Source: MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT: SUPERIOR FORAGE BARLEY VARIETIES FOR THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1028293
Grant No.
2022-67014-37174
Cumulative Award Amt.
$500,000.00
Proposal No.
2021-07654
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 1, 2022
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2027
Grant Year
2022
Program Code
[A1143]- Conventional Plant Breeding for Cultivar Development
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)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
20415501081100%
Knowledge Area
204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest);

Subject Of Investigation
1550 - Barley;

Field Of Science
1081 - Breeding;
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.

Progress 05/01/24 to 04/30/25

Outputs
Target Audience:As one of the few forage barley breeders in the country, we are providing high yielding lines to forage growers around the country. The lines have been developed to provide better nutrition for livestock that can be produced with greater efficiency. We are creating forage lines that can be grown locally and require less water and less fertilizer. Improving forage production will reduce their largest operational cost for ranchers and improve whole-farm economic stability. Growers have voiced the urgent need for more applied annual forage research. Most livestock growers are in rainfed production areas. Improving forage yield and quality would empower their hay production, reducing the need to buy and transport hay. Improved nutrition means more meat production per acre of land and gallon of water. Livestock production utilizing locally grown feed and forage also provides value-added opportunities. Poor nutrient management impacts the efficiency of livestock production through low productivity or poor-quality forage and feed. We will empower growers to know the correct fertility goals when producing newly released lines to maximize performance without negatively impacting quality. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Graduate and undergraduate students participate in data collection for the forage breeding material. A post-doc that had been working on the project now has a faculty breeding position. A new graduate student project is looking at the interaction between forage production, forage quality, water and fertilizer inputs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes information on the forage barley breeding project were disseminated at six field days, and two growers meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue breeding spring and winter forage barley by making crosses and testing lines. License a barley variety, Release our first winter forage barley. Complete the project on interaction between forage variety, forage performance, water and fertility and publishe the results so growers can make better management decisions. We are also working on a GWAS paper that could improve forage barley breeding efficiency with will be submitted for publication in the coming year.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the last year we have released our second forage barley called MT Double Barrel. Double Barrel has high biomass and high grain yield so can be grown as either a forage or feed line. It is adapted to different environments then our first release and so will serve growers with different environments. MT Double Barrel yields well because it tillers more. It also carries genes that provide drought resistance. This year a seed company that provides forage barley seed to the mid west is evaluating one of our lines for licensing. The forage breeding pipeline is full and every year we make new crosses that are evaluated over the next five years to identify the next forage release. This year forage crosses were made to improve nutritional value, increase disease resistance and provide resisitant varieties to heat and drought stress. The winter forage barley breeding program has been built. We had evaluations of winter forage barley around the state with good winter survival. We will release a winter forage barley in 2026 or 2027. The first spring barley we release due to this project, MT Cowgirl, is in high demand. Research fees gained from seed sales ofMT Cowgirl are being reinvested into the program to help support future forage development.

Publications


    Progress 05/01/23 to 04/30/24

    Outputs
    Target Audience:The target audiences include livestock growers, seed growers, researchers and students. Changes/Problems:We encouraged collaborators to plant winter barley early in Septermber as that helps with barley winter survival. There was good winter survival in the 23/24 winter, unlike in the previous year. We are concerned that winter forage may not survive Montana's harshest conditions. Therefore, we are developing regional recommendations. We are testing our recent forage releases at several fertility treatments to improve grower recommendations. Because growers often grow malt barley, we believe they are under fertilizing forage and feed barley. However, high fertilizer rates can endanger livestock due to elevated nitrates. Therefore, the fertility studies are including nitrate testing. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Attendance at NAPB for PI and graduate student, a graduate student learning how to apply machine learning to plant breeding, undergraduate students exposed to plant breeding. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?MT Cowgirl performance is disseminated on our website, at growers meetings and at field days. We also report experimental line performance on our website. Local variety performance data is being used to create a tool so that growers can select best barley varieties for their region. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are continuing the plant breeding pipeline for both spring and winter barley forages, with crosses, inbreeding and field evaluations. We hope to release a dual purpose line that can be used as a forage or feed barley. We are performing a planting date study to inform growers on the ideal planting date for winter barley in Montana. We will continue to develop high throughput phenotyping techniques to improve breeding efficiency.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? 1) a) Released and submitted for PVP MT Cowgirl with improved biomass and quality. b) Continued the plant breeding pipeline such that better lines can be released in the future once enough data is accrued. c) Developinghigh-throughput phenotyping to improve efficiency of future releases. 2) a)Identified and purified a winter forage with improved winter survival and good agronomic performance that we hope to release in the next year or two. b) Continued the plant breeding pipeline so that new and improved lines are available for future release. 3) MT Cowgirl was PVPed and has started generating research funds to support future breeding efforts.

