EFFECTS OF GENE ANT13 ON AGRONOMIC AND MALT QUALITY TRAITS OF BARLEY

Haze formation in beer can be retarded by use of proanthocyanidin-free barley (Hordeum vulgare L) malt. Lack of production of proanthocyanidins in barley is controlled by a single recessive gene, such as the ant13 and ant17 genes. Many of the proanthocyanidin-free lines developed have had undesirable agronomic and malt quality. The objective of this study was to observe effects of the ant13 gene of DM582 on agronomic traits and malt quality of backcross-derived lines using 'Azure', 'Glenn', and 'Hazen' as recurrent parents. Gains were made in reducing plant heights and number of days to heading and increasing kernel plumpness, fine grind extract, and soluble protein of BC1 lines as compared with the donor line, DM582. No significant increases in mean grain yield and test weight of Hazen BC1 lines were observed compared with that of DM582. However, individual lines from each population could be selected that had grain yield, 200-kernel weight, and test weight similar to that of the recurrent parents. This indicates that with selection of superior lines for these traits and using them as parents in a backcross program, proanthocyanidin-free cultivars with acceptable agronomic performance, malt extract, and soluble protein can be developed. Due to the large negative effects of the ant13 gene of DM582 on several traits, however, DM582 is not an acceptable source of germplasm to produce proanthocyanidin-free cultivars with acceptable malt quality that are adapted to the midwestern barley-growing region of the USA.