagram and Facebook allow researchers to share project updates and photos with thousands of followers between @nakedbarley, @culinarybreedingnetwork, @eorganicofficial, @glynwoodorg, and @grownycgrains. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, and Chris Massman presented in oral and poster presentations at the ASA-CSSA-SSSA in the Organic Plant Breeding section on threshability, weed competitive ability, resistance to embryo damage, and covered smut. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, Cristiana Vallejos, and Chris Massman presented at the virtual 2022 Organic Seed Growers Conference on threshability, weed competitive ability, resistance to embryo damage, and covered smut. Karl Kunze presented on organic naked barley at the 2022 Michigan Brewing and Malting conference. Jordyn Bunting of OSU presented an eOrganic webinar entitled Food Functionality of Naked Barley. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnDLmCLRHqU&t=1s Each of the breeding programs have uploaded phenotypic data from the regional trials and diversity panels to the T3 (Triticeae Toolbox: https://triticeaetoolbox.org/barley/) database. These data can be accessed by other breeding programs and researchers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Scholarship Develop and implement two webinars with eOrganic. Submit publications to eOrganic and scientific journals about projects: Agronomics GxE from fall regional trial Food quality from spring regional trial Weed competitive ability GWAS results on diseases Brewing trials Malting research, Smut and FHB inoculation studies Poultry layer and broiler trial Education Work with teachers at the local schools to implement previously developed lesson plans Develop new lesson plans for a variety of curriculum standards and grades Work with teachers at the local schools to find ways to involve students in the naked barley project. Outreach Develop spec sheets on functionality for bakers, maltsters, and feed operations for different varieties. Continue to educate our target audience through workshops and conferences- either in-person or virtual (Variety Showcase, Winter Vegetable Sagra, Cascadia Grains Conference, MOSES, Organic Seed Growers Conference, Barley Day, Student Organic Seed Symposium, Organic World Congress). Gather and provide information on research and opportunities for growers, processors, bakers, and brewers to gain access to naked barley. Further outreach to feed suppliers and end users will be conducted to inform stakeholders about the project, assist in the development of the market, capture information on market potential and educate end users on the attributes of naked barley in feed rations. Conduct expanded outreach to professionals in the craft beverage and culinary sectors. Increase education and outreach through social media channels, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and the GrowNYC Grains newsletter. Host field days and other outreach events to increase community involvement and awareness. The annual project/stakeholder review meeting will be held in the Northeast in 2023. Attend and prepare posters for conferences including the upcoming ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings to share and discuss results with other researchers. Research Initiate new crosses and continue to select and advance cross progeny for variety development. Conduct field trials including the spring/fall regional trials as well as the NAM population to further assess naked barley germplasm and gather more data on traits determined to be important for its production. Conduct sensory trials using grain harvested in the 2021 and 2022 harvest season to assess genotypes for their use in baking as well as further outreach and get feedback from bakers. Conduct loose smut inoculation trials on the diversity panel in the greenhouse at OSU. Consider variety release of MS10S4111-01.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the second year of the grant, participants grew out the second year of trials for this project, including regional trials and the diversity panel. This involved growing over 400 naked barley lines in certified organic trials, characterizing them for agronomic traits, food and malt quality traits, weed competitive ability, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stressors. All the crosses for the NAM were completed and advanced in the greenhouse. Marker assisted selection for the nud allele was conducted at the F2 generation. Hundreds of growers, processors, and consumers have been provided with trial results and information about naked organic barley at conferences, virtual field days, through personal communication, website postings, and social media. Goal 1: The value of naked barley as a new potential crop was described to stakeholders through a variety of mechanisms. A brewing study was conducted at OSU on three naked barley lines and one covered check using grain malted at OSU with two brewing technologies. These data will be provided to maltsters and brewers. In WI, blocks of two naked barleys were grown on-farm for larger scale testing. GrowNYC and Glynwood have been working with Northeast farmers to grow and market purple and black barley lines. Goal 2: For the 2021-22 regional variety testing program we grew advanced experimental