Winter Barley for Possible New Pa. Malt Industry Studied at Penn State
Within a few years, Penn
sylvania grown winter barley
may create a new crop and a new
industry for the Commonwealth
malt production.
High yielding winter barley
and improved methods for
repidly measuring malting
quality have been developed by
scientists of the College of
Agriculture at Pennsylvania
State University.
The results look promising for
both farmers and industrialists.
Increased demand for malting
barley could potentially bring
new income totaling $2O million
annually for farmers and
malsters in Pennsylvania, ac
cording to Dr. Robert P. Pfeifer,
small grains breeder for the
Agricultural Experiment Station
at Penn State.
LANCO BEDDING
FOR
POULTRY AND -LIVESTOCK
Shavings Bagged, Bulk, Blown-in.
Call for information
Phone 285-4506
Last year, growers all across the corn belt took us up on our
"Green 'n Easy" fall plowdown program Response was so
enthusiastic, we are making the offer again this year
What is "Green 'n Easy?"
Under an Ortho "Green 'n Easy" program for corn, you sim
ply plowdown Ortho Unipel 20-10-10 this fall in the amounts
you determine from exclusive Ortho yield goal formulas
and you'll be through with all of your pre-plant plowdown
of N-P-K
Follow it up next spring with an at-plaotmg applica-
tion of Ortho Unipel Starter Special You
can apply it as a "dry pop-up" with the seed
at 50 Ibs./A and save time and material
handling, while assuring a vigorous start
for your corn crop
What are the chances of nitrogen loss?
Extensive research conducted by corn ex
perts in every corn-growing state has dem
onstrated time and again that where losses
of fall-applied nitrogen have occurred in
fields suitable for fall plowdown -fthat is,
other than sandy soils, steep slopes, land
that floods, or organic soils), the maximum
loss has been less than 20%
Availability of high quality
barley, and the increasing
demand for it, could encourage
the establishment of malting
plants in the Commonwealth, Dr.
Pfeifer believes. The malting
industry is growing at a rate of
three to five per cent annually.
Present U.S. malt consumption
is about 125 million bushels of
barley a year. Anticipations are
that the. malting industry will
double by 1985 and consume 250
million bushels.
The traditional locations for
production are not expected to
expand-North Dakota and
bordering states plus Canada and
Europe. Thus, new production
areas for malt barley must be
developed and Pennsylvania is a
possible location.
Oiwran
* Ortho
Chevron Chemical
Company
Smoketown
Ph. 397-3539
Over the past seven years, malt
barley research at Penn State
has developed equations for
predicting malt quality. Ef
fective seed size measurements
or several malt quality
characteristics were computed to
replace traditional malt industry
measurements. Another project
developed improved techniques
to use water absorption
measurements as a factor in
judging malt quality.
Dr. Pfeifer and associates have
Semidwarf Wheats Increasing
In 1970 high-yielding semid- wheat land and 50
per cent of
warf wheats in developing their wheat output,
countries accounted for over five uSDA’s Economic Research
per cent of the world s wheat land Service reviewed the short inl
and eight per cent of total output, pressive history of the semid
according to a report issued warfs and discussed factors
recently by the U.S. Department affecting future production. The
of Agriculture. study also considered the impact
As recently as 1966, the eight these varieties can have on the
major producing countries economies of the developing
among developing nations-India, countries.
-Pakistan, -Mexico, Turkey,
Afghanistan, Tunisia, Iran, and
Morocco-planted these varieties
on only 0.6 million hectares,
compared with 10.6 million last
year; output expanded from 1.6
million tons to 22.7 million. In
1970 these varieties accounted for
25 per cent of these nation’s
Ortho stands behind its program
If your young growing corn in the fields where you have fol
lowed the Ortho "Green 'n Easy" program, shows nitrogen
deficiency next spring, we'll correct the deficiency by giv
ing you free enough nitrogen to equal 20% of that which
you applied this fall
Why is Ortho so confident? . . . Unipels!
Ortho Unipels are unlike any other fertilizer on the market
today Umpel pellets are both chemically and physically
uniform No chance for segregation or separation of mgred-
lents because every pellet has the same
size, shape, and density and every pellet
contains the precise ratio of N-P-K guaran
teed And the phosphate is fixation resis
tant So, once across the field does it with
Unipels l
You can't lose!
Protect your fall fertilizing investment
this year with a "Green 'n Easy" fall plow-
down program from your participating
Ortho dealer Visit with him soon and learn
if your fields qualify
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 30,1971
found that winter barley has
more potential malt extract for
the same size kernel than spring
barley, the type commonly used
in malt today. Winter barley also
has the advantage of averaging
60 bushels per acre compared
with 30 bushels an acre for spring
barley.
Summing up research findings.
Dr. Pfeifer says winter barleys
may have a place in malt barley
production since they yield more
grain, are lower in protein
- ERS holds that while there may
not be a repeat of the sharp ex
pansion that took place in India
and Pakistan in 1968 and 1969,
there should be marked gains in
wheat output. Advances will
hinge on individual government’s
programs, the efficiency of their
content, and higher in sugar
extract than spring-type barley.
He indicates the present
breeding program has produced
many excellent short strawed,
high yielding, large seeded,
disease resistant, and winter
hardy selections. Experiments
have included cross-breeding and
in-breeding of various barley
strains. Selection of the most
promising malting types began in
1968.
Foreign Yields
agricultural industry, education
and investments, and available
acreage for the new wheats
Much of the success of these
high-yielding varieties-over two
tons per hectare against less than
one ton of traditional local wheat
in 1970-can be credited to con
tributions made by governments
of some 30 developing countries.
Package programs included
price supports and pro
curements, financial in
ducements, and promotional
activities to “sell” the new wheat
to skeptical farmers and buyers.
The private sectors also aided
through the increased
availability of irrigation, fer
tilizers, seed, and other inputs
The new wheats have short
strong stems that reduce failover
or lodging, make better use of
fertilizer and water to gain
higher yields, are better adapted
to many areas because of in
sensitivity to length of daylight;
mature early which allows
multiple cropping, and have
greater resistance to rust and
other diseases.
A copy of “High-Yielding
Varieties of Wheat in Developing
Countries,” ERS-Foreign 322, is
available free on postcard
(please include zipcode) or
telephone (388-7255) request to
the Division of Information,
Office Management Services,
U S Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D.C. 20250
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GEHMAN
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1 Mile North of Terre Hill
on Route 897
East Earl, R. D. 1, Penna.
17