EFFECTS OF GENOTYPE AND ENVIRONMENT ON Β-GLUCAN AND DIETARY FIBRE CONTENTS IN WHOLE GRAIN OF BARLEY GROWN IN BRAZIL

The aim of this study was to determine general quality characteristics of whole grain of advanced lines of barley grown in Brazil and to determine the effects of genotype and growing location on β-glucan and dietary fibre contents. Barley cultivars, designated BRS 225, BRS 195 and MN 743, crop year 2008 and 2009, with three replications in field trial coordinated by the EMBRAPA Trigo/Passo Fundo were used in this research. The barley samples were analyzed in relation to their Total Dietary Fibre (TDF) contents and fractions for moisture and protein (N × 6.25) by using AACC Methods (American Association of Cereal Chemists, 1990). The β-Glucan content was assessed using the McCleary Enzymic Method for barley (McCleary and Codd, 1991). The data was statistically evaluated by System for Analysis and Separation Averages in Agricultural Experiment (SASM-Agri - version 4) and differences between means were located using Scott-Knott’s test (p<0,05). There were significant differences among the barley genotypes and different locations and crop years in terms of β-glucan, total dietary fibre (TDF), soluble dietary fibre (SDF) and insoluble dietary fibre (IDF) content (p<0.05). Climatic factors can affect positively or negatively the content of total dietary fibre and β-glucan, impacting on the final quality of the barley grain. Substantial variation in the content of fibre components was observed for barley cultivars grown in different years on the same location. These results indicate that environmental and genetic factors are involved in the total β-glucan content and dietary fibre of barley.