A rapid test for identifying potential malting quality in the early generations of a barley breeding programme

The nitrogen content of barley grains and the viscosity and glucose content of an acid extract from the corresponding barley flour were used to predict, with sufficient accuracy for selection purposes, the hot‐water extract obtained after the samples were micro‐malted. Optimum procedures were established using grain samples from several varieties and environments. Prediction equations were obtained by multiple regression and tested using samples of spring and winter barleys from the Plant Breeding Institute breeding programmes. The accuracy of prediction was greater with spring than with winter barleys. Approximately 70 samples can be tested by one person in 1 day and only a small amount of seed (2 g) is required. The method is considered suitable for screening material from early generations of breeding programmes when numbers are high and quantities of seed are insufficient for micromalting.