breeding lines and released varieties in the fall and spring. For the fall trial, 18 advanced naked barley lines were tested at 5 sites in five states: Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, and New York. For the spring trial, 18 naked barley entries were tested at 5 sites in the same five states. Genotypes were assessed for grain yield, test weight, plant height, heading date, disease resistance, winter survivability and weed competitive ability. The FRT was evaluated for scald in Ithaca and Corvallis The SRT was also evaluated for FHB in St.Paul and Ithaca;, spot blotch, net blotch, and bacterial leaf streak inoculated disease trials in St. Paul and leaf rust and stripe rust in Corvallis. Analyses of agronomic data are in progress. The fall-planted trials had low winter survival in WI and MN and trials were fully or partially terminated after taking notes on differential winter survival. The fall regional trial was included in an inoculated Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) nursery in NY to test for disease reaction and deoxynivalenol (DON, a mycotoxin) levels. The spring trial at Davis, CA was unsuccessful due to high rainfall after planting and seedling removal by crows and was replanted at Tulelake, CA. After that, all spring trials survived at all locations and data are being collected and analyzed. Goal 3: Threshability, or ease of hull loss, was identified as a key trait for naked grains in the first cycle of the grant. Using information from the diversity panel, research was done on the genetic basis and plausibility of genomic prediction for threshability. The data set includes nine environments where threshability was scored for 350 distinct barley genotypes. GWAS was performed to identify two QTL with a significant association to threshability. Using genomic prediction models, predictive ability for threshability was 0.84 using genomic best linear unbiased prediction. A manuscript was submitted and accepted with minor revisions in the Crop Science journal. In MN, grain samples from the 2021 FHB trial of the OREI Spring Diversity Panel was processed to separate kernels from hulls and the subsamples were submitted for DON analysis this past winter from the St. Paul and for about half of the Crookston location.The remaining samples will be submitted this fall. Initial analyses indicate considerable variation for DON concentration in the hulls and kernels among the lines in the panel.Data is currently being analyzed. In Corvallis, inoculation studies for covered smut (incited by Ustilago hordei) were conducted. Based on hydration index measurements, micro-malting using four protocols was conducted on seven naked genotypes and one covered check. For both studies, data are being analyzed and will be presented and published. Goal 4: Development of the modified NAM population continued at all locations. F2 plants were grown out. Working with the USDA-ARS lab at Fargo, ND, we developed a KASP marker set that was used for marker-assisted selection for the nud allele. F3 and future generations will be grown out using single seed descent. Goal 5: In-person classroom visits were still suspended because of Covid-19. However, researchers are continuing to work with teachers to find ways to provide distance learning and educational resources safely. Additionally, new lesson plans that meet curriculum standards for multiple grade levels were created that will have options for in-person or virtual learning. Pat Hayes and Brigid Meints presented to a group of teachers interested in agriculture in the classroom who were interested in in-person classroom visits in the upcoming school year. The Oregon Naked Barley Blend has been distributed to teachers and continues to be distributed to interested home gardeners for planting and selection. Goal 6: Details of the project have been disseminated through email, personal correspondence and communication, in-person field days, social media, conferences, and websites. The eOrganic website is updated to reflect progress of the project and contains bulletins, publications, webinars, and social media accounts. At the 2022 Farm to Flavor event, which brought in over 200 participants, several members of the project stood at the naked barley table and talked with attendees. Jordyn Bunting shared his research on food quality and functionality in an eOrganic webinar. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, and Chris Massman presented oral and poster presentations at the Tri-Societies conference. Brigid Meints, Karl Kunze, Cristiana Vallejos, and Chris Massman presented at the virtual Organic Seed Growers Conference. Brigid Meints presented at the American Craft Spirits Association conference, John Hawkins presented at the National Fusarium Head Blight Virtual Forum. Participants at OSU, UMN, UW-Madison, Cornell and UC Davis were able to hold in-person field days.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Massman, C., Meints, B., Hernandez, J., Kunze, K., Hayes, P.M., Sorrells, M.E., Smith, K.P., Dawson, J.C. and Gutierrez, L., 2022. Genetic characterization of agronomic traits and grain threshability for organic naked barley in the northern United States. Crop Science, 62(2), pp.690-703.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Massman, C., Meints, B., Hernandez, J., Kunze, K., Smith, K.P., Sorrells, M.E., Hayes, P.M., and Gutierrez, L. Genomic Prediction of Threshability in Naked Barley. Crop Science. Accepted with minor revisions.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Bunting, J.S.; Ross, A.S.; Meints, B.M.; Hayes, P.M.; Kunze, K.; Sorrells, M.E. Effect of Genotype and Environment on Food-Related Traits of Organic Winter Naked
