Screening of breeding material of naked barley for breeding-valuable traits in the conditions of the Rostov region

The Southern Federal District is one of the main grain-producing regions of the Russian Federation. The share of the Southern Federal District, in which the Rostov Region is located, accounts for 12-15% of the total Russian barley production. In solving the problem of a further increase in yield and an increase in the quality characteristics of grain, the priority belongs to the variety. As a result of a long-term study of the collection of naked barley, sources of valuable traits and properties were identified: high grain content of an ear: K-9010 (Turkey), Akka (Israel), Nuda Bianco (Italy), 1057-1923 (Czech Republic), Buck CDC (Canada), K-266 (Pakistan); the number of productive stems per unit area: Kitaki-nadaka (Japan), K-11182 (Japan), K-3772 (Dagestan), Golozerny (RF); early maturity: Omsk golozerny 1 (RF), Brunee (Ethiopia), NB-owa (Nepal), K-11182 (Japan), Golozerny (RF), K-3038 (Turkmenistan), K-3426 (Japan), K-19103 (India), K-26598 (Ethiopia), K-266 (Pakistan), Korona Laschego (Poland). Over the years of research on a complex of traits, a number of samples have been identified that combine a high potential of grain productivity with resistance to lodging, different duration of the growing season and plant height: K-26598 (Ethiopia), 84469/70 (Czech Republic), CDC Dawn (Canada), Holozerny (RF), 1057-1923 (Czech Republic), Omsk Holozerny 1 (RF), K-6099 (Afghanistan), Akka (Israel), Kitaki-hadaka (Japan).

Production of cereals from bioactivated grain of naked barley

Биоактивированное или, проще, пророщенное зерно и продукты из него пользуются спросом у некоторых поборников здорового питания. Однако производство таких продуктов ограничивается домашними условиями. В статье приводятся результаты апробации возможности получения целой крупы из голозерного биоактивированного ячменя сортов Омский 1, Омский 2, Омский 4 (Россия, ФГБНУ «Омский АНЦ» и ООО «Никольские проростки», г. Ижевск) урожая 2017-2020 гг. в промышленных условиях. В результате шлифования зерна ячменя различной степени биоактивации (проращивание 18-30 ч) удалось получить качественную крупу с достаточно хорошим выходом и небольшим количеством дробленой крупы. С точки зрения технологии производства процесс переработки пророщенного ячменя в крупу не отличается от традиционного, за исключением предварительных операций проращивания и подсушивания. В производственных условиях потребуется корректировка режимов обработки. C технологической точки зрения предпочтение можно отдать сорту Омский 4 - высокая производительность шлифования при сопоставимом выходе дробленой крупы. Целесообразное время биоактивации составляет 24 ч. Bioactivated or, more simply, sprouted grain and products from it are in demand among some advocates of a healthy diet. However, the production of such products is limited to home conditions. The article presents the results of testing the possibility of obtaining whole cereals from bare bioactivated barley varieties Omsk 1, Omsk 2, Omsk 4 (Russia, FGBNU «Omsk ANC» and LLC «Nikolsky sprouts», Izhevsk) harvest 2017-2020 in industrial conditions. As a result of grinding barley grain of various degrees of bioactivation (germination of 18-30 hours), it was possible to obtain high-quality cereals with a fairly good yield and a small amount of crushed cereals. From the point of view of production technology, the process of processing sprouted barley into cereals does not differ from the traditional one, with the exception of preliminary germination and drying operations. In production conditions, adjustment of processing modes will be required. from a technological point of view, preference can be given to the Omsk 4 variety - high grinding performance with a comparable output of crushed cereals. The appropriate bioactivation time is 24 hours.

The results of breeding work on naked spring barley

In recent decades, the demand for naked barley grain on the market has increased, that is why the breeders of the leading institutions of the Russian Federation resumed breeding research to develop new naked barley varieties. In this regard, the purpose of the current study was to develop a breeding material for naked spring barley, adapted to the conditions of the Rostov region and, on its basis, new varieties. There have been developed the new naked barley variety with high productivity and grain quality, adapted to the conditions of the North Caucasus. The study was carried out in the scientific crop rotation of the department of barley breeding and seed production of the FSBSI Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” (Zernograd) in 2014–2020. Based on the best local spring barley varieties (‘Leon’ and ‘Shchedry’) and naked varieties of the VIR collection (‘Mancuria’ (Sweden), ‘NB-OWA’ (Nepal), ‘CDC-Dawn’ (Canada), ‘K-3780’ (Tajikistan) and ‘Golozerny’ (RF)) there have been developed and studied the new naked barley lines. There was found that according to the trait ‘plant height’ the lines ‘Leon x Golozerny’ and ‘Leon x Mancuria’ belonged to the middle-height group (90.2 cm and 83.4 cm, respectively). The rest of the lines belonged to the tall group, their height varied from 96.5 cm to 100.3 cm. According to the trait ‘earing date’ there has been identified the line ‘Leon x Golozerny’ (24V), which is more early-ripening (5 days less than that of the standard). The same line turned out to be the only one that significantly exceeded the standard (the standard variety ‘Ratnik’ on 4.5 t/ha) according to productivity +0.3 t / ha, and taking into account the absence of hulls, this difference significantly increased to +0.7 t/ha. There was established that according to the trait ‘1000-grain weight’, the lines ‘Leon x Mancuria’, ‘Leon x CDC-Dawn’, ‘Leon x K-3780’ and ‘Leon x Golozerny’ significantly exceeded the standard variety. The best indicators of grain quality were identified for the lines ‘Leon x K-3780’ and ‘Leon x Golozerny’. The lines ‘Leon x Mancuria’ and ‘Leon x Golozerny’ were the most resistant to powdery mildew. The current paper has presented the characteristics of the new naked spring barley variety ‘Zernogradsky 1717’, which has a great productivity and a set of positive economically valuable traits.

