Abstract
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the main crops cultivated all over the world. As for other cereals, throughout the centuries barley was subjected by human breeding to genetic erosion phenomena, which guaranteed improved yields in organized (and then mechanized) agriculture; on the other hand, this selection weakened the ability of barley to survive under adverse environments. Currently, it is clear that climate change requires an urgent availability of crop varieties able to grow under stress conditions, namely limited irrigation, salinity, high temperatures, and other stresses. In this context, an important role could be played by wild relatives and landraces selected by farmers, particularly in specific field areas and/or climatic conditions. In this review, we investigated the origin of barley and the potentialities of wild varieties and landraces in different contexts, and their resilience to abiotic stress. The data obtained from Next Generation Sequencing technologies were examined to highlight the critical aspects of barley evolution and the most important features for abiotic stress tolerance. Furthermore, the potential of appropriate mycorrhiza is discussed under the view of the essential role played by these symbioses in field crops. The abilities of specific barley wild varieties and landraces may represent novel opportunities and suggest innovative strategies for the improvement of abiotic tolerance in crops and particularly in barley.
Highlights
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Drought has reduced the yields of most cultivated cereals, and barley; as an example, European barley production has fallen by 3.8% due to temperature increase and rainfall trends in the decade 1989–2009 [2]
Landraces are generally described as the traditional varieties selected by farmers throughout centuries; these have shown the ability to tolerate environmental changes, maintaining maintaining unaltered unaltered yields, yields, highlighting highlighting specific specific characteristics characteristics that thatdifferentiate differentiate them them from from commercial, commercial, high-yield high-yield varieties varieties selected selected by by private private companies companies and and public public research research centers centers[3,6,7,8]
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Environmental factors such as drought, salinity, nutrients starvation, and extreme temperatures are critical factors for agricultural production. Modern high-performance varieties currently cultivated have been selected for their improved yields under controlled growth conditions of fertilization, pesticides, supply, and irrigation. As consequence, this has caused a loss of genetic diversity with respect to landraces cultivated for centuries by farmers. Landraces are generally described as the traditional varieties selected by farmers throughout centuries; these have shown the ability to tolerate environmental changes, and fixed [5].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
