Effect of planting date on agronomical traits of two barley cultivars

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) with wide dispersion and adaptation can be planted in arid unsuitable areas for planting wheat and produces considerable yield. Selecting suitable planting date is an effective factor on yield from phonological point of view because plant does not meet undesirable conditions at all its developmental stages. Regarding to the importance of planting date in obtain maximum yield, the effect of seven different planting dates (24 Nov., 6, 18, 30 Dec., 15, 23 Jan. and 6 Feb.) was evaluated on two barley cultivars (Yousef and Sahra). Experiment was carried out as split plot based on a randomized complete block design. Spike weight, number of spikes per plant, plant height, number of seeds per spike, seed weight per spike, spike length, economic yield, awn length, seed thousand weight, peduncle length and peduncle weight were measured. Based on the results, the effect of planting date was significant on all the studied trait, except for plant height and peduncle length. Results showed that 24 Nov. and 6 Dec. were the best planting dates for barley planting. Also result of regression analysis showed that spike number per m2, peduncle weight, 1000 seed weight and peduncle length had the most effect on seed yield.