An Approach Of Barley Industry Development And Key Practices For Barley High Yield And Quality In China

Barley is the fourth largest cereal crops in terms of planting area, and widely planted in the world. As a major crop in China, barley plays an important role in promoting the development of livestock and beer industry. However, planting area significantly decreased in recent two decades. The current production can not meet the demand by beer and feed industries. Quality improvement of barley is very important for further enhancement of the competitive ability on markets as well as production in China. Grain protein content, diastatic power, Kolbach index, beta-glucan content are commonly used as the indicators of malting barley quality. Beta-amylase and other hydrolytic enzymes are closely associated with some of these parameters. The current research was carried out to study:(1) the status of global barley development and its effect on barley production in China;(2) effect of nitrogen application and seeding rate on barley yield and quality.1. The status of global barley development and its effect on barley production in ChinaAt present, the major barley production, consumption, and exporting countries were Australia, Canada and EU, while the major importers were Saudi Arabia, China and other Asian countries. In recent years, planting area of barley in China dramatically decreased and imported malting barley have accounted for more than50%of domestic demands. The association between China and global in the barley market is becoming more closed. This paper also analyzed the problems existed in the development of barley production in China, and proposed some strategies for promoting barley production.2. Effect of nitrogen application and seeding rate on barley yield and qualityThe effects of two nitrogen levels, two application methods (dressing timing) and3seeding rates on yield traits, grain protein andβ-glucan content andβ-amylase activity were investigated by using a newly-released barley cultivar Zheda-9, planted in the two regions. The results showed that higher nitrogen level greatly increased spike number per unit area and yield, but reduced grain weight. While nitrogen level had less influence on tiller number at elongating stage and filled grains per spike, irrespectively of the experimental areas. Application timing of nitrogen fertilizer also affected barley yield components. More N application at late stage increased spike number per unit area, filled grains per spike, grain weight as well as yield for the two locations. Higher nitrogen level and more N application at late stage dramatically increased protein content, but had less effect on β-glucan content and β-amylase activity.With increasing seeding rate, the number of basic seedlings and tillers at elongating stage and spikes per unit area showed significant increases for the two locations, while spikelets per spike, filled grains per spike, ear and grain weight were reduced. In addition, the effect of seeding rate on ear and grain weight was significant in Hangzhou. Seeding rate dramatically affected β-amylase activity, while it had less effect on protein and β-glucan content. The correlation analysis showed that grain weight was negatively correlated with protein and β-glucan content, respectively.