Recipient Organization
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
(N/A)
BOZEMAN,MT 59717
Performing Department
Department of Plant Sciences
Non Technical Summary
There is an urgent need to develop more sustainable high-quality forage crops for livestock production. Diminishing resources, including land and water, require forage to be produced with improved efficiency, i.e. higher forage yield and quality with fewer inputs. The Northern Great Plains has a thriving livestock industry. During summer months, cattle are fed on range or pastureland, but supplemental forages are required to maintain herds during the winter and early spring. Most ranchers produce their own winter feed as grain, hay and/or silage. In fact, a 2017 census of Montana farmers reports the cost of livestock feed was the single largest production expense representing nearly 12% of the total annual cost of operation (USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2020). Barley, Hordeum vulgare L., is an important crop grown worldwide. Forage barley adds value to growers when fed directly to livestock, cutting feeding costs of a higher value product - meat. Forage barley, especially winter barley, has several production advantages making it a more sustainable option, for example reduced water use, increased salt tolerance, added rotational tool, avoidance of negative impact of high temperature on quality and reduced run-off. Breeding goals for forage barley include improved forage yield and quality as well as grain yield. Preliminary results indicate all three goals can be met with new germplasm. New material also makes a winter barley release possible. This effort will improve efficiencies of the plant and animal productions system by providing improved forage varieties through classical breeding and varietal testing. Higher yielding, higher digestibility barley forage cultivars will improve farm and ranch profitability by reducing operational cost for livestock growers, including feed, irrigation and transportation costs. The release of a forage winter barley would provide growers in Montana with a new rotational tool that increases flexibility and sustainability. Winter barley is a low input crop that could have applications in organic markets and as organic feed, where its lower inputs could allow for higher profit margins. Ultimately, release of new spring or winter forage barley will support much of the agricultural system in the great plains, including livestock, forage and seed production. The milestone for success is publicly released varieties that are widely grown. This grant will jump start the MSU forage breeding with support for varietal testing. The release of lines under PVP would provide research funds that could then support the release of future lines. Strengthening the MSU breeding program will ensure the continued improvement of barley forage for the livestock industry.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Objectives include:develop and release spring barley forage with improved biomass and quality and adequate grain yielddevelop and release winter barley forage with known winter survivability and agronomic performanceall lines released with PVP to generate research funds that will support future breeding efforts and trials
Project Methods
Cultivar development for both spring and winter forages has already occurred. However, since development will continue throughout the life of the grant to replace poor performing lines in advanced trials we summarize that process:Spring: The spring barley breeding process involves classic breeding techniques of crossing and inbreeding, followed by testing and selections.This grant requests support for an Advanced forage nurseries of 25 varieties .Each year, the best performing 25 lines from the previous year will be tested in 6 locations across the state (CARC, NWARC, NARC, WTARC, EARC and POST) in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a square lattice. The first year, data from two locations where early generation material was grown (NWARC and POST) will be used to select advanced trial entries. The plot size and seeding rate will vary based on available equipment and local recommendations, but each plot will be at least 14 m2. Plots will be managed following local grower practices.Field data collected will include days to heading, days to maturity, and height. When about 50% of the heads in a plot reach soft dough, 1 m will be cut at about 1 inch above the soil surface. Wet and dry weights will be determined. About 250 ml of the dry tissue will be milled to a 2mm particle size using a Wiley® Cutting mill for Near-Infrared Reflectance using NIRS™ DS2500 by Foss which can estimate percent protein, moisture, fat, fiber, ash, and starch on grain; and percent dry matter, protein, feed value, ADF, NDF, and ash on forages. Nitrates will be tested using the Gallery analyzer (Thermo Fisher Scientific Vantaa, Finland). The remainder of the plot will be harvested at maturity to determine grain yield, test weight, and percent grain protein.All data will be uploaded into Agrobase and analyzed based on the lattice square design if efficiency is improved above the RCBD. Means, coefficients of variation (CVs) and least significant differences (LSD) will be determined for each location. With previous years data, the 25 highest performing lines across locations will be included in the next year trial.Winter: Winter trials will follow the same general plan as spring material with the following changes: The winter trials will be planted in the fall. Because the winter program is newer, we have less germplasm in the pipeline so will test 16 lines in 6 locations each year (CARC, NWARC, NARC, WTARC, EARC and POST). The same data will be collected with the addition of fall emergence and winter survival. In addition, 100 lines will be tested each year for winter survival under more extreme condition in Williston, ND.Varietal releaseMontana State Agricultural Experiment Station requires 11 location years of data before a forage line can be considered for release. Therefore, two years into the proposal we should have identified a high performing spring and winter line to prepare for release. The first step will be to purify likely candidates by growing and rogueing 100 head rows. The following year likely candidates are grown in breeder strips at a low seeding density and again rogued. The last year of the grant, lines will be proposed for release and turned over to MSU Foundation Seed Program that will then provide seed to certified seed growers. Therefore, seed could be available to growers five years after the inception of the grant. We could cut a year off by estimating after the first year which lines to include in 100 head rows.