Identification of Superior Barley Genotypes (Hordeum vulgare L.) Based on Yield Stability and Optimal Agronomic Traits in Khorasan Razavi Province

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) ranks second in terms of cultivated area in Iran after wheat, and according to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad (2019), its cultivated area in the country is reported to be 1.547 million hectares, which the amount the production of seeds was 3.514 million tons. The objective of this study was to select the superior barley genotypes based on grain yield and its stability, and also yield components, and important yield-related agronomic traits in temperate regions of Khorasan Razavi province.

To identify the optimal genotypes of barley, three promising lines along with Nusrat, Yusuf, Gohran, and Rihan cultivars in the form of randomized complete block design with five replications in three cities of Firouzeh, Bardeskan (Anabod sector) and Khalilabad (Kander sector) during the crop year 2018-2019 were cultivated and studied. Several main traits i.e., number of spikes per unit area, number of kernels per spike, plant height, thousand kernel weight, biological yield, harvest index, and grain yield were recorded. GGE (genotype and genotype×environment) biplot analysis and genotype×function×trait biplot analysis were used to investigate the objectives of this research.   

Based on the results of stability analysis, the promising line MB95-4 was the Ideal genotype, and the closest genotype to it was the promising line MB95-11. In this study, GYT bioplate was used to identify desirable genotypes based on several traits simultaneously. Based on the results, the promising lines MB95-4 and MB95-11 promising lines were the best in combining grain yield with the evaluated traits, respectively. According to the GYT index, the promising lines MB95-4 and MB95-11 had the highest values, respectively. On the other hand, these two lines did not have negative values for combined yield with different traits. This indicated the relative superiority of these cultivars in combining grain yield with the evaluated traits. The value of the GYT index for the Goharan cultivar was close to zero (0.01) and this means that this cultivar had average values of traits in this study.

In general, based on the results of this study, the best genotypes in temperate regions of Khorasan Razavi province based on grain yield and its stability as well as yield components and important agronomic traits were MB95-4 and MB95-11 promising lines.