Prowashonupana

Barley

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: ‘Merlin', ‘CDC Candle' and ‘CDC Dawn'

Summary: ‘Prowashonupana' is a hulless, two-row feed barley which can be distinguished from ‘Merlin', ‘CDC Candle' and ‘CDC Dawn' by its short lemma awns (references all have long awns). The spike of ‘Prowashonupana' is shorter than all the reference varieties and it has an erect attitude, whereas ‘CDC Candle' and ‘CDC Dawn' have semi-nodding spikes. Plant height for ‘Prowashonupana' is similar to ‘Merlin' and significantly shorter than the other two reference varieties. ‘Prowashonupana' has rough awns, whereas ‘Merlin' has smooth to semi-smooth awns. The seed of ‘Prowashonupana' can be distinguished from the seed of the other hulless barley varieties by its shrunken endosperm.

Description:

‘Prowashonupana' is a two-row, spring, feed barley variety. The seedlings have an intermediate growth habit and green coleoptiles. At tillering the plants are erect and there is no pubescence on the sheaths of the lower leaves. At booting, approximately ¾ of the plants have recurved flag leaves. The flag leaf has weak pubescence on the blade and sheath, medium glaucosity on the sheath and no anthocyanin colouration of the auricles. There is weak pubescence on the auricle margins.

The spike of ‘Prowashonupana' emerges mid-season and is erect, glossy, medium in density and parallel in shape. The collar is platform shaped. There is no anthocyanin colouration in the tips of the lemma awns. The sterile spikelet attitude is divergent. The first segment of the rachis is medium in length and weakly curved. The glume and awn of the median spikelet are shorter than the grain. The lemma awns are rough (barbs along the entire length) and are shorter than or equal to the spike. The medium sized kernel of ‘Prowashonupana' has a white aleurone layer, no hull, shrunken endosperm and no anthocyanin colouration of the nerves of the lemma. The rachilla hair is long. There is no spiculation of the inner lateral nerves of the dorsal side of the lemma and no hairiness in the ventral furrow.

‘Prowashonupana' has poor to fair resistance to lodging and straw breaking. The variety has fair resistance to shattering and good tolerance to neck breaking.

Origin & Breeding History: ‘Prowashonupana' was developed at the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station in the late 1970's in a conventional barley breeding program directed by Professor R.F. Eslick. The variety was given the acronym PWSNP. Pro - for high protein, wa - for waxy starch, sho - for short awns, nu - for nude (hulless) and pana - for the parent variety ‘Compana'. The waxy starch gene was originally incorporated into ‘Compana' by back crossing with waxy ‘Oderbrucker' followed by six backcrosses to the recurrent parent. The resultant "waxy Compana" was crossed in a similar breeding program with ‘Sermo', a short awned, hulless variety. A waxy, short-awned, hulless barley was selected from these crosses and designated ‘Washonupana'. As part of a program designed to develop hi-lysine varieties, seed of ‘Washonupana' was treated with the chemical mutagen, ethyl methyl sulfate (EMS) and the M2 generation was screened for shrunken endosperm mutants. One shrunken endosperm line had exceptionally high protein, fibre and beta-glucan. This line was given the name ‘Prowashonupana'. Yield testing and grain analysis studies were conducted by Montana State University in the mid to late 1980's. Head rows were planted and harvested in 1990 and line rows were harvested in 1992. The seed was held in storage until the spring of 1995 when seed from the uniform line rows was bulked and planted on six acres near Bozeman, Montana. The resultant production was harvested as Breeders' seed in the fall of 1995.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for ‘Prowashonupana' were conducted in 1998 and 1999 at Ag-Quest (Alta) Inc., Lethbridge, Alberta. The trials consisted of 8 replicates per variety. Each plot was 4 metres long and 1.5 metres wide and was seeded at the rate of approximately 90 kg/ha. Measured characteristics were based on 10 measurements each year.

Comparison tables for 'Prowashonupana' with reference varieties ‘Merlin', ‘CDC Candle' and ‘CDC Dawn'

Flag leaf length (cm)

Flag leaf width (mm)

Plant height (including spike) (cm)

Spike length (excluding awns) (cm)

Kernel weight (g/1000 seeds)