Abstract
Abstract The aim of this study was to analyze traits of leaf appearance and phenological development related to grain yield gain in winter barley cultivars released over the past 50 years. Field trials with 15 six-rowed winter barley cultivars were conducted during two growing seasons. The main leaf appearance and developmental traits were studied. The duration of the emergence-anthesis and emergence-physiological maturity phases decreased by 2.35 and 2.16 GDD yr-1, respectively. The duration of the stem elongation-anthesis phase was 10% longer in modern cultivars. The results showed no clear trend of improvement in final leaf number and phyllochron. The duration of the stem elongation-anthesis phase was positively related with grain number and yield. Constant improvements in grain number and grain weight by fine manipulation of the crop developmental phases could represent an essential strategy for further increases in barley grain yield potential.
Highlights
IntroductionCrop development represents one of the most important single factors, influencing crop performance and adaptation
In small grain cereals, crop development represents one of the most important single factors, influencing crop performance and adaptation
Since information about changes in leaf appearance traits and duration of phenological phases in the Pannonian Plain are scarce, this study examined a set of 15 six-rowed winter barley cultivars widely grown in the southern Pannonian Plain and neighboring countries over the past 50 years
Summary
Crop development represents one of the most important single factors, influencing crop performance and adaptation. In different cereal crops, stem elongation has been recognized as a crucial phase for the determination of grain number per spike and unit area (GN) (González et al 2011), while the periods from booting to anthesis (Ugarte et al 2007) and grain filling period (Mirosavljević et al 2018a) are essential for grain growth and final weight. Anthesis date has been identified as an important trait for the adjustment of the crop phenology to the available resources and for cultivar adaptation to specific environmental conditions (Reynolds et al 2009). Different rates of genetic improvement were recorded for the main cereal crops on the Pannonian Plain (Mladenov et al 2011, Mirosavljević et al 2016). In different cereal crops, grain yield progress was mainly related with a higher GN
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