    Publications


      Progress 05/01/22 to 04/30/23

      Outputs
      Target Audience:The target audiences include livestock growers, seed growers, researchers and students. Changes/Problems:The spring forage breeding program is moving forward without difficulty. We will reach our goal of releasing lines that accumulate resources to continue to support the research. The winter forage breeding program had trial failures in the first year. One problem is many of the co-PIs had not grown winter barley. They are experiencing a learning curve to get the barley established. They have learned that early planting date is critical for winter survival. However, in 2022 we faced a drought with no late summer early fall rains. Much of the winter barley did not emerge due to lack of moisture. With lack of emergence, consistent cold exposure was not observed. Solutions: 1) support research staff in becoming better winter barley managers so that they can reliably grow winter barley, 2) increase locations so that if a location fails we have backup, in 2023 we deployed locations in Wyand ND. We have also entered material in a nationwide trial. If certain locations coninue to fail we will change cooperators. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A post-doc has gained breeding experience. A graduate student has gained high-throughput phenotyping experience using the forage breeding trials and data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been dessiminated to growers through reports and talks. Preliminary results have been presented at scientific meetings What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? develop and release spring barley forage with improved biomass and quality and adequate grain yield: Continue to test spring forage barley experimental lines. Continue to develop a high-throughput method to empower future breeding and publishthe results. Continue to make new crosses. develop and release winter barley forage with known winter survivability and agronomic performance: Support collaborators in winter barley production to ensure enough successful trials. Identify new collaborators ( locations) if necessary for success. Continue to test winter barley lines for agronomic production and winter survival. Contiue to make new crosses. all lines released with PVP to generate research funds that will support future breeding efforts and trials : write and submit PVP for next forage release.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? This effort will improve efficiencies of the plant and animal productions system by providing improved forage varieties. Increased climate variability endangers livestock production. Dry hot summers have reduced productivity of rangeland. Cold winters necessitate the greater production of winter feed, which is even harder with reduced productivity due to dry summer conditions. For farmers and ranchers in Montana, improving forage barley production will reduce their largest operational cost, improve whole-farm economic stability, and thus increase their quality of life. Barley with higher yields and improved nutrition will improve land and water use efficiency. Most livestock growers are in rainfed production areas. Forage barley would empower their hay production, reducing need to buy and transport hay. Local production of feed by livestock growers reduces transportation cost and growing feed for local use provides an important market for growers. Barely with improved nutrition means more meat production per acre of land and gallon of water. A forage barley provides an important rotational tool, reducing pests and pesticide use. A winter forage barley could provide important ecological services by reducing weeds, erosion and runoff as well as management advantages. This grant supports USDA strategic goals especially: Strategic Goal 2: Maximize the Ability of American Agricultural Producers To Prosper by Feeding and Clothing the World; develop and release spring barley forage with improved biomass and quality and adequate grain yield: We have gathered data to select new lines for release. We have created new lines. develop and release winter barley forage with known winter survivability and agronomic performance: We have evaluated lines for release around the state. We have created new lines. all lines released with PVP to generate research funds that will support future breeding efforts and trials : We are gathering data for the PVP submission.

      Publications