Standing tall: How strategic use of PGR helping feed barley resist lodging July 2025
Research Team Dr. Balwinder Kumar, crop research scientist Dr. Haider Abbas, crop research scientist Emily Gannon, research technician Summer students and other staff
Collaborators SARDA Ag Research, Donnelly, Alta. Farming Smarter, Lethbridge, Alta.
Funders This research was made possible through the generous support of our funding partners, including Alberta Grains, Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF), Manitoba Crop Alliance, SaskBarley, Alberta Beef Producers, Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), and Syngenta. Their commitment to advancing practical solutions for lodging management in feed barley has been instrumental in driving this work forward for the benefit of producers across Western Canada.
Summary Average barley yields have stagnated in recent years partly due to lodging, soil fertility decline and extreme climate variability. In 2022, the project “Maximizing feed barley yield while minimizing lodging” was launched with the aim of identifying effective plant growth regulator (PGR) strategies to reduce lodging and optimize grain yield. The study evaluates the interaction between barley genetics, PGR timing, dosage and tank mix combinations under western Canada conditions.