Effects of planting date and plant density on yield and yield components of barley in a cold region of Aligoodarz, Iran

To study the effects of planting date and plant density on grain yield and physiological characteristics of barley, an experiment was conducted using Nosrat barley cultivar at cold area of Aligoodarz in 2007-2008. The experiment was a split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications. Main plots were planting date at three levels (March 8, April 25, April 10 with average temperature degrees of 13,11 and 9ºc) and sub-plots were planting density at four levels (300, 350, 400, 450 g/m2). The results showed that the effect of planting date significantly affected grain yield, straw yield, biological yield, 1000-grains weight and grain number per spike. The highest grain yield was 6.23 ton/ha at the planting date of March 8. Effects of planting density on yield, straw yield, tillers number per plant, 1000-grain weight and harvest index were also significant. Regarding to the effect of planting date and plant density interactions, the highest grain yield was obtained on the planting date of March 8 along with plant density of 350 g/m2 with 7.37 t/ha. Based on the results, it seems that planting date and plant density are important factors affecting yield and yield components of barley in cold areas like Aligoodarz, Lorestan province of Iran.