08/04/06 Barley for fractionalization plant

Scientists at the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center near Pendleton, Oregon are looking at barely varieties to see which would be the best to grow in northeast Oregon for the planned Treasure Valley Renewable Resources biorefinery near Ontario. That proposed facility could separate wheat and barley into their functional components for use in food trade and other industries. Superintendent of the Research Center Steve Petrie says the dryland production area of northeast Oregon has some advantages like an earlier harvest compared to the Treasure Valley and abundant on-farm storage. Petrie's research is focusing on spring barley varieties. PETRIE - "My first goal is to identify adapted lines that growers could begin seeding within a year or two. Pat Hayes, the OSU barley breeder, is working to transfer the desirable characteristics from those spring types into winter lines because we know that the winter lines have a much higher yield potential than do the spring types." Petri says by the end of this harvest and by next year, they should have a very good idea of which spring varieties growers should consider growing. Development of the winter varieties will take longer. PETRIE - "But with the use of some high technology marker assisted selection we should be able to have lines being tested in the field within three years." Today's Idaho Ag News