Effect of elevated CO2 concentration, nitrogen nutrition and reduced water availability on malting quality of spring barley

Abstract

A multifactorial field experiment in an open-top chamber facility at the experimental station Domaninek was conducted in 2014 to understand the potential effects of climate change factors on the malting quality of spring barley and to evaluate the interactions of these factors with nitrogen nutrition. The results showed a major effect of nitrogen nutrition on malting quality. Nitrogen increased the protein content and impaired the key malting quality parameters such as a relative extract or Kolbach index. Elevated CO₂ concentration had a generally positive effect on malting quality and alleviated the negative impact of nitrogen nutrition particularly. Reduced water availability had only a minor impact on malting quality; however, these effects were predominantly positive.