Study on Genetic diversity of Ethiopian barleys

Girma Fana Dinsa, former coordinator of National Barley Research Program in Ethiopia (2013-2019), is a PhD student at University of Dundee in the UK whose works focus on exploring genetic diversity in Ethiopian Barley Genepool using latest genomic resources available at the James Hutton Institute, the global leader in barley genomics. His works include molecular characterisation, Genome-Wide identification of genes associated with agronomic and Ionomic traits including grain Zinc and Iron concentration.

https://youtu.be/cz3_McG-Xfo?t=11

Significance of barley in Ethiopian Agriculture

Agriculture is the dominant sector in Ethiopian economy contributing 42 % to the national GDP, 90 % of the foreign exchange earnings, 70% of raw materials to the local industries and 85% of employment. Out of the total land cultivated to cereals, barley takes 9.5 % and the productivity of barley is 1.966 t/ha (CSA, 2016). Barley is used for different purposes including food, feed and making drinks. Barley as a food has useful merits including some medicinal properties (Zemede, 2002; Elena and Miguel, 2005; Finocchairo et.al, 2005 and Jaby El-Haramein, 2005). The grain is rich in zinc, iron and soluble fibres and has higher content of Vitamins A and E than other cereals. Beta-glucan of barley lowers blood cholesterol and low glycemic index is used for Type II diabetic people. Tocols in barley are also used to reduce serum LDL cholesterol and the bran flour accelerates gastrointestinal transit time and hence reduces colon cancer. It also plays a major role in food security in Ethiopia for its several advantages: (1) barley can be grown in marginal areas where the choice of other cereals is practically limited; (2) it offers an earlier crop harvest and thereby providing relief to food shortages during the long rainy season; (3) it has better stability of production over other cereals; (4) it is dependable as it is grown in different seasons and production systems; and (5) its straw is highly palatable for livestock and useful for soil improvement. Therefore, increasing the production and productivity of barley is very important to improve the livelihood and income of resource-poor farmers.Barley covers about 1 million ha (8.3 % of area under cultivation) of land in Ethiopia in the main season ranking fifth among important cereals (CSA, 2013). It is also grown in the Belg season, covering over 0.14 million ha (CSA, 2008). Four regional states of Ethiopia namely Oromia, Amhara, SNNP and Tigray are the major producers of barley in that order in terms of area and production volume (CSA, 2013). Although the productivity of barley has been at increasing trend (15.5 qt/ha in 2010 to 17.49 qt/ha in 2013), it is still among the lowest as compared to the world average (over 2.7 t/ha) due to technological, socioeconomic, cultural and other constraints.

Barley productivity has been hampered by several biotic and abiotic constraints. Biotic constraints include major diseases (scald, net blotch, spot blotch and rusts), insect pests (barley shoot fly and Russian wheat aphid) and many grass and broad-leaved weeds. The major abiotic factors are poor soil fertility, water logging, drought, frost and low soil pH. Lack of enough high yielding varieties with desired nutritional qualities for the major agro-ecologies and production systems is another constraint in barley production. Moreover, the improved varieties recommended so far have not been accompanied with complete agronomic and pest management recommendations. Technology promotion and linkage among stakeholders have not been sufficiently addressed. The issue of access to improved seeds and inputs has also remained a problem. Seed dissemination and market has been another major bottleneck in barley productivity.

The national and regional research centres have so far released and registered about 37 improved food barley varieties from land races, introductions and local crosses. These varieties were demonstrated and disseminated to farmers though not to a sufficient extent. Through diagnostic and pest surveys, 107 farmers’ cultivars (Chilot et al., 1996), 36 barley diseases (Stewart and Dagnachew, 1967; Yitbarek et al., 1996) of which scald, net blotch, spot blotch and rusts are the major ones; and 36 insect pests (barley shoot fly and Russian wheat aphid are the major ones) were recorded. Many grass and broad-leaved weeds were also identified. Several pest management methods including host plant resistance, chemicals and others have been recommended.

