Tricia McMillan (1),
Marta Izydorczyk (1), John O’Donovan (2), Shawn Parsons (1), Debby
Shaluk (1), Kelly Turkington (2); (1) Canadian Grain Commission, ,
Canada; (2) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada
Malt and Grains
Poster
Fungicide applications can benefit cereal growers by increasing yield
and kernel weight, especially when the risk of various fungal diseases
is high. Application of fungicides may also increase in popularity given
the expansion of Fusarium sp. to most of the barley-producing
prairie regions. Although rarely used in Canada, plant growth regulator
(PGR) application may help to optimize yield and quality of malting
barley by mitigating the effects of lodging. However, little information
exists on the impact of PGR application, especially in conjunction with
fungicide application. The objectives of this study were to assess the
individual and interactive effects of head-emergence fungicide and PGR
applications on barley kernel characteristics and malting quality of AC
Metcalfe grown in seven environments across the Canadian prairies. The
experimental design was a factorial combination with (+) and without (–)
PGR and fungicide applications. The PGR Ethrel was applied at 1,000
mL/ha after early flag leaf emergence to swollen boot stage. The
fungicide Prosaro was applied at 324 mL/acre as a preventative spray at
heading. Barley quality was assessed by measuring kernel weight, kernel
plumpness, protein content and germination energy. Barley grown in five
environments was selected for malting (Phoenix micromalting system) and
subsequent malt quality analysis. Germination energy was not
significantly affected by either application. Protein content was
significantly lower (P < 0.05) for (+) PGR samples compared to
(–) PGR samples, but it was not significantly affected by the
additional application of fungicide. The application of fungicide
significantly (P < 0.05) increased kernel weight and
plumpness, while the application of PGR had an opposite effect. In
general, when both fungicide and PGR were applied, kernel weight and
plumpness were slightly higher compared to the control (– PGR, –
fungicide), which may have contributed to the slightly lower steep-out
moistures and higher extract levels observed for these samples. PGR
application significantly (P < 0.05) increased malt friability
and was likely a secondary result due to the lower protein content.
Although not statistically significant, fungicide application appeared
to have a slight negative impact on the starch-degrading enzymes, but
the levels of enzymes were still within the range expected for AC
Metcalfe. Although fungicide application did not have a significant
impact on malt friability, a significant effect (P < 0.05) on
wort beta-glucan and viscosity was observed; the level of wort
beta-glucans and wort viscosity were higher for fungicide-treated barley
compared to the control samples. Additional malt quality testing and
microbial load data will help to increase our understanding of the
effects of fungicide and PGR application on malt quality.
Tricia McMillan works as a chemist at the Grain Research
Laboratory of the Canadian Grain Commission in Winnipeg, MB. She
graduated from the University of Manitoba with a B.S. degree in food
science and went on to obtain her M.S. degree from the Department of
Human Nutritional Sciences. She joined the Canadian Grain Commission in
2001, where for the last 12 years she has worked as a chemist in the
Barley Program. The research of this program focuses on identifying,
characterizing, and quantifying constituents, as well as genetic,
agronomic, and environmental factors, affecting the quality and
performance of barley during malting and brewing processes.
