Abstract
Cultivars and some cultivar mixtures of spring barley were grown under inversion and non-inversion tillage conditions for three or four years and assessed for disease and yield in order to obtain genotypes that can be used to determine the mechanisms of cultivation adaptation. In general, the higher-yielding cultivars under inversion tillage conditions gave lower yields under non-inversion tillage, whereas low-yielding older cultivars showed relatively smaller reductions in yield under non-inversion tillage. A few cultivars showed preferential yield performance for either inversion or non-inversion tillage and this was irrespective of their overall yield performance. There was no pedigree or breeding programme link between these cultivars and no above-ground gross morphological trait observed was associated with tillage adaptation. Root hairs may contribute to inversion tillage adaptation as a root hair absence mutant was associated with non-inversion adaptation and it is likely that other root-associated traits are responsible also for tillage adaptation. There was no overall cultivar or tillage interaction with rhynchosporium symptoms but a differential tillage interaction may occur in individual years. We have identified clearly contrasting cultivars and tested their across-season robustness with respect to tillage treatment for further detailed mechanistic studies and identification of tillage adaptation traits.
Highlights
Most cereal breeding programmes are carried out under inversion tillage and high input agronomy resulting in the selection of high yield and quality commercial varieties
Many elite cultivars selected by mainstream conventional breeders will have yield gains that do deliver under organic conditions [1]
Only one non-inversion tillage treatment was used in this work, previously zero and minimum tillage treatments had performed and both had been very different from the inversion tillage treatments
Summary
Most cereal breeding programmes are carried out under inversion tillage and high input agronomy resulting in the selection of high yield and quality commercial varieties. This cultivar performance is realised in the field in practice when similar agronomic conditions are achieved. Recommended List project are carried out under similar inversion tillage with high input agronomic regimes, “untreated” yield is reported for cereals where no fungicides are used but otherwise under the same agronomy. Many elite cultivars selected by mainstream conventional breeders will have yield gains that do deliver under organic conditions [1]. The same argument could be made for non-inversion systems, in that selection under optimal conditions may not serve this growing tillage practice optimally
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