Malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) productivity and grain quality are of critical importance to the malting and brewing industry. In this study, we analyzed 12 malting barley genotypes across 8 locations in California and 3 years (2017–2018, 2018–2019, and 2020–2021). The effects of genotype (G), location (L), year (Y), and their interactions were assessed on grain yield (kg ha−1), grain protein content (%), individual-grain weight (mg), thousand kernel weight (TKW; g), grain size (plump and thin; %), onset gelatinization temperature (GT; temperature at which starch starts to gelatinize), peak GT, offset GT, difference between onset and peak GT, and difference between peak and offset GT. L, Y, and their interaction explained the largest variance for all traits except TKW, peak GT, and difference between onset and peak GT, for which G explained the largest variance. Yield and plump (%) were weakly negatively correlated with onset and peak GT (Pearson's r of −0.15 to −0.21) but showed a positive correlation with the difference between peak and offset GT (Pearson's r of 0.37 and 0.36). The 2020–2021 samples formed partially distinct clusters in principal component analysis, mainly discriminated by high percentage of thins and high onset GT. These findings illustrate the key roles of G, L, and Y in determining malting barley productivity and quality.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major global commodity and the primary source for baked products in agri-food supply chains. Consumers are increasingly demanding more nutritious food products with less environmental degradation, particularly related to water and fertilizer nitrogen (N) inputs. While triticale (× Triticosecale) is often referenced as having superior abiotic stress tolerance compared to wheat, few studies have compared crop productivity and resource use efficiencies under a range of N-and water-limited conditions. Because previous work has shown that blending wheat with triticale in a 40:60 ratio can yield acceptable and more nutritious baked products, we tested the hypothesis that increasing the use of triticale grain in the baking supply chain would reduce the environmental footprint for water and N fertilizer use. Using a dataset comprised of 37 site-years encompassing normal and stress-induced environments in California, we assessed yield, yield stability, and the efficiency of water and fertilizer N use for 67 and 17 commercial varieties of wheat and triticale, respectively. By identifying environments that favor one crop type over the other, we then quantified the sustainability implications of producing a mixed triticale-wheat flour at the regional scale. Results indicate that triticale outyielded wheat by 11% (p < 0.05) and 19% (p < 0.05) under average and N-limited conditions, respectively. However, wheat was 3% (p < 0.05) more productive in water-limited environments. Overall, triticale had greater yield stability and produced more grain per unit of water and N fertilizer inputs, especially in high-yielding environments. We estimate these differences could translate to regional N fertilizer savings (up to 555 Mg N or 166 CO₂-eq kg ha^-1) in a 40:60 blending scenario when wheat is sourced from water-limited and low-yielding fields and triticale from N-limited and high-yielding areas. Results suggest that optimizing the agronomic and environmental benefits of triticale would increase the overall resource use efficiency and sustainability of the agri-food system, although such a transition would require fundamental changes to the current system spanning producers, processors, and consumers.