Investigating Winter Hardiness to Advance Winter Malting Barley as a Climate Adaptation Strategy in Michigan
- Research Date
- 2021
- Authors
- Dr. James DeDecker, Brook Wilke, Emily Merewitz-Holm, Nikhil Jaikumar, Christian Kapp, Josh Dykstra, Megan Gendjar, Dean Baas
- Priorities
- Best Practices, Climate Change, Crop Quality, Disease Management
- Crop Categories
- Barley
- Beverage Categories
- Beer
In 2020-21, our team received support from the Michigan Craft Beverage Council to investigate winter hardiness in malting barley to advance winter barley as a climate adaptation strategy. We conducted a hybrid field and laboratory study to assess the interaction of winter barley genetics with environmental conditions across locations in Michigan and their combined effect on winter barley hardiness. Results from our first year of research point to promising winter hardy varieties and the important role of snow cover in protecting the winter barley crop. Further research is needed to fully assess the mechanisms driving species/variety differences in winter hardiness, including the role of antioxidative enzymes.
View: CBC Winter Barley Final Report De Decker 2020 21 (PDF)