Effect of wheat residues on initial establishment, cold tolerance and ‎‎yield of rainfed barley cultivars in field condition

To investigate the effect of different amounts of wheat residues on growth and yield of barley cultivars in cold regions, a strip plot design based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was done in two years at Dry land Research Institute of Iran, Maragheh Station. In this study, the amount of wheat residues at three levels of 0.0, 1.5 and 3 ton/ha as horizontal factors and barley cultivars including Sahand, Abidar, Reyhan03 and Usef as vertical factors were evaluated. The experiment was carried out on a wheat- barley rotation farm. Residues of the wheat were added to the experimental plots and distributed uniformly on the surface of the soil. Plant residues of 3 tons per hectare had positive effects on early establishment of seedlings in the field, cold tolerance, yield and yield components of barley. The results also showed that Abidar cultivar had the highest positive reaction to the addition of wheat residues in the amount of 3 tons per hectare in terms of seedling emergence rate and percentage, thousand kernel weight, grain yield, biomass yield, productivity rate and precipitation efficiency index. Therefore, the maintenance of wheat residues of 3 tons per hectare can improve the yield of barley in cold regions