CPVO Barley Workshop
GEVES hosted, on 24 March 2026 at its Magneraud station, a workshop dedicated to the barley DUS protocol, organised within the framework of the European ring test coordinated by the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO). This meeting took place in a context of increasing difficulty in distinguishing spring barley varieties and aimed to strengthen the harmonisation of observations among European examination offices.
Thirteen European offices took part in the workshop: AT (Austria), BE (Belgium), CZ (Czech Republic), DE (Germany), DK (Denmark), EE (Estonia), ES (Spain), FI (Finland), FR (France), HR (Crotia), HU (Hungary), PL (Poland) and SK (Slovakia), together with representatives from the CPVO and Euroseeds.
This workshop follows the launch, in 2025, of a two‑year ring test involving 12 CPVO‑entrusted offices for the DUS examination of barley (AT, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, PL, SK). Each office observes 13 example varieties across all characteristics of the current protocol (CPVO/TP‑019/5) as well as three potential new characteristics, with the aim of exploiting their discriminating power to support varietal distinction.
Within this framework, GEVES proposed the evaluation of the following characteristics:
- width of leaves at tillering stage,
- length of smooth part of median nerve of the awn (French national characteristic),
- spiculation of outer lateral nerves of dorsal side of lemma (French national characteristic).
The morning session was dedicated to presenting the first results of the 2025 ring test, followed by a field visit to the barley trials and to the cold room at Magneraud.
The afternoon continued with harmonisation exercises in small groups, focusing both on characteristics from the current protocol and on two new laboratory‑assessed characteristics.
This day proved to be particularly rich in technical exchanges and feedback. It offered a valuable opportunity to bring together European colleagues involved in barley DUS evaluations, thereby strengthening the collaborative dynamic around the distinction of spring barley varieties.
The topic will then be presented at the international level at the next UPOV TWA meeting in June 2026, in order to subsequently initiate the revision of the barley protocol.
