Classification of Barley Varieties Grown in the United States and Canada in 1945

Vf i^- \^< TECHNICAL BULLETIN NO. 907 • MAY 1946 Classification of Barley Varieties Grown in the United States and Canada in 1945 By EWERT ÀBERG Postdoctorate Research Assistant in Agronomy and Plant Pathology University of Wisconsin and Collaborator Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases and G. A, WIEBE Principal Agronomist Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineîng Agricultural Research Administration l^ ! B FÍ A R Y C'iñtüiT SERIAL REeORD JUL111S46 '" ••■ •''''•..-îTwm OF ÄSS10ULTÜRE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTDEE, WASHINGTON, D. C. Technical Bulletin No. 907 May 1946 ^^^«^^^^^^^^^^^^ |:||¡|||i|||^ Classification of Barley Varieties Grown in the United States and Canada in 1945^ By EwERT ÀBERG, postdoctorate research assistant in agronomy and plant pathology, university of Wisconsin, and collaborator, Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engi- neering; and G. A. WIEBE, principal agronomist. Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Administration ^ CONTENTS Page Page Need for classification 2 Classification keys—Continued. Previous systems of classification.... 2 The genus Hordeum, its sections and Key to the varieties of spring species 4 barley 52 Cultivated barleys of the united Key to the varieties of spring States and Canada 7 barley grown in Middle West- Manchuria-O. A. C. 21-Oder- ern and Eastern States and brucker group 7 Provinces 55 Coast group 8 Key to the varieties of spring Tennessee Winter group 8 barley grown in the inter- Other varieties 9 mountain area and on the Classification technique 9 The barley plant 11 Pacific coast 57 Taxonomic characters 16 Key to important commercial Growth characters 16 varieties of spring barley, Leaf characters 20 based on threshed grain 59 Stem characters 23 Description, history, and distribution Spike characters 25 of varieties 64 Kernel characters 40 Winter varieties 64 Mixed characters 48 Spring varieties 104 Identification of varieties from threshed grain 49 Literature cited 180 Classification keys 50 Index to variety and synonym names, Key to the varieties of winter type, and principal use 184 barley 51 Character index 189 * Submitted for publication August 20, 1945. Cooperative investigation between the University of Wisconsin and the Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases^ Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture. This investigation was supported in part by research grants from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and the Malt Research Institute, Madison, Wis., and was carried out while the senior writer was on leave of absence from the Plant Husbandry Department of the Royal Agricultural College, Uppsala, Sweden. 2 The w^riters are indebted to many persons for their invaluable assistance : To James G. Dickson, University of Wisconsin, Madison ; and to M. A. McCall and B. B. Bayles, Division of Cereal Crops and Diseases, Agricultural Research Administration, U. S. Department of Agriculture, for their tireless efforts in supporting the study ; to the late Harry V. Harlan, who did his utmost to encourage the studies and to promote the progress of the work ; to the many agronomists in the United States for their valuable advice and suggestions ; and to P. R. Cowman, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada, for his splendid cooperation. Special credit is due the following persons for their assistance in growing the nurseries and in taking field notes : R. G. Shands, Madison, Wis. ; Harland Stevens, Aberdeen, Idaho ; G. K. Middleton, Raleigh, N. C. ; N. I. Hancock, Knoxville, Tenn. ; John W. Taylor, Beltsville, Md. ; I. M. Atkins, Dentón, Tex. ; G. H. Dungan, Urbana, 111. ; A. F. Swanson, Hays, Kans. ; T. E. Stoa, Fargo, N. Dak. ; K. S. Quisenberry and O. J. Webster, Lincoln, Nebr. ; P. R. Cowan, Ottawa, Canada ; W. H. Johnston, Brandon, Canada ; George J. Wilds, Hartsville, S. C. ; J. M. Poehlman, Columbia, Mo. ; and C. J. King, Sacaton, Ariz. Most of the pictures used were taken by Eugene Herrling, University of Wisconsin ; some by R. H. Peebles, Saca- ton, Ariz., and by R. L. Taylor, Beltsville, Md. ; those on growth habit are credited to C. A. Suneson, Davis, Calif. ; and the drawings were made by R. O. Hughes, Belts- ville, Md. 2 TECHNICAL BULLETIN 907, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE NEED FOR CLASSIFICATION The use of the proper barley variety on each farm is an essential requirement to profítable farming. About 140 varieties are grown in the United States and Canada and these vary greatly in their adaptation to different areas and kinds of farming. The most profit- able returns to the grower result from the use of the best variety today and by turning to a new and better one in the future when it becomes available. In order that the grower may be certain that he is using the variety he wânts, it may be necessary to have it identified. The expressed preference for certain varieties by the malting trade and other