Barleys. Foods 2022, 11, x. https://doi.org/10.3390/xxxxx
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Meints, B., Kunze, K., Massman, C., and Vallejos, C. 2022. Breeding Barley for Organic Systems. In Proceedings for the Organic Seed Growers Conference.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Massman, C., 2023. Organic Multiuse Naked Barley Characterization and Genomic Studies (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Wisconsin-Madison).
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Bunting, J.S., 2021. Effect of Genotype and Environment on Organic Winter and Spring Naked Barley Composition and Food Functionality.
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Public outreach efforts for naked organic barley included speaking at organic agriculture and grain-related conferences, workshops, and events. Such events have allowed us to engage a diverse audience about the potential use of naked organic barley. Additionally, digital material produced after in-person gatherings became unsafe has allowed us to reach an even broader audience. Producers/growers End-users Processors Grain retailers and wholesalers Millers Brewers Distillers Maltsters Organic poultry egg and meat producers Animal feed suppliers and feed mills Chefs Bakers Students K-12 students Undergrad and graduate students Urban agriculture students Academic and industry researchers Organic organizations General Public Instagram/Facebook viewers (733 followers, 114 posts on @nakedbarley) Consumers and farmers market shoppers Business owners Changes/Problems:Covid-19 related Problem: Visits and experiments with K-12 schools could not be conducted as planned. Solution: Planned activities were canceled and were moved online for the 2020-2021 school year. Problem: We could not hold our 2021 annual meeting with stakeholders in NY. Solution: Researchers began meeting virtually every month with each other and stakeholders and are working on developing other virtual content to disseminate to stakeholders. Researchers held a 2-hour virtual meeting in May 2021 to gather the entire group for annual updates. Problem: Because of University restrictions placed on hiring summer labor, several of the programs were not able to employ hourly workers to help with research. Solution: Trials were maintained and analyzed to the best ability of the current employees. Problem: Social distancing and other restriction prevented a large gathering of people for field days at UW-Madison. Solution: A smaller, more informal event was held instead with specifically invited guests. Not Covid-19 related Problem: Weather and pests resulted in quality issues and missed planting opportunities. Solution: For harvested grain with quality issues (primarily pre-harvest sprouting as a result of rain prior to harvest), we have an opportunity to look at the different responses of the lines in the trial, which gives us useful breeding and selection information. Problem: As a result of equipment break-downs, poorly germinating grain, and crop failure, the grain for the malting and brewing trials was rendered unusable. Solution: The malting and brewing study is underway, but will be completed in the fall of 2021. Problem: Lines in the diversity panel were found to be genetically identical despite having separate names and coming from different sources. This presents challenges in performing GWAS and GS analysis. Solution: Genetically identical lines that displayed the same phenotype were relabeled to have the same name. Lines that were similar, but not completely identical were removed from the following analyses. Problem: Covered lines used as replicated checks in the diversity panel do not have variability for threshability. This is detrimental when calculating means of replicated lines, because there is not a good estimation of experimental error for threshability based on the replicated hulled lines. Solution: The hulled lines were removed from the analysis for threshability and the genetically identical lines previously mentioned were used as replicated checks instead. Problem: Shortage of grain for GrowNYC Grains to work with and market at the Grainstand. Solution: Activities pivoted to outreach to farmers. Progress was made with Small Valley Milling producing several varieties on a commercial scale in 2020. Outreach may yield future results in building general capacity for handling. Problem: Preharvest sprouting and smut damage at more than one location in more than one year made statistical analyses of the quality data challenging. Solution: As a result of withdrawal of the damaged samples from the data set either post-hoc (PHS) or prior to testing (smut) the design became unbalanced and did not allow a full factorial analysis for many traits. Problem: At UW-Madison, incorrect field dimensions in the spring regional trial prevented planting of the experiment as originally planned. Solution: