Prospects of agronomic improvement in spring barley based on a comparison of old and new germplasm

The aim of this study was to determine the direction and magnitude of change in morphological and agronomical characters of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in Germany over a period of 80 years and to assess the value of various strategies for further crop improvement. Old and new two-rowed cultivars, eight in each case, were tested together with their F2 intra-group diallel crosses in a field trial at Braunschweig-Völkenrode in 1994. New parents and their crosses showed a higher dry matter grain and total biomass yield, a lower plant height, and a higher harvest index as compared to the respective old germplasm. The annual genetic gain in grain yield was estimated at 0.15%. The superior grain yield of the new germplasm was attributable to the higher number of ears per plant and the larger kernel weight. The F2 mid-parent heterosis in grain yield was 7.6 and 7.2 % for the old and new crosses, respectively. The differences between the two types of crosses were nonsignificant except for the higher heterosis for plant height in the new crosses. General combining ability effects were significant for all characters in both types of crosses, whereas specific combining ability effects were significant in a few cases only. In the new crosses, a significant positive correlation was found between grain yield and straw yield (r = 0.52), whereas no such association was observed between grain yield and harvest index. For further gain in grain yield, improvement of the straw yield is more promising than increasing harvest index