industrial concerns often necessitates the identification of varieties largely from threshed grain. This is a difficult task, as usually only kernel characters can be used and such additional characters as may be found on fragmentary spike parts remaining in the threshed grain. The task may be further complicated by mixtures arising in storage and shipping, and in many cases only an approxi- mate identification is possible. Occasionally industrial concerns using barley as a raw product are forced to buy in a different area from that in w^hich they normally get their supply, because of crop failures or other disturbing factors. In such years new varieties are usually found, and the usefulness of a publication describing such varieties is evident. Numerous institutions and seed houses distribute or sell barley for seed, and many questions arise as to the identity and purity of varieties. Confusion in names and identity often occurs. The descriptions that normally accompany newly released varieties are usually scattered and difficult to obtain and therefore are of little help in straightening out difficulties. Frequently they are based on observa- tions made at a single station or on studies involving few detailed morphological characters. The scattered and fragmentary nature of the information available on the classification and description of varieties places a decided limit on its usefulness. No comprehensive publication is available on this subject for the barley varieties now grown in the United States and Canada. • The purpose of this bulletin is to provide descriptions of the varieties grown and a classification key by which they can be identified. The publication is intended for use primarily by agronomists, teachers, students, extension Avorkers, maltsters, tradesmen, and farmers. PREVIOUS SYSTEMS OF CLASSIFICATION None of the earlier systems of classification have followed exactly the scheme used here. Nevertheless, the developments from the time of Linnaeus to the present are of interest, as they illustrate the trend of development in the classification of a cultivated plant. When Linnaeus made his barley classification schemes in 1748 {ílY and 1753 {Jp2), he was mainly interested in species limitations. Not being aware of the great variability that exists in barley, he use^ spike characters to delimit species, which today are inadequate. He used spike density, for example, as a species character. Although some of 3 Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited, p. 180. CLASSIFICATION OF BARLEY VARIETIES GROWN IN 1945 3 the followers of Linnaeus changed his classification system to some extent, they continued to use the principles he established, and did not consider the variability of the barley plant when grown in the field. Among the close followers of Linnaeus the following should be mentioned: Haller {19), Lamarck {JÔ), Persoon {50), and Doll {18), With Jessen's work {37), the first indication is found of field studies being used in classifying barley. The outstanding work in this field was done by Körnicke {39), however, during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He used 1 species name, Hordeum vulgäre L., for all barleys, subdivided this species into 4 subspecies, and described 74 varieties. His varietal descriptions indicate that he grew and studied the material in the field. He was limited, however, to one climatic region, and with the limited quantity of material available at that time he could not fully appreciate the importance of the stability and variability of characters in a classification program. Such men as Voss {60), Heuzé {35), and Atterberg {9) also worked on barley classification, making use of the general principles employed by Körnicke. There were differences in opinion, however, among the authors mentioned as to what Latin names to use for the species and what characters to consider as primary ones in the classification schemes. This problem was reviewed by Äberg in 1940 {1) and will not be considered here. As the number of barley introductions available for study increased at the end of the nineteenth century, interest developed in'kernel characters and their value for classification. Neergaard (^7), Atterberg {8), Bolin {13, IJf), and Broili {15) are primarily responsible for developing classification schemes based on such characters. By using the shape of the kernel base, the number of teeth on the lemma, the rachilla hairs, and other minor characters, they tried to separate different types of barley. They were successful to a certain extent, and even today kernel characters are used by tradesmen and seed-testing stations for determining the purity of varieties. It is doubtful whether the results obtained in this way are always satisfactory. Since 1900, when plant breeding came into the picture, a great many ncAV varieties have been released from time to time. This new development awakened a greater interest in studying plants under field conditions and in collecting new material from all over the world.

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