Planting layout was adjusted in-field and phenotypes were assessed throughout the season to ensure that changes were properly recorded. Problem: Spatial variability in the field, combined with a spring drought, let to phenotypic variability within genotypes of the spring regional trial. Solution: Data was recorded for plots affected that can be used as covariates when analyzing the trial. Problem: A high variability in maturity date between genotypes in the fall regional trial led to some lines being ready for harvest weeks sooner than other lines. Solution: To avoid yield losses and penalization of early lines, the experiment was harvested in two stages. Harvest date was recorded for each line and can be used to correct for differences between harvest dates. Personnel Changes at GrowNYC GrowNYC Grains moved to co-locate with GrowNYC Wholesale in a warehouse in the Bronx, NY. The project's retail operation the Grainstand discontinued co-packing in February of 2021 and will wind down operations in the fall of 2021. At this time GrowNYC is working toward a full shift of its strategic efforts to support the development of wholesale channels for the regionally grown grains. Key staff changes: June Russell moved from GrowNYC in April of 2021 and is working with the Glynwood Center for Regional Food & Farming. June will continue working as a value chain coordinator in the small grains and staples sector and will continue to partner on the project. At the time of this report, GrowNYC FAA Assistant Director Cheryl Huber is determining proposed budget changes to the project going forward. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Indirectly, attendance at conferences conveying the benefits of organic naked barley has allowed for development of professional networks and provided input regarding breeding goals for naked organic barley. Discussion of ideas and challenges at these conferences and events has provided training in how the goals and execution of the project should go forward. The graduate students have had many opportunities for professional development and training. They have learned many technical skills regarding experimental design, field work, plant pathology, disease resistance, data analysis, food science, weed management practices, public speaking, as well as a good sense of what working in academia is like. Attendance at meetings, field days and other activities have provided many opportunities to learn new ideas and points of view. Field related activities also provide the chance to learn many hands-on skills including field and plot management. Also, graduate students funded by this grant were able to learn technical and academic skills that they would not have otherwise been exposed to. Chris Massman, Karl Kunze, John Hawkins, and Cristiana Vallejos, the breeding graduate students working on this project have also had the opportunity to develop data analysis and academic paper writing skills. They have had the opportunity to learn and work with different genomic methods in plant breeding including GWAS and genomic selection. They have also gained experience in writing and submission of completed research. Additionally, from interactions at field days or conferences, they have begun to develop valuable networks with researchers and farmers. Through presenting research proposals and results at various functions, they have improved their speaking ability. Karl Kunze was the local student liaison for the Graduate Student Working Group of the National Association of Plant Breeders and will be student representative for the Crop Science Society of America board starting in 2022. The food quality analyses being run at OSU have provided opportunities to train a graduate student, Jordyn Bunting, and undergraduate in wet chemistry and other methods of analyzing flour and cooked grains. This has involved learning cereal quality analytical and end-product testing and assessment, experimental design, statistical analyses, oral and written communication skills. Brigid Meints (former Postdoc, now Assistant Professor) has had the opportunity to mentor all of the graduate students on the grant and serves on the thesis committee for the OSU graduate students. This project has provided her training in project management, organizing events, malting, disease inoculation, and new data analysis techniques. GrowNYC Grains staff have been trained on the breeding process and culinary attributes of barley through this project. The GrowNYC Teaching Garden staff planted the Oregon Naked Barley Blend in their teaching garden and at the NYU Urban Farm Lab and learned about growing small-scale grain grow-outs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Details of the project have been disseminated through email, personal correspondence and communication, conferences, social media, and websites. UW-Madison, Cornell, UC Davis, and UMN hosted in-person field days and OSU hosted virtual field days on Instagram Live. The UW-Madison person field day was attended by approximately twenty growers and other people in industry. Because of the small size, researchers were able to engage participants more directly in the question-and-answer sections of the event. Social media postings in Instagram and Facebook allow researchers to share project updates and photos with