Moravian barley has become an important variety in
southern Idaho and its acreage is still increasing. This grow
barley tends to lodge soon after heading. The risk of
lodging is greater if excess nitrogen is present and if the
crop is well-watered before the boot stage. Lodging
decreases the barley's malting quality and may lower
yield because of harvesting problems

Jensen, M.E.

Ruffing, B.J.

Westermann, D.T.

Northwest Irrigation & Soils Research Laboratory Publications

Managing Irrigation and Nitrogen for Moravian Barley in Southern Idaho

USDA - ARS - NWISRL

University of IdahoCol lege of AgricultureC,_perati\e. E\ter m Sure.•ict_Agricultural E\perinicnt StatiLriCurrent Information Series No. 365February 1977Managing Irrigation and NitrogenFor Moravian BarleyIn Southern IdahoB. J. Ruffing, M. E. Jensen, D. T. WestermannMoravian barley has become an important variety insouthern Idaho and its acreage is still increasing. This g-row barley tends to lodge soon after heading. The risk oflodging is greater if excess nitrogen is present and if thecrop is well-watered before the boot stage. Lodgingdecreases the barley's malting quality and may loweryield because of harvesting problems.The main quality factors of 2-row malting barley thatare influenced by irrigation and nitrogen managementare:Protein content - Maltsters and brewers prefer 12% orless protein.RECOMMENDATIONS1. Before planting, obtain a soil test forresidual nitrate-nitrogen, especially followingcrops like potatoes, onions and sugarbeets. If theresidual nitrate-nitrogen is over 120 lb./acre, donot apply nitrogen fertilizer.2. If nitrogen fertilizer is needed, apply onlyenough that the residual plus fertilizer nitrogendoes not exceed 120 lb./acre.3. If winter precipitation has wet the root zoneand if germination and tillering are good, delaythe first irrigation until the boot stage or the lastweek in May in the Twin Falls area. Irrigatingearlier can cause longer straw which increasesthe risk of lodging.4. After the first irrigation, apply 3 to 4 inchesof water every 12 to 14 days until the soft doughstage or until the last 5 days in June in the TwinFalls area.Percent plump kernels - Maltsters require at least 80%and prefer over 90% plump kernels.Germination - Maltsters prefer barley with over 96% ger-mination.EXPERIMENTSThe objectives of these studies were (1) to determineif straw length and lodging could be decreased by delay-ing irrigations before the boot stage and (2) to determinethe amount of nitrogen required for maximum yield andquality.We used Moravian No. 8 in furrow-irrigated field ex-periments near Kimberly in 1971 and 1972, Moravian HIin sprinkler-irrigated field experiments near Buhl in 1973and 1974. Seeding rate was 100 lb./acre each year.The soil series at each site is a typical Portneuf siltloam. This soil has a cemented layer, which generallyrestricts the roots, beginning at the 16 to 18 inch depth.Irrigation TreatmentsTwo irrigation treatments were used each year. Forthe normal soil moisture treatment (M-1), irrigationswere applied to obtain near-maximum yields (about 65%available soil moisture remained at 18-inch depth). Forthe second soil Moisture treatment (M-2), first irrigationwas delayed about 1 week during the jointing stage. Afterthe first irrigation, the M-2 plots were irrigated at thesame level of soil moisture depletion as the M-1 plots.Small furrows spaced 24 inches apart and 12-hourirrigation sets were used in the furrow-irrigated ex-periments. Water was applied to every-other furrow ex-cept for the first irrigation of the M-2 plots, where eachfurrow was used to replace the larger amount of soil0.4o D.3'0 5 15 25 5 15 25 5 15 25 5 15 25APRIL	 MAY	 JUNE	 JULYResidualnitrate-nitrogen (Nn)Year	 (0-24 inch depth)lb./acreNitrogenfertilizerrates (NO	Nn+ Nlb./acre	 lb./acreM-1 plotsStraw	 Strawlength'	 Lodging	 Yield	 lengthinches	 bu/acre	 inchesM-2 plotsLodging	 Yieldbu/acreTable 1. Rainfall from planting to first irrigation.First irrigation	Rainfall from plantingdate	 to first IrrigationYear Planting date M-1 M-2 M-1 M-2(Inches)1971 4/1 811 6/8 5.1' 5.6*1972 3/28 5/19 5/23 0.4 0.71973 3/24 5121 5/30 1.6 1.91974 3/28 5/22 5/28 1.1" 1,1"Average 5/23-24 5/30 2.1 2.3'Includes 1 Inch applied 4/12/71 to Improve germination"Includes 1 Inch applied 5/3/74 to improve tIlleringFig. 