Development

‘UC-Schaller’ is a spring six row hooded barley developed for use in forage mixtures or as a dual purpose (forage/grain) barley developed by Dr. Lynn Gallagher at UC Davis and released in 2020. It is adapted to the Central Valley and  San Joaquin Valley.

Breeding History and description

The pedigree of UC-Schaller is K215//Sara/Tango.  K215 was an elite spring 6 row hooded forage line derived from the cross that included Hooded Atlas, which was developed by Dr. C. W. Schaller, former UC Davis barley breeder.  The Sara/Tango cross was obtained from Oregon State University (OSU).  Joey Gonsalves of Stanislaus Farm Supply selected several sister lines to test in collaboration with Oly Cantu of Arizona Plant Breeders.  Schaller was tested in regional grain trials in 2013 as UC1355 along with its sister lines. UC-Schaller was selected by Mr. Gonzales was for its resistance to BYDV over several seasons.  It continued to tested in the regional trials in 2014 and 2016. It was also tested in forage trials in Davis in 2017 and 2018 by Dr. Cal Qualset.   It is on average 5.5 in. taller and heads 9.8 days later than UC 933. 

Adaptation

As a hooded barley, Schaller does not have awns that can be harmful to grazing animals.   The later maturity of Schaller makes it better suited for forage and for mixtures with later maturing oat and wheat. 

Pest and Disease

Schaller is more resistant to Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) and barley stripe rust (BSR) than Ishi, Max, UC603 and UC933. It is moderately susceptible to scald. It is also moderately susceptible to Shark herbicide at early growth stages.

Yield data

In forage trials, Schaller produced similar biomass, matured later, was taller, and had less lodging than UC933 barley. Schaller is similar in grain yield to UC six row awned barley varieties Max, Tamalpais, UC603, but lower than Ishi, UC 933, and UC1280 (UC Tehama).  Schaller is among the tallest and latest maturing barley varieties but less susceptible to lodging than Ishi and UC1280 (UC Tehama).