thousands of followers between @nakedbarley, @culinarybreedingnetwork, @eorganicofficial, and @grownycgrains. Brigid Meints from OSU presented at the Craft Malt Conference on malting and brewing naked barley. June Russell, Brigid Meints, and Karl Kunze participated in a panel discussion with project partners at the Philadelphia Grain and Malt Symposium on Naked Barley and Other Value-Added Grains. Brigid Meints, Pat Hayes, Jordyn Bunting, and Cristiana Vallejos of Oregon State University gave a presentation on the Multi-use Naked Barley project at the Culinary Variety Showcase. Available at https://youtu.be/60V62G8yREo?t=5531. Karl Kunze of Cornell University presented an eOrganic webinar entitled Progress on Organic Naked Barley Breeding: Exploration of Organic Breeding Traits. Available at https://youtu.be/oW0FjspbsMo. Brigid Meints and Andrew Ross participated in a barley workshop with Sarah Owens titled 'Bodacious Barley Workshop'. Researchers collaborated with a graphic designer to produce a barley zine, which includes information about the project and recipes developed by collaborators and stakeholders. A printed version has been distributed to 200 people and the digital version has reached hundreds more. Each of the breeding programs have uploaded phenotypic data from the regional trials and diversity panels to the T3 (Triticeae Toolbox: https://triticeaetoolbox.org/barley/) database. These data can be accessed by other breeding programs and researchers. Participants from this project teamed up with organizers of the Cascadia Grains Conference, and members of the Value-added Grains OREI project to host a week-long conference called 'Grains Week'. Five of the presentations (given by Brigid Meints, Cristiana Vallejos, Andrew Ross, Jordyn Bunting, Mark Sorrells, Julie Dawson, June Russell, Kevin Smith, and Pat Hayes) focused specifically on this project; the total view for the week were 5,403. This content is on YouTube and may garner further views in the future. Chris Massman presented regional trial results from the first cycle of the grant to CIAS faculty in October of 2021. The presentation was online and attended by approximately twelve people. A question-and-answer session followed the presentation. Chris Massman presented regional trial and diversity panel results from the first cycle of the grant to plant breeding and plant genetics students and faculty at UW Madison. The presentation was online and attended by approximately thirty people. A question-and-answer session followed the presentation. Incollaboration with Portland-based Wellspent Market (retail, wholesale and online store), Barleyworld and Culinary Breeding Network promoted barley and barley products (whole grain and flakes) and a giveaway during Grains Week. Wellspent started offering locally grown, organic 'Streaker' barley flakes as a result of collaboration. Wellspent owner Jim Dixon and CBN director Lane Selman executed an Instagram live (1272 views) to discuss using barley in the kitchen. Wellspent created and promoted barley recipes thru social media and their website -recipeandcookie recipe. Incollaboration with Portland-based pastamaker Emily Park, offeredbarley pasta kitsfor sale during Grains Week. Incollaboration with PNW chain Burgerville (40 locations in WA and OR) organic hull-less barley has been included in their new "Seedlings" program. 'Purple Karma' barley is being distributed in kid's meals at each location. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Scholarship Develop and implement two webinars with eOrganic. Submit publications to eOrganic and scientific journals about projects (GxE from regional trials, weed management, GWAS results, brewing trial, food quality analysis) from the first iteration of the grant. Release a paper characterizing lines in the regional trials for use in both the project's breeding efforts and in outreach to growers. Complete the poultry layer and broiler trial publications.Report results to appropriate audiences as available. Submit a publication characterizing genotype by environment interactions effecting naked barley germplasm and mega-environment delineation for breeding efforts. Submit publications investigating the genetic basis of threshability and weed competitive ability including a GWAS analysis and Genomic selection Education Work with teachers at the local schools to reach out to students safely, whether that be in a distance in-person or virtual format. Provide seed and teaching resources for students to perform their own experiments at home. Develop lesson plans for a variety of curriculum standards and grades that can be taught in-person or remotely. Work with teachers at the local schools to find safe ways to involve students in the naked barley project. Outreach Develop spec sheets on functionality for bakers, maltsters, and feed operations for different varieties. Continue to educate our target audience through workshops and conferences- either in-person or virtual (Variety Showcase, Winter Vegetable Sagra, Cascadia Grains Conference, MOSES, Organic Seed Growers Conference, Organicology, Barley Day, Student Organic Seed Symposium, Organic World Congress). Gather and provide information on research and opportunities for growers, processors, bakers, and brewers to gain access to naked barley. Further