New 2-Row Barley for North Dakota

FARGO - Jun 10/05 - SNS --Researchers at the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station have developed a new two-row barley for growers in that state,

Called Rawson, its parentage includes mostly experimental lines to incorporate leaf spot resistance and low-grain protein. Logan is one of the grandparents. Jerry Franckowiak, leader of the NDSU two-row breeding project, made the initial cross in the NDSU greenhouse in 1998.

The first generation following the cross was grown at Langdon in 1998, with subsequent generations grown in North Dakota and the winter nurseries near Christchurch, New Zealand, and Yuma, Ariz.

Based on five years of trials at Research Extension Centers in North Dakota, Rawson has slightly higher yield and better leaf disease resistance than Conlon. Rawson heads out about two days later and is slightly taller than Conlon. Rawson has stronger straw than Conlon, but seems to yield lower when severe lodging occurs.

Rawson is similar to Conlon in fusarium head blight (scab) severity and slightly higher in deoxynivalenol (DON) levels. It is susceptible to some isolates of net blotch, but has excellent resistance to spot blotch and some resistance to Septoria speckled leaf spot. It is moderately resistant to powdery mildew and leaf rust, which have a limited economic impact in North Dakota.

Rawson has many desirable characteristics that would make it a good malting barley, including 1% to 3% lower protein than most other cultivars when grown in western North Dakota. A recommendation for use as a malting variety is being pursued, but Rawson has a loose-hull trait, which could make it unacceptable as a malting variety.

One of the interesting features of Rawson is its kernel size, which is 15% to 20% larger than Conlon. Rawson has a high level of starch, making it a possible candidate for pearling purposes and feed, or perhaps for ethanol production.

Rawson is named after the community of Rawson in McKenzie County. Rawson will be allocated through the County Crop Improvement Associations next spring. The NDSU Research Foundation will apply for plant variety protection with Title V and assess research fees of 25 cents per bushel on registered and certified seed.