Evaluation of morphological traits, yield and its components of some new and old barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and triticale (Triticosecale wittmack) cultivars of temperate zone in Alborz province

A two-year experiment was conducted as completely randomized block design with three replicates on the field conditions, at the Agricultural Research Institute of Atomic Energy Organization in Karaj (2014-2015) and Agricultural Research Station of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran in Karaj (2016-2017). Treatments included 14 barley and two triticale cultivars. Based on the results, there were significant differences between measured traits in the most of the studied cultivars. In both years of the experiment, the newer, six rows and dwarf cultivars (Fajr 30 and Reyhan 03) and Roudasht (improved with gamma-irradiated) had higher grain and biological yields and harvest index and more essential morphological traits than older cultivars and they were more suitable for cultivation in Alborz province. Result also showed that in most traits, triticale cultivars (Sanabad and Joualino) had considerable advantage over barley cultivars in case of most traits. Therefore, it can be considered as an alternative or complementary plant for providing human food as well as livestock feed in Alborz province. In the new barley cultivars, grain yield and the number of fertile tiller in plant and spikes per unite area increase and a plant height decrease improved the harvest index. Therefore, in the triticale cultivars, both biological and grain yields increases, followed by an increase in the number of seeds per spike, 1000 seed weight, plant height and spike and peduncle lengths, improved the harvest index. Due to the grouping of high yielding cultivars (Fajr 30, Reyhan 03, Roudasht) and triticale cultivars in separate clusters at Euclidean distance 10, and considering that these cultivars had suitable traits related to yield, so it could be cross these cultivars with low yield cultivars as parents in breeding programs to introduce cultivars with suitable crossing characteristics and better than parrents.