outreach to feed suppliers and end users will be conducted to inform stakeholders about the project, assist in the development of the market, capture information on market potential and educate end users on the attributes of naked barley in feed rations. Conduct expanded outreach to professionals in the craft beverage and culinary sectors. Increase education and outreach through social media channels, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and the GrowNYC Grains newsletter. Host in-person or virtual field days and other outreach events to increase community involvement and awareness. If possible, the annual project/stakeholder review meeting will be held in the Northeast in 2022. Find effective and safe ways to host field days, seminars and presentations to reach organic farming communities Attend and prepare posters for conferences including the upcoming ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings to share and discuss results with other researchers. Research Initiate new crosses and continue to select and advance cross progeny for variety development. Conduct food and malt quality analysis on the grain harvested in 2021. Use the data from diversity panel lines to investigate genes of interest in organic production through a GWAS analysis. This will allow us to better understand the genetic basis of agronomic traits of naked barley. Use increased seed from the 2021 regional experiments to do more in depth testing and analysis including baking and quality trials. Conduct field trials including the spring/fall regional trials as well as the NAM population to further assess naked barley germplasm and gather more data on traits determined to be important for its production. Conduct sensory trials using grain harvested in the 2021 harvest season to assess genotypes for their use in baking as well as further outreach and get feedback from bakers. Conduct covered and loose smut inoculation trials on the diversity panel in the greenhouse at OSU. Assist in continuing NAM population development and genotyping. Complete data collection from two years (2 locations per year) evaluating the Diversity Panel for FHB severity and DON concentration in kernels and hulls. Initiate GWAS studies on DON accumulation in kernels and hulls. UMN will work with Vertical Malt to produce 10,000 lb of malt of MS10S4111-01 for evaluation by Minnesota brewers. Consider variety release of MS10S4111-01.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the first year of the grant, participants grew out the first year of trials for this project, including regional trials and the diversity panel. This involved growing over 400 naked barley lines in certified organic trials, characterizing them for agronomic traits, food and malt quality traits, weed competitive ability, and resistance to abiotic and biotic stressors. With the results from the first iteration of this project, lines were selected as parents for the Modified NAM population, crosses were made, and F1s were grown out. Hundreds of growers, processors, and consumers have been provided with trial results and information about naked organic barley at conferences, virtual field days, through personal communication, website postings, and social media. Goal 1: The value of naked barley as a new potential crop was described to stakeholders through a variety of mechanisms. In MN, a six-acre grain increase of MS10S4111-01, an advanced breeding line, was conducted for large-scale end-use testing and distribution to interested end-users. At UW-Madison, sensory analysis on food grade naked barley was performed with professional bakers. Bakers worked with flour from different naked lines to replicate a sugar cookie recipe and a pita recipe. Baked goods were then sampled by customers and other researchers in a blind taste test. Researchers at UW-Madison convened a discussion of key stakeholders, including farmers, bakers, millers and seed company representatives to share these results. Goal 2: For the 2020-21 regional variety testing program we grew advanced experimental breeding lines and released varieties in the fall and spring. For the fall trial, 18 advanced naked barley lines were tested at 5 sites in five states: Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, and New York. For the spring trial, 18 naked barley entries were tested at 5 sites in the same five states. Genotypes were assessed for grain yield, test weight, plant height, heading date, disease resistance, winter survivability and weed competitive ability. The FRT was evaluated for scald in Ithaca and Corvallis. The SRT was also evaluated for FHB, spot blotch, net blotch, and bacterial leaf streak inoculated disease trials in St. Paul and leaf rust and stripe rust in Corvallis. Analyses of agronomic data are in progress; and food and malt quality traits from these trials will be analyzed this coming fall. The fall-planted trials had high winter survival in WI and MN, which allowed researchers there to analyze trials for the full panel of agronomic traits. The fall regional trial was included in an inoculated Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) nursery in NY to test for disease reaction and deoxynivalenol (DON, a mycotoxin) levels. The spring trials survived at all locations and data are still being collected and analyzed.The