AB Maximizer, a relatively new variety developed by Western Crop Innovations, also promises better disease resistance
WINNIPEG — Field tests across the Prairies have identified a new star in the world of forage barley: AB Maximizer.
Results show the new variety has higher yields and stronger disease resistance and matures earlier than established varieties like CDC Cowboy.
AB Maximizer is a relatively new variety developed by Western Crop Innovations, formerly known as the Field Crop Development Centre.
“Our program is based in Alberta in the heart of cattle country, and breeding forage barley is among the priority areas for us,” said Yadeta Kabeta, a barley breeder at Olds College. “We run a dedicated forage barley breeding pipeline, which has been streamlined and strengthened in recent years.”
Read Also
Dennis Laycraft to be inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame
Dennis Laycraft, a champion for the beef industry, will be inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame this fall.
Scientists from Agriculture Canada, Olds College and the University of Saskatchewan recently tested Maximizer and other forage barley varieties at research centres in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
“We released three varieties during the three-year (2021-24) project period – AB Maximizer, AB Standswell and FB22816. The last one, FB22816, was just given support for registration in February,” Kabeta said.
“The primary objective of this project was to evaluate advanced barley lines for forage performance across different soil zones of Western Canada and select and release lines that have high forage yield and enhanced fodder quality for commercial cultivation.”
The Beef Cattle Research Council, Alberta Beef Producers, Alberta Milk, the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association and Results Driven Agriculture Research provided funding for Kabeta’s work on forage barley.
Such cultivars are specifically developed as forage for cattle. Any barley can be used as forage but forage types are more efficient and nutritious.
“They … provide more energy per tonne of whole plant dry matter, making them a higher quality and more cost-effective source of fodder than conventional cultivars,” says a Manitoba Agriculture website.
In tests, AB Maximizer, AB Standswell and FB22816 had a higher grain to straw ratio compared to check varieties like CDC Cowboy and AB Cattlelac.
“For example, AB Maximizer had similar biomass yield as CDC Cowboy, but showed 20 percent higher grain yield in the test,” Kabeta said.
“Grain is where most of the energy comes from. The new varieties excelled not only in nutritional value (starch, protein) but also in forage digestibility and predicted animal performance metrices, such as average daily gain and costs of gain.”
They also performed well in other categories, with better lodging resistance than the checks. AB Maximizer reached maturity a day earlier.
“Disease resistance, particularly resistance to leaf spot diseases, is important in forage barley,” Kabeta said. “AB Maximizer met or exceeded the minimum requirements for all of the seven priority one diseases set by the disease evaluation team of the PRCOB (Prairie Recommending Committee for Oat and Barley).”
In addition to improved agronomics, Kabeta and his team have worked with Vern Baron of Agriculture Canada in Lacombe to analyze forage quality.
“We have been able to determine the quality profile of some key breeding lines, which will serve as the basis for future improvement efforts,” Kabeta said.
