EFFECT OF THE ANT-13 LOCUS (PROANTHOCYANIDIN-FREE) ON THE MALTING QUALITY AND AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF BARLEY

Proanthocyanidin (ant)-free barley may be used to brew beer with excellent haze stability, but economically competitive ant-free malting cultivars adapted to the western United States have not been developed. Two experimental lines derived from a cross of ANT-13 517 and the cultivar Harrington that were initially selected as ant-free were observed to be segregating for the ant-free character in advanced generations. Reselections (sublines) from these lines were studied to determine the effect of the ant-free character on agronomic performance and malting quality. Ant-free and ant-containing (normal) sublines from the lines 85Y22 and 85Y27 were evaluated in replicated field trials at two locations in two years. The agronomic performance and malting quality of the normal sublines was competitive with Harrington, whereas the ant-free sublines were markedly poorer. However, the ant-free sublines were improved relative to the ANT-13 517 parent. These results indicated that the ant-free character derived from ANT-13 517 is negatively associated with significant determinants of commercial acceptability. Additional hybridization to malting cultivars may break these relationships, and allow the development of commercially acceptable ant-free malting cultivars adapted to the western United States.