Historical Development of the Barley Crop

Barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare L.) is one of the oldest cultivated crop plants and the fourth most important cereal crop in the world both in terms of quantity produced and area of cultivation. Barley is one of the most dependable crops and has a long history of cultivation in areas with extreme environmental conditions. It is believed to have been under cultivation, most likely in the form of land races, in Ethiopia since 3000 B.C. Barley is an important part of a staple diet, especially in Asia and the northern and Horn regions of Africa.The Himalayas, Ethiopia, and Morocco have occasionally been considered centers of barley domestication (Badr et al., 2000; Azhaguvel and Komatsuda, 2007). Barley was an important food grain among working-class people in Europe until the end of the 19th century, when other grains such as wheat, rye and oats became more abundant, replacing barley in the diet. Throughout historical and archaeological reports, barley is referred to as a source of health, strength and stamina for athletes and manual laborers.The health benefits and medical aspects of barley foods are also referred to in ancient Arabic, Chinese, Egyptian, Ethiopian and Greek literature, and have been reported by more recent civilizations from Asia to Europe. Barley was the food of the Roman gladiators, who were called hordearii or “barley men.” It was believed that barley bread gave the gladiators greater strength and stamina compared with other foods. As other grains became more abundant, barley became less important as a food grain and was relegated to the status of a “poor man’s bread”. There are countries where barley remains an important staple food including Tibet, Korea, Mongolia, and many African and Asian countries. For example, Morocco has the highest per-capita consumption of food barley, where it is incorporated into soups, bread and porridge. In Japan, barley is used to produce ‘miso’, tea and ‘shochu’, and is used as a rice extender. Barley is available in North America as pot and pearl barley, barley flour, flakes or grits (wikepedia.org). Barley was used by ancient civilizations as a food for humans and animals, as well as to make alcoholic beverages; the first known recipe for barley wine dates back to 2800 BC in Babylonia. In ancient times, barley water has been used for various medicinal purposes. Barley played an important role in ancient Greek and Roman culture as a staple bread-making grain as well as an important food for athletes, who attributed much of their strength to their barley-containing training diets. Barley was also honored in ancient China as a symbol of male virility since the heads of barley are heavy and contain numerous seeds. Most of the growth in demand for malt barley and malt during the next five years will be in countries with rapidly expanding beer production. Africa is the largest nation in this regard with a 21% annual growth rate. Beer consumption is increasing in Africa where the Ethiopian statistics is behind South Africa, Kenya and other African countries. Although the beer consumption in Ethiopia is lower, the annual increase is much faster than other countries because of the multinational giants coming to the play in the beer and malt industry which have foreseen the conducive environmental conditions for barley production and policy environment in Ethiopia.

Barley Commodity Research Strategy 2016-2030.pdf

BARLEY RESEARCH IN ETHIOPIA

The earliest organized barley research program in Ethiopia was started in 1955 at Debre Zeit by the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts. The research on barley was advanced with the establishment of research centers representing major barley producing regions in the country. The Holetta Research Center of the then Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) was established in 1966 to cater for the central highlands. the Chilalo Agricultural Development Unit (CADU) was established in 1967 with Swedish aid for Arsi highlands not only for basic research but also extension and marketing. As the years went by, other research centers and relevant institutions were established--Mekele in 1973, the Plant Protection Research Center at Ambo in 1976, Plant Genetics Resources Center in 1977, Assela Malt Factory in 1984, Adet and Sinana Research Centers in 1986 and the IAR/ADD joint adaptive testing sites in the 1970s and 1980s. All these centers and testing sites have helped in the overall barley research effort. The national barley research program had been coordinated from Holetta research center until 2005 when the coordination moved to Sinana research center.

The barley research program had a good cooperation with the FAO, USDA, SAREC, CIMMYT, and ICARDA regional programs with exchange of information, germplasm, and provision of research supplies and short term trainings. Several exotic lines, local germplasm and selections from crosses were evaluated at several locations and useful recommendations were given for the Central and Southeastern Highlands. Farmer's varieties, on the other hand, were found unexcelled specifically at locations with stress environments, such as at Mekele and Quiha in Tigray where soil moisture is a critical problem, at Sinana in Bale which has shoot fly infestation associated with bimodal rainfall pattern, at Bedi in west Shewa which has low soil pH and poor soil fertility, and at Sheno in North Shewa which has waterlogging and aphids associated with Belg erratic rainfall. Barley crop area is less covered by improved seeds and adoption of fertilizer recommendations is also found comparatively low. Grain yields and malting quality are still not of the desired level even in areas of adequate rainfall due to susceptibility to diseases and pests and inappropriate agronomic practices.

New varieties released

Sinana Research Center released two new barley varieties in 2016: Singitan (Malt barley) and Robera (Food barley). The food barley released was a collection from land race accession in the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute gene bank. It has the yielding potential of 4.2 t/ha with variable amounts based on the growing conditions. It is also with desirable agronomic merits such as resistance to major barley leaf diseases and insect pests. The malting barley variety is selected from nurseries of the International Center of Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The variety has desirable merits of disease resistance, tolerance to the major insect pest in the area (barley shoot fly, Delia flavibasis) and good malting quality parameters.

Another significant development in malting barley research is release of the first 6-row malting barley variety in Ethiopia by Sinana Agricultural Research Center in 2018. The variety is named "MOATA" and it has a peculiar characteristics such as dropping awns at maturity and good malting quality traits such as high malt extract, high friability, low prtoein content and low beta glucan content, traits that meet requirements of the malting and brewing industries. It is currently under mass production, popularization and dessimination to end-users.

The 6-row malting barley variety released in 2018

Oromia agricultural research institute

Sinana Agricultural Research Center

P.O.Box 208,

Bale-Robe

Ethiopia

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