2014. Evolution of a quality testing program for improving malting barley in Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 535Á544. The quality of Canadian malting barley has continually improved since malt barley was exported in the late 1800s. Improvements were linked to a dynamic evaluation system that evolved with a better understanding of malting biochemistry and as suitable methods were developed. Methods became more accurate and more specific in their ability to define quality. They progressed from sensory evaluation, to surmising malt quality from barley protein levels, to the first micro-maltings followed by automated laboratory-scale maltings. Malt quality analysis started simply with malt extract and diastatic power followed by wort protein. As the necessity for cell wall breakdown became better understood, analyses like wort viscosity, fine/coarse grind extract differences and wort b-glucan were adopted. A continuum of cultivars were released in Canada, based on this evaluation system, starting with the six-rowed releases OAC 21, then Montcalm and Bonanza, followed by the two-rowed releases Betzes, Klages, Harrington and AC Metcalfe. Release of future cultivars will depend on an evolving evaluation system that could include; barley homogeneity, specific starch-degrading enzymes, individual amino acids and specific traits such as low lipoxygenase and low phytic acid barley. The result will be development and release of cultivars with better defined quality that can fill specialized niches in the malting and brewing industries of the future.

O'Donovan, J. T., Anbessa, Y., Grant, C. A., Macleod, A. L., Edney, M. J., Izydorczyk, M. S., Turkington, T. K., Juskiw, P. E., Lafond, G. P., May, W. E., Harker, K. N., Johnson, E. N., Beres, B. L., McAllister, T. A., Smith, E. G. and Chapman, W. 2015. Relative responses of new malting barley cultivars to increasing nitrogen rates in western Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 831–839. Only about 25% of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is selected for malting annually in western Canada due to quality issues. While nitrogen (N) fertilization can increase yield, it can also impair quality by increasing protein to unacceptable levels. The objective of this study was to determine the responses of relatively new malting barley cultivars (Bentley, Major, CDC Meredith, and Merit 57) to increasing N rates compared to the response of AC Metcalfe, the most commonly grown malting cultivar. Experiments were conducted at seven locations in western Canada in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Nitrogen was banded at seeding at 0, 30, 60, 90, or 120 kg ha−1. All the new varieties produced higher yield (5 to 11%) than AC Metcalfe. Barley kernel yield and protein concentration increased with N rate. However, Merit 57, CDC Meredith and Bentley produced significantly lower protein concentration in response to N than AC Metcalfe and Major. The newer cultivars displayed higher N utilization efficiency than AC Metcalfe, possibly due to partitioning proportionally more N into leaf chlorophyll development. The higher leaf chlorophyll content may have enabled increased photosynthesis and a more efficient utilization of N for grain formation. Bentley produced the least tillers and had the highest kernel plumpness, while Merit 57 had the lowest kernel plumpness. CDC Meredith lodged most followed by Merit 57, while Major and Bentley lodged least, especially at the higher N rates. Merit 57 and CDC Meredith took longer to mature than the other cultivars but yielded well at relatively short growing season locations.