1. Estimated daily water use by barley in southern Idaho as com-pared with daily potential or maximum evapotranspiration.moisture that had been depleted. The furrows used werealternated for each irrigation.For the sprinkler irrigation experiments, a solid setsystem (40- x 50-foot spacing and 9/64-inch nozzles)applied about 3 inches of water at each irrigation, exceptfor the first irrigation on the M-2 plots which receivedabout 4 inches.The rainfall received from planting to the first irriga-tion is summarized in Table 1 because the amount of rainduring this period determines when the first irrigation isneeded. Normally, the M-1 plots were irrigated betweenMay 19 and May 22. In 1971, however, heavy spring rainsdelayed first irrigation to June 1. On the M-2 plots, thefirst irrigation was made 6 to 7 days after the M-1application. Two or three additional irrigations wereapplied to all plots at about 13-day intervals as indicatedby the tensiometers. The last irrigation for bothtreatments was applied during the soft dough stage(average date, June 27).Nitrogen RatesTable 2 shows residual nitrate-nitrogen at each ex-perimental site and the nitrogen fertilizer applied beforeplanting. Soil tests for phosphorus indicated an adequatesupply each year (see Current Information Series No.270, Idaho Fertilizer Guide - Malting Barley).RESULTSThe estimated daily water-use rate by barley is com-pared with the maximum or potential rate ofevapotranspiration in southcentral Idaho in Fig. 1. Barleywill use about 0.25 inch per day from the boot stagethrough the soft dough stage (from about May 20 untilJune 20). Before the boot stage, the estimated water-userate rapidly increases and approaches the potential rateTable 2. Effect of nitrogen and irrigation on straw length, lodging and yields.Furrow Irrigated1971 56 0 56 - 0 80.6 7 94.980 116 - 50 73.9 67 89.7120 176 - 52 80.5 80 74.41972 29 0 29 - 0 49.7 0 48.430 59 - 0 65.3 0 61.480 109 - 0 84.8 - 0 84.9Sprinkler irrigated1973 50 50 33 15 111.2 29 0 108.325 75 37 27 112.8 31 5 117.375 125 38 73 123.3 33 10 114.3150 200 41 92 101.6 38 15 111.71974 17 0 17 25 0 43.0 23 0 56.150 67 33 0 71.3 27 0 74.7100 117 36 2 81.9 29 0 88.9200 217 36 37 84.6 28 1 83.6'Measured only in 1973 and 197461' *LL=SERVICE---A•S\ 	The State is truly our campus. We desire to work for all citizens of theState striving to provide the best possible educational and research informationand its application through Cooperative Extension in order to provide a highquality food supply, a strong economy for the State and a quality of life desiredby all.Auttis M. MullinsDean, College of AgricultureUniversity of IdahoSERVING THE STATEThis is the three-fold charge of the College of Agriculture at your stateLand-Grant institution, the University of Idaho. To fulfill this charge, the Col-lege extends its faculty and resources to all parts of the state.Service ... The Cooperative Extension Service has active programs in 42 ofIdaho's 44 counties. Current organization places major emphasis on countyoffice contact and multi-county specialists to better serve all the people. TheseCollege of Agriculture faculty members are supported cooperatively by federal,state and county funding to work with agriculture, home economics, youth andcommunity development.Research ... Agricultural Research scientists are located at the campus inMoscow, at Research and Extension Centers near Aberdeen, Caldwell, Parma,Sandpoint, Tetonia, Twin Falls and at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station,Dubois and the USDA/ARS Soil and Water Laboratory at Kimberly. Their workincludes research on every major agricultural program in Idaho and on econo-mic and community development activities that apply to the state as a whole.Teaching ... Centers of College of Agriculture teaching are the University class-rooms and laboratories where agriculture students can earn bachelor of sciencedegrees in any of 20 major fields, or work for master's and Ph.D. degrees intheir specialties. And beyond these are the variety of workshops and trainingsessions developed throughout the state for adults and youth by College of Agri-culture faculty.5,42-77Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics. Acts of May 8 and June30, 1914. in cooperation with the U.S Department of Agriculture, James L. Graves, Director of CooperativeExtension Service. University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho 83843. We offer our programs and facilities to all peoplewithout regard to race, creed, color. sex, or national origin.

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Managing Irrigation and Nitrogen for Moravian Barley in Southern Idaho

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