FRT in Davis, CA was evaluated under extreme drought conditions and low inputs with no irrigation. Identification and development of varieties that can perform under these conditions are becoming increasingly important for organic grain farmers in West that rely on dry farming systems. Goal 3: Threshability, or ease of hull loss, was identified as a key trait for naked grains in the first cycle of the grant. Grain failing to shed its hull loses the advantages of naked grains over covered grain. Despite its importance, there is not a large amount of published information on threshability. Using information from the diversity panel, research was done in the genetic basis and plausibility of genomic selection for threshability. The data set includes five environments where threshability was scored for 350 distinct barley genotypes. GWAS was performed to identify QTL with a significant association to threshability. Results from these analyses are being prepared in a manuscript for publishing. In MN, grain samples from the 2020 FHB trial of the OREI Diversity Panel was processed to separate kernels from hulls and the subsamples were submitted for DON analysis this past winter from the St. Paul location. Initial analyses indicate considerable variation for DON concentration in the hulls and kernels among the lines in the panel. UMN grew out the panel in the spring of 2021 in three disease nurseries (FHB, spot blotch, net blotch, and bacterial leaf streak). Data is currently be compiled. In Corvallis, the 254 lines from the spring diversity panel were grown in single rows in the field, where heads were collected for testing for resistance to embryo damage. Additionally, one head from each plot was inoculated with loose smut (incited by Ustilago nuda) for assessment in the greenhouse. Hydration index measurements were completed on the full diversity panel in the micro-malter, where hydration was measured at 48, 72, and 96 hours into the malting process. These data will be used to conduct GWAS and select lines for future malting studies. Goal 4: Development of the modified NAM population began at all locations. Each location selected five parental lines to cross to the three common parents (Buck, Purple Prince, and MS10S4111-01). Selection of individual parents was made based on traits important for organic growing conditions or end-use quality. Despite some issues with crossing, nearly all crosses were made successfully and F1 plants were grown out. Working with the USDA-ARS lab at Pullman, WA, we developed a marker set using GMS sequencing that will be used for marker-assisted selection at the F2 plant stage. All groups will be ready to grow out F2 plants this fall/winter for tissue collection. Goal 5: In-person classroom visits had to be cancelled as a result of Covid-19. However, researchers are continuing to work with teachers to find ways to provide distance learning and educational resources safely. K-12 teachers and project researchers are working together to transition lesson plans from in-person to virtual activities. Additionally, new lesson plans (https://oregonaitc.org/lessonplan/the-f2-generation-of-buck-and-lightning/ and https://oregonaitc.org/lessonplan/the-barley-family-observable-traits-of-barley/) that meet curriculum standards for multiple grade levels were created that will have options for in-person or virtual learning. The Oregon Naked Barley Blend has been distributed to teachers and continues to be distributed to interested home gardeners for planting and selection. The naked barley composite population was grown in two locations in Davis, CA. Selections were made from each location, which will be grown the following season at both locations again as well as a few K-12 school gardens. Karl Kunze (PhD student at Cornell) was able to go into the classroom and taught a high school agriculture course on concepts of plant breeding. Goal 6: Details of the project have been disseminated through email, personal correspondence and communication, virtual and in-person field days, virtual conferences, and websites. The eOrganic website is updated to reflect progress of the project and contains bulletins, publications, webinars, and social media accounts. Due to Covid-19, the 2021 Variety Showcase was moved online to YouTube. Four members of the group presented during a session that received 839 unique views. Additionally, participants from this project teamed up with organizers of the Cascadia Grains Conference, and members of the Value-added Grains OREI project to host a week-long conference called 'Grains Week'. Five of the presentations focused specifically on this project; the total view for the week were 5,403. This content is on YouTube and may garner further views in the future. Participants presented at the Virtual Craft Malt Conference, Virtual Philly Malt and Grain Symposium, Virtual 2020 National Scab Forum, and at various workshops and other events. Participants at OSU hosted two Instagram live field tours for a total of 294 views. Participants at UMN, UW-Madison, and UC Davis were able to hold in-person field days.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Meints, B., Vallejos, C. and Hayes, P.M. 2021. Multi-use Naked Barley: A New Frontier. Journal of Cereal Science.
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