Winter Barley

Barley, along with Triticum monococcum and lentils, is one of the oldest cultivated crops and is today the most important cereal after maize, rice and wheat. It is divided into winter and spring forms. Winter barley is mainly used as animal feed (fodder barley) and is characterised by higher yields and higher protein contents compared to spring barley. Spring barley is mainly used for human nutrition in the form of malting barley (link malting barley).

In addition to winter and spring forms Barley is divided into two-rowed and six-rowed forms with regard to their different ear characteristics. The importance of cultivation according to the row type

in the European markets varies greatly from country to country, with the larger share of acreage being sown with six-row varieties. Six-row varieties are considered to be higher-yielding, generally more stress-tolerant and winter-hardy, whereas two-row varieties are more often characterized by higher straw stability and better grain quality (TKW, specific weight, grading, i.e. the marketing quality). SAATEN UNION is present with its breeding in both the two-row and six-row segments and breeds line and hybrid varieties (link to hybrid barley), thus offering a broad spectrum of innovative varieties for the farmer.

The SAATEN-UNION breeders Nordsaat Saatzucht, WVB Eckendorf and ASUR are involved in breeding activities in winter barley. According to the principle "Züchtung ist Zukunft", they are working on the varieties of tomorrow. They use the most modern and innovative breeding methods within a Europe-wide testing network.

The acreage of winter barley worldwide has been increasing again for several years. This is not only due to breeding progress in yield - yield increases to over 70 dt/ha (winter barley) and over 60 dt/ha spring barley in the last 20 years - and stability: Resistance to viruses, better tolerance to early summer drought, and general advantages within the crop rotation are also becoming increasingly important.

The barley breeding of SAATEN-UNION has already been able to set some milestones in the past with outstanding varieties. However, the pursuit of the breeding goals of yield, straw stability ("stable barley") and disease resistance has produced other important varieties in recent decades (e.g., Mammut, Grete, Carola, Souleyka and SU ELLEN).

Socio-political developments, as well as climatic changes, are constantly posing new challenges for breeding. The SAATEN-UNION breeders are responding with innovative breeding methods, e.g., with molecular marker assisted resistance breeding and the specific orientation of breeding programmes: Yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV) was first documented in Germany as early as the late 1970s. A few years later, the first BaYMV-resistant winter barley varieties appeared. The first resistance break became known in 1987. Nine years later, the first variety resistant to the new pathotype (BaYMV-2) came onto the market. Both BaYMV resistances, which at the same time also cause resistance to the virus BaMMV (another pathotype), were rapidly adopted in the breeding material. While in 2000 only about half of the winter barley varieties in the Descriptive List of Varieties were resistant to BaYMV, by 2010 this figure had risen to 86%. At the same time, further exotic resistance genes were described and partly used for variety development:

Since 2012, the first variety (Paroli, Ackermann) with an additional new resistance gene against the barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) has been available. In terms of tolerance to yellow mosaic virus, the SU varieties are very well equipped. Almost all varieties are tolerant to type 1 (BaYMV-1), more and more varieties even show a double resistance (to BaYMV-1 and -2) combined with yields at the highest level, e.g. the established variety SU Midnight from WVB Eckendorf. The breeding of yellow dwarf virus resistant varieties is also being pushed forward with great effort. The variety AMARANTA from Ackermann is even multi-resistant: it shows resistance to both types of yellow mosaic virus as well as to yellow dwarf virus and can score with good yields also compared to non-resistant varieties.

Since 2022 the new winter barley varieties are also being tested in their own production technical trials on current questions such as sowing time compatibility, the effect of different sowing densities and "low input" suitability (fungicide and nitrogen reduction). In this way, it is possible to react in good time to future demands towards arable farming.

The SAATEN-UNION has now been carrying out a virus monitoring for BYDV and WDV infestation in Germany since 2019 by collecting suspected samples from agricultural fields. This is to enable optimal variety advice adapted to the location.