Barley Synthesis Project Dataset

Barley, Australia's second most important crop, faces threats from climate change. With 9-10 million tonnes produced annually, only 30-40% achieves malting grade, with both grain yield and quality attributes impacted by abiotic stresses. Despite the relative adaptation of barley, Australian regions achieve just 35-60% of water-limited yield potential. Improved understanding of these production gaps and the genotypic, environmental and management factors will increase yield productivity nationally. A collaborative consortium was assembled to synthesise previous research and develop a national barley dataset to determine opportunities to optimise yield potential of barley in Australian farming systems. An industry forum was held on the 1-2 February 2023 to identify relevant barley datasets and prioritise research themes for further analysis and interpretation.

The Barley Synthesis Project Dataset comprises 132 trials collected from various sources, including NSW DPI, WA DPIRD, Birchip Cropping Group, GRDC National Trials, and the University of Adelaide in South Australia. The dataset is organised into two main research themes spanning from 2010 to 2022:

1.Optimal Flowering Period (84 Trials = 18,582 Records - 2011-2022)
2.Preserving Grain Quality (48 Trials = 10,890 Records - 2010-2016)

Each theme includes specific agronomic trait attributes relevant to its focus area. In addition to these core attributes, the dataset contains metadata fields that provide detailed information about each trial’s location, GPS coordinates, organisational ownership, and contact persons.