Estimates of Heritability of Major Malting Quality Traits in Canadian Barley

Abstract

As part of the evaluation of potential new cultivars of barley in western Canada, 10 malting quality traits are assessed, at multiple sites in multiple years, on the most advanced malting lines in the co-operative testing system. These traits include thousand kernel and test weight, percent plump (over a 2.3 mm screen), percent crude protein, percent malt extract, percent soluble wort protein, diastatic power, level of alpha amylase and beta-glucans, and wort viscosity. Breeders focus on improvement of these traits, which are under quantitative genetic control and are the major characteristics in the improvement of malt quality (Bertholdsson, 2004).