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Genetic improvement in grain yield, yield components and agronomic traits of spring barley
Discussion
This study confirmed that the main genetic improvement in grain yield and agronomic
traits of Austrian-grown barley cultivars began in the 1960s. A genetic improvement
in yield of 0.8 to 1.2 % per year was estimated for the period of the last 40 years.
These values are similar to those of EKMAN (1981), RIGGS et al. (1981), HÄNSEL
(1982) and MARTINIELLO et al. (1987).
The number of spikes per plant contributed most to the improvement in grain yield.
This was also observed for Scottish (GYMER 1981), English (RIGGS et al. 1981) and
American spring barleys (WYCH and RASMUSSON, 1983), as well as for Italian winter
barleys (MARTINIELLO et al. 1987). BRETSCHNEIDER-HERRMANN and MALESEVIC (1976)
stated that for grain yield the number of reproductive tillers is of greater importance in
the case of barley than of wheat. The minor importance of the number of kernels per
spike was also reported by GYMER (1981), RIGGS et al. (1981), WYCH and RASMUSSON
(1983) and BULMAN et al. (1993).
Although modern cultivars performed best for all traits, some of the older cultivars
and/or landraces could represent valuable genetic resources for breeding. Today the
European barley market is dominated by only a few breeders located in the higher
rainfall regions of northern and western Europe. This dominance could lead to genetic
erosion within the European malting barley genepool resulting in cultivars which
would be not adapted for the climatic conditions prevailing in eastern Austria. Hence,
adapted landraces with other traits of interest, e.g., greater root systems, could be
valuable crossing partners in breeding programmes for drought tolerance, nitrogen
uptake efficiency and/or organic farming systems in order to maintain genetic diversity
and variability for selection.
References
BRETSCHNEIDER-HERRMANN, B. and M. MALESEVIC (1976): Untersuchungen über den
Anteil von Bestockungstrieben, Blattspreiten und Ähren an der Kornertragsbildung
von Getreide. Ber. 27. Tagung Ver. österr. Saatgutzüchter, Gumpenstein,
51-62.
BULMAN, P., D.E. MATHER and D.L. SMITH (1993): Genetic improvement of spring
barley cultivars grown in eastern Canada from 1910 to 1988. - Euphytica 71,
35-48.
EKMAN, R. (1981): Biomass component studies in barley, their correlation to some
yield characters and estimation of durable effect from 50 years of barley breeding.
Barley Genetics IV, Proc. 4 th Barley Genet. Symp., Edinburgh, 104-111.
GYMER, P.T. (1981): The achievements of 100 years of barley breeding. Barley Genetics
IV, Proc. 4 th Barley Genet. Symp., Edinburgh, 112-117.
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