BBB 'LI E> RAR.Y OF THL UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS G30.T no cop N.ON CIRCULATING CHECK FOR UNBOUND. CIRCULATING COPY, BARLEY By Gr H. Dungan and W. L. Burlison Bulletin 485 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINi AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STAT Acreage of barley in Illinois. Each dot represents in round numbers 500 acres planted to barley as an average for 1939 and 1940. Spring-barley varieties are grown in the northern part of the state and winter varieties in the southern part. CONTENTS PAGE CHOOSING A VARIETY 588 Northern Illinois 588 Central Illinois 593 Southern Illinois 593 Wisconsin Barbless Best for Illinois 593 HAZARDS TO SPRING BARLEY 594 SOWING AND HARVESTING 595 SOME QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR MALTING.. . 595 Urbana, Illinois April, 1942 Publications in the Bulletin series report the results of investigations made or sponsored by the Experiment Station Spring Barley in Illinois By G. H. DUNCAN and W. L. BURLISON' PRODUCTION OF SPRING BARLEY is confined to the north- ern half of Illinois, which lies within the southern limits of the spring-barley area of the United States. Most of the Illinois crop, however, is grown in the northernmost third of the state. In the southern half of Illinois the acreage of barley has increased in recent years but winter varieties are used almost exclusively. The spring- barley area and the winter-barley area are separated by a wedge- shaped section in the east-central portion of the state where practically no barley is produced. Acreages and yields of barley in Illinois fluctuate widely from year to year. During the fifteen years 1927-1941 the area planted to barley, both spring and winter varieties, ranged from a low of 80,000 acres (1935) to a high of 624,000 acres (1928) ; the average for the period was 249,500 acres. The acre-yield during these years ranged from an average of 11 bushels in 1934 to 36.5 bushels in 1940. 2 TABLE 1. SMALL GRAINS: AVERAGE ACRE-YIELDS IN NORTHERN, CENTRAL, AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND THEIR YIELD RANKING FOR THE STATE (Tests in northern Illinois at DeKalb, 1938-1940; central Illinois, Urbana, 1938-1941; and southern Illinois, Alhambra, 1939-1941)' Grain and Rank Northern Central Southern Northern Central Southern Average 1 Winter wheat bu. 35.7 bu. 37.5 bu. 27.3 Ib. 2 142 Ib. 2 250 Ib. 1 638 Ib. 2 010 2 Spring oats 71.6 60.4 47.4 2 291 1 933 1 517 1 914 3 Spring barley . 40.6 38.3 18.9 1 949 1 838 907 1 565 4 Winter barley 23.0 30.1 35.8 1 104 1 445 1 718 1 422 5 Spring wheat 18.8 18.8 8.5 1 128 1 128 510 933 6 Winter oats 21.2 51.5 678 1 648 775 These years were selected because they were the only years when all six small grains were grown on the same field. Of the six small grains produced in Illinois, spring barley ranks third in number of pounds of grain produced, according to the average of tests on the University's experimental fields (Table 1). Winter wheat ranks first and spring oats second. 'G. H. DUNCAN, Chief in Crop Production; and W. L. BURLISON, Chief in Crop Production. 'Statistics on barley acreage and yields were furnished by the Illinois Co- operative Crop Reporting Service, Illinois Department of Agriculture cooperating with the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 587 588 BULLETIN No. 485 [April, The two highest ranking crops, winter wheat and spring oats, show the least yield fluctuation from one part of the state to another. Spring barley, on the other hand, yields well in northern Illinois, does fairly well in the central portion, but gives a very poor yield in the southern part of the state. In these tests spring barley averaged 76 percent higher yield than winter barley in northern Illinois, but in southern Illinois yielded only 53 percent as much as winter barley. Barley obviously is very sensitive to climatic conditions. CHOOSING A VARIETY Spring barleys vary widely in yielding ability, disease resistance, kind of awn and straw, and quality of grain (Table 2). To determine which varieties possess the greatest number of desirable characters and are best adapted to the area, twelve varieties have been grown during the past fifteen years on experiment fields in northern and central Illinois. Altho spring barley is not considered adapted to southern Illinois, two spring varieties have been tested on the Alhambra field during the past three years. In these tests the varieties have been rated according to the number of bushels their yield exceeds or is exceeded by the average yield of all varieties in the test during the same years. In 1940 and 1941 the tests in northern and central Illinois were conducted so that the yield data could be analyzed statistically to determine significant differences. Northern Illinois The results obtained on the northern Illinois fields, DeKalb (1927- 1940) and Mt. Morris (1941), are presented in Table 3. Altho Trebi is the highest yielding variety, it has a weak, short straw and a rough awn, and the grain is entirely unsuited for malting. Even a slight mixture of Trebi renders any barley unfit for malting. Regal ranks second in yield but it was grown for one year only. It has a smooth awn but its grain has a bluish color, making it inferior for malting. Wisconsin Barbless ranks third with a yield of 3.7 bushels above the average for all varieties grown the same years. It has a barbless awn and a white comparatively mellow kernel acceptable for malting. Because of the favorable yield of Wisconsin Barbless and the general good quality of its grain, it is recommended over Trebi and Regal. Even if Black Barbless had a higher yield, it would not be a good variety to grow because of its black kernels. Silver King, which ranks fifth, is rough awned and yields only slightly above the average. It is a Manchuria type and is suitable for malting. 1942] SPRING BARLEY IN ILLINOIS 589 Trebi Spartan The plump rugged grain of Trebi is not suited for malting because of its steely texture. The kernels of Oderbrucker and Wisconsin Barbless, tho comparatively small, possess a mellowness which makes them acceptable for malting when they are blight-free. The broad plump kernels of Spartan are well suited for pearling. The awns of Spartan break easily, as will be noted; in fact, many drop off in the field before the crop is harvested. 590 BULLETIN No. 485 [April, S S 2: & 2- C/5 tu C/) u W = O o- c c a fifc nl: v 4J o r, * V .0.0 Z. x" " -- 0303 OQOQi J ^4! f* f * I I -E O O O O O O O II I 1 EEE 333 3 3 MM MM M MM 6? ? c c .5 .5 .5 . 5 .S-S ] 111 si 5s [Ztb "2, s- -^'~ *" I J an*o a'*a "5 "9 ^ 31 ,28 E EEE 333 EE 3 3 S 6 Hi ii ill i P O E E EEE EE E 333 33 3 -8-8 "8 -g "8 "8 2S SW S S E E s i-S : 3 SS 3 : 5 : ; ; .** -5 W irj ^2 - u* ^c^ fcS Sfe > -- SJS^ -S f -8. 2! i; BOO -SZ O t/5w H > - r 1942] SPRING BARLEY IN ILLINOIS 591 H s O - Q > -v C d 4! as |{ hfl in w o H V 8. 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