Selection of Promising Genotypes of Barley using the Best Linear Unbiased P Model (BLUP)

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) as one of the small grain cereals is widely cultivated in Iran and the world. Hence, the achievement of high-yielding and stable varieties is one of the main breeding proposed. The present study aimed to investigate a set of international genotypes of barley in terms of grain yield and some agronomic traits using the best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) model under climatic conditions in Iran.

In this study, a set of genotypes including 24 international barley genotypes provided from ICARDA were investigated for grain yield and some agronomic traits including the number of days to heading, number of days to physiological maturity, grain filling period, plant high, spike length, and thousand grains weight in a randomized block design in the three research stations located at Karaj, Birjand, and Zabol during the 2020-2021 cropping season. After collecting and analyzing the experimental data, the best genotypes were identified based on BLUP model.

The results obtained from experimental data showed that the genotype and genotype-by-environment interaction effects were significant for grain yield and other measured traits (except days to heading and spike length). The highest values of genetic variance and heritability were estimated for spike length, 1000-grains weight, grain yield, and plant height. The results of the based-BLUP (best linear unbiased predictor) statistics revealed that genotypes G3, G6, G10, and G23 had the highest yield performance and stability compared with other genotypes across different environments. Taking into account the role of each measured trait on grain yield stability, genotypes G10, G16, G22, and G24 were identified as the best barley genotypes using the MTSI index. 

In conclusion, it can be stated that the MTSI index has high efficiency in breeding programs to use other traits related to grain yield to select stable and high-yield genotypes.