Breeding of Waxy Barley Cultivars in the National Barley Breeding Program of Japan

Waxy barley is considered a good source of dietary fiber and a convenient functional food in Japan; thus, domestic demand is rapidly increasing. However, most of the demand has been met by imports from countries, such as the USA and Canada, as domestic waxy barley production levels have remained low in Japan. To promote the domestic production of waxy barley, the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization has initiated an intensive breeding program to develop and disseminate elite waxy barley cultivars with superior agronomic traits, such as high-yield potential, high disease resistance, and high quality in terms of processing and food. Extensive planting of the newly bred cultivars raised the Japanese domestic self-sufficiency rate of waxy barley from 3 to 49% in 2016 to 2021, respectively.