Improving the Sustainability of Malting Barley

Production: Prospects for Perennial and Annual

Growth Habit Varieties

Sarah Windes

What’s wrong with this picture?

• Concerns about annual farming

• Soil erosion, water

conservation, greenhouse

gasses

• Broadening interest in perennial

alternatives for annual crops

Could perennial crops solve

agricultural environmental

concerns?

Background

• Brewers Association concerned about

long-term stability of barley production,

given

• climate change

• rigid supply chain for barley

production and malting

• This “Prospects” paper developed for

the BA

Possible Paths Forward to Developing Perennial

Malting Barley

Genetic basis of perennial/annual habit is unknown

• Use perennial relatives:

1. Domestication

2. Crossing of annual x perennial

• Alternatively:

1. Manipulate genes in annual barley

2. Map differences in genes between perennial and annual ryegrass

Possible Paths: Direct Domestication

• 24 perennial relatives of annual barley

• Hordeum bulbosum is closest

• Must consider adaptability of perennial barley

to current growing regions for annual barley

• Winter survival and productivity

• Example: Kernza

Kernza: MPR News

Possible Paths: Wide Hybridization

Annual barley x perennial relative

• Two main routes for breeding

1. Small genetic introgression

• Requires backcrossing and genetic mapping

2. Stabilizing hybrid at a new ploidy

• Highly different from either parent

• Just because we know which genes are inherited from

the perennial parent, doesn’t mean we know which

genes control perennialityHordeum bulbosum: Google images

Possible Paths: Manipulating Vernalization and

Photoperiod Sensitivity Genes in Annual Barley

• Vernalization: transition between vegetative to reproductive stages requires

certain number of low temperature units

• Photoperiod sensitivity (short-day): timing of transition between vegetative

to reproductive stages determined by daylength

• Annual plants do not return to vegetative stage after setting seed

• This could be key

Possible Paths: In-Depth Comparative Analysis of the

Cultivated Annual and Perennial Forms of Ryegrass

• Both are used for forage

• Are interfertile

• Hybridization events could help map

genes for annual/perenniality

• Assist in the search to identify

related genes for perenniality in

barley

Perennial and annual ryegrass: Oregon State University

Challenges of Creating A Perennial Analog of an

Annual Crop

• No successes so far

• Resource allocation

• Diseases

• Feasibility of making successful

annual x perennial crosses

• No mapping populations segregating

for perennial growth habit in wheat

or barley

Tall grass prairie: Google images

Alternatives to Developing Perennial Malting Barley

• Improve sustainability of current annual-based

system

• Focus on alternative growth habits (e.g.,

winter and facultative)

• Change management practices

• Ecosystem services that make perennial crops so

alluring could be achieved today

• No-till systems

• Double croppingSpring wheat seeded into winter wheat: No-Till Farmer

What’s right with this picture?

• Improvements to annual farming

• No-till, management practices,

double cropping

• Keep the same barley

• No need for immediate drastic

changes

• Brewing industry is

conservative

Conclusions

• Though attractive, achieving a perennial malting barley would require

considerable effort and time

• This endeavor could be initiated, with a probability of long-term success

• Meanwhile, and more cost-effectively, efforts could be made to increase

sustainability of existing systems

Acknowledgments

Questions?