ABSTRACT
Klages barley and several of its derivatives are very prone to pre-harvest sprouting which is known to drastically reduce the quality of malting barley. The popularity of Klages with the malting and brewing industry has led to the cultivation of this variety in cooler, moister areas where the probability of poor harvest conditions is much greater. The basic difference between Klages and older malting varieties, such as Betzes, is a much higher level of amylolytic enzyme activity. This suspicion is supported by the fact that Domen, the donor of high enzyme activity to Klages, is also highly susceptible to sprouting. The dormancy present in the line WM143-2-3b has a low heritability but it should be possible to select segregates, which have a satisfactory level of dormancy. While there is a negative relationship between sprouting resistance and amylolytic enzyme activity segregants have been identified which appear to combine resistance with good quality.
