Farmers realize increased profits thanks to small grain varieties developed at Penn State      For the past 17 years, Dr. Marvin Risius, professor of plant breeding, has worked on breeding new varieties of soft red winter wheat and winter barley. He recently began working on spring oats.      Development of agronomically superior small grain varieties through breeding and genetic research allows farmers to earn more money per acre from these crops. Risius calculates that in 1996 the production of Pennco and Pennbar 66, two successful varieties of barley developed at Penn State, could have netted Pennsylvania's small grain farmers an additional $33.7 million, assuming that Pennbar 66 and Pennco were planted on all acreage routinely planted in barley. This figure includes the money earned from the 30 bu/A average added production advantage of Pennco and Pennbar over Pennrad, a popular barley variety before the release of Pennco and Pennbar 66, and the value added as feed.      Spring oat, winter barley, and soft red wheat harvested for grain in Pennsylvania between 1991 and 1995 averaged 447,000 acres and had an estimated value of $54.2 million dollars per year. The state average grain yields (bu/A) were 66 for barley, 54 for spring oat, and 49 for wheat.

is through genetic resistance. Risius' continuing research effort is helping to advance the breeding and introduction of pest resistant and stress tolerant small grain varieties in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.      The objectives of the breeding program are: to develop and release small grain cultivars with improved yield, lodging resistance, disease resistance, winter hardiness, and grain quality; to evaluate agronomic performance of new cultivars and experimental selections of spring oat, spring barley, winter barley, and soft red winter wheat; and to establish optimum management practices for small grain cultivars.      Three of the most successful varieties are still leading the small grain performance tests approximately a decade after their release. Pennco winter barley was released in 1985 for its high grain yield, good standability, and field resistance to diseases such as barley yellow dwarf virus. Pennco had the highest grain yield-93 bu/A-in three-year state barley performance tests completed in 1998 in Centre County. This variety also ranked first for grain yield at 114 bu/A in the two-year summary.

This variety also ranked first for grain yield at 114 bu/A in the two-year summary.      Pennbar 66 winter barley was released in 1990 for its high grain yield, high bushel weight, adult-plant resistance to leaf rust. This variety averaged 110 bu/A in Lancaster County and 126 bu/A in Centre County during six years of performance tests. Both Pennbar 66 and Pennco have performed very well in Tennessee and Oklahoma, demonstrating that some Penn State varieties flourish over broad regions.      Pennmore is a soft red winter wheat released in 1992. Pennmore has consistently ranked high for grain yield, test weight, grain quality, and resistance to leaf rust. It has excellent milling quality and very good baking quality.      It typically takes ten to twelve years from the time the first cross of two existing varieties is made until there are enough data and seeds to release a new variety for performance tests. The team currently has one variety each of wheat, barley, and oat that are just about ready to be released.      Risius admits that the yield gains of new varieties have gotten smaller continued on page 4

Improved small grain varieties with adequate inherent resistance to various abiotic stresses and diseases are needed for integration into a farm management system that will produce sustainable grain yields and profits. Small grains contribute diversity to the farming enterprise by spreading the economic crop risk and work load. They provide a cash crop, food for people, and feed and bedding for livestock early in the growing season.      However, diseases, insects, and yearly weather variations constantly threaten small grain production. The most inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and effective means of improving stability of small grain yields

Dr. Marvin Risius checks the quality of a wheat variety. Courtesy: M. Risius