At PGDC Last Week, All Eyes Were on Black Barley, Purple Wheat and Supercharged Oats

A new oat  line is making waves in the field, literally and figuratively. It delivers an impressive performance boost over current industry standards, as its creator showed in February at the Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) meeting in Winnipeg. 

The experimental line, OT3125, has outyielded top-performing checks like AC Morgan and CS Camden by an average of 7% across multiple soil zones over two years. What sets OT3125 apart isn’t just its yield. It’s a shorter line, similar in height to AC Summit, with strong lodging resistance, making it a solid choice for farmers looking for both stability and performance, says Aaron Beattie, barley and oat breeder at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC). 

Even in last year’s dry conditions, OT3125 maintained excellent grain quality, holding its test weight and plump kernels while keeping thins to a minimum. Its beta-glucan profile is right where it needs to be, adding another layer of appeal.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen an oat with this level of improvement,” he noted, comparing it to previous breakthroughs like CDC Arborg. While barley has seen jumps like this — such as CDC Durango’s 7% gain over CDC Austenson — OT3125 represents an exciting advancement for oats. 

“If the trend continues, this could be a big deal for growers looking for a high-performing oat variety,” Beattie added.

It was success stories like these that were the highlight of this year’s PGDC meeting, held Feb. 24-27.

Another innovation generating buzz was a new barley line, HB23150, out of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Research and Development Centre in Brandon, Man. — the same breeding program that was responsible for AAC Magenta, a purple barley that made headlines and was put forward at PGDC meeting in Banff, Alta., in 2023.

“People are calling this new black barley ‘barley caviar,’” said Ana Badea, who heads up the AAFC barley breeding program in Brandon. “It’s exciting to see it gain traction.”

Black barley was a staple food for ancient civilizations across North Africa, the Middle East and the Himalayas. Its distinctive name comes from the dark-coloured bran layer that remains attached to the kernel. Despite its black outer layer, the grain inside is white. 

Unlike most hulled barley varieties typically used as livestock feed or malting, this black barley is classified as hulless. This makes it particularly appealing to specialty food markets. The dark colour is associated with high concentrations of anthocyanins, phenolic compounds known for their antioxidant properties.  

“From a health standpoint, this trait is a great addition,” said Marta Izydorczyk, chair of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Oats and Barley (PRCOB).

In line with the theme of dark-coloured grains, two new purple pericarp wheat lines — GP 262 and GP 263 — were introduced at the meetings of the Prairie Recommending Commit-tee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT). 

“One of these carries the wheat midge trait, while the other serves as the refuge. Compared to the previous purple pericarp variety on the market, these new lines boast a harder kernel, opening up new applications for growers,” said Dana Maxwell, chair of the PRCWRT. 

The lines come from the wheat breeding program at the CDC headed up by Pierre Hucl and his successor, Adam Carter, who has taken the reins of the CWRS wheat, specialty wheats and canaryseed breeding program.

Carter’s second PGDC meeting marked another milestone in his career as he presented the wheat lines he and his team are working on. While many of the lines are from Hucl’s earlier work, Carter, 32, is eager to carry the program forward and expand its scope.

This year, the program put forward several specialty wheat lines, including a new spelt wheat with improved agronomics, as well the purple wheat varieties that offer significant quality improvements over previous releases. 

But perhaps the most exciting development is the introduction of a spring triticale line, the first in over 50 years from the CDC. It offers better quality traits and high forage yield, addressing the longstanding challenge of improving baking quality in triticale while maintaining its abiotic stress tolerance, typically derived from rye.

“Pierre has always had a diverse range of interests in plant breeding,” Carter said. “With triticale, he was focused on increasing its quality while keeping its dual-purpose potential for forage. This new line could be valuable to both the food and forage sectors.”

Tritcale was a hot topic at the PGDC event as Western Crop Innovations put forward its last winter triticale line from Mazen Aljarrah’s program. There’s currently no more winter triticale lines in the WCI pipeline, Aljarrah said.

The decision to discontinue the program was made about five or six years ago, when WCI was still known as the Field Crop Development Centre. 

“At that time, I had some promising lines in my breeding pipeline, so we pushed them through. Now, there are several varieties available — AB Snowcat, AB Provider, AB Bronco and AB Windchill. This latest line, WT0050, is almost awnless and well-suited for dryland areas, with decent forage quality,” Aljarrah said.

In terms of triticale, WCI still has germplasm available, and if funding becomes available, it could relaunch the winter triticale breeding program, he went on to say. 

“My plan this year is to plant most of my winter triticale germplasm, renew it, and invite industry and potential funding agencies to take a look. What we really need is steady funding to bring winter triticale breeding back.”

WCI had all five of its proposed varieties receive support for registration at the meeting. The newly approved varieties, now available for commercialization with bidding having opened in early March, also include two barley lines and two spring triticale lines.

original article continued...