The Farming Economy in South and Central Sweden during the Bronze Age - A Study Based on Carbonised Botanical Evidence

The article provides a survey of carbonised seed finds in south and central Sweden which can be attributed to the Swedish Bronze Age, 1800—500 B.C. This period must be considered one of the most dynamic with regard to prehistoric agriculture. The material has been collected at prehistoric dwelling sites and largely consists of household refuse. During the Early Bronze Age agriculture was based on speltoid wheat's and naked barley. Around 1000 B.C. the speltoid wheats and the naked barley decline strongly, while hulled barley takes over as the most important crop. This shift in the choice of crop indicates the introduction of agricultural fertilization and systems with permanent, manured fields.

Diet, Cooking and Cosmology - Interpreting the Evidence from Bronze Age Plant Macro fossils

The aim of the article is to discuss how the composition of Bronze Age macrofossil samples reflects different aspects of daily life like diet and cooking. The article argues that the increasing weed content in the Late Bronze Age macrofossil samples should partly be regarded as a new resource that was used in the cooking process. The contemporaneous increase in hulled barley at the expense of naked barley and wheat, might reflect a diminished interest in baking leavened bread and a stronger preference for cooked cereal-based dishes. These changes in the domestic sphere should be regarded as intimately connected with changes in the Late Bronze Age cosmology, in particular with the development of the Urnfield culture.

Evaluation of barley genotypes for the content of β-glucans in grain and other valuable features in Eastern Siberia

Background.The aim of the research was to identify barley germplasm accessions with the minimum and maximum content of β-glucans in their grain in combinations with other improved useful traits.Material and methods.The material for analysis were 18 hulled and 8 naked barley accessions of various ecogeographic origin from the collection of the N.I. Vavilov AllRussian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR), which were grown under the conditions of Eastern Siberia in 2016–2018.Results.Hulled accessions yielded grains with β-glucan content from 3.18 to 4.51%; naked ones, from 3.18 to 5.21%. According to the minimum value of the studied qualitative trait (3.18–3.43%), cultivars of Siberian breeding were identified: ‘Mayak’ (k-29622, Krasnoyarsk Territory) and ‘Tarsky 3’ (k-30719, Omsk Province), plus cv. ‘AC Albright’ (k-30599, Canada); according to the maximum value (5.06–5.21%), the naked accessions Nudum 155 (k-13328, Ukraine) and ‘Nudum 95’ (k-31125, Chelyabinsk Province). The highest protein content in grain (16.63–18.36%) was found in the accessions Nudum 155, Nudum 7566 (k-29453, Kyrgyzstan) and ‘Nudum 95’. The accessions Nudum 155 and ‘Nudum 95’ were characterized by combined high contents of β-glucans and protein in their grain. Early maturity and increased productivity were shown by the cultivars ‘Tarsky 3’, ‘Kolchan’ (k-31039, Altai Territory), ‘Zolotnik’ (k-30845, Altai Territory), ‘Abalak’ (Krasnoyarsk Territory, Tyumen Province), and ‘AC Albright’ (Canada). A significant positive relationship was found between the content of β-glucans and the weight of 1000 grains in both forms of barley.Conclusion.According to β-glucan content combined with other valuable characteristics in grain, the accessions ‘Mayak’, ‘Tarsky 3’ and ‘AC Albright’ are of interest for the improvement of fodder cultivars, while ‘Nudum 95’ and Nudum 155 are promising for breeding for food.

A Robust Vegetation Index Based on Different UAV RGB Images to Estimate SPAD Values of Naked Barley Leaves

Chlorophyll content in plant leaves is an essential indicator of the growth condition and the fertilization management effect of naked barley crops. The soil plant analysis development (SPAD) values strongly correlate with leaf chlorophyll contents. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) can provide an efficient way to retrieve SPAD values on a relatively large scale with a high temporal resolution. But the UAV mounted with high-cost multispectral or hyperspectral sensors may be a tremendous economic burden for smallholder farmers. To overcome this shortcoming, we investigated the potential of UAV mounted with a commercial digital camera for estimating the SPAD values of naked barley leaves. We related 21 color-based vegetation indices (VIs) calculated from UAV images acquired from two flight heights (6.0 m and 50.0 m above ground level) in four different growth stages with SPAD values. Our results indicated that vegetation extraction and naked barley ears mask could improve the correlation between image-calculated vegetation indices and SPAD values. The VIs of ‘L*,’ ‘b*,’ ‘G − B’ and ‘2G − R − B’ showed significant correlations with SPAD values of naked barley leaves at both flight heights. The validation of the regression model showed that the index of ‘G-B’ could be regarded as the most robust vegetation index for predicting the SPAD values of naked barley leaves for different images and different flight heights. Our study demonstrated that the UAV mounted with a commercial camera has great potentiality in retrieving SPAD values of naked barley leaves under unstable photography conditions. It is significant for farmers to take advantage of the cheap measurement system to monitor crops.