DRYLAND SOIL SALINITY: EFFECT ON THE YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS OF 6-ROW BARLEY, 2-ROW BARLEY, WHEAT, AND OATS

Abstract

Six-row barley outyielded 2-row barley which outyielded wheat and oats in field plots on non-irrigated saline soils in southern Alberta. Salinity reduced the number of 6-row barley spikes less than it did the number on other cereals compared to spike production on adjacent non-saline soils. More kernels per spike were maintained on 6-row barley than on the other cereals under the salinity stress but average kernel weight was not differentially affected. Although salinity reduced the germination of wheat to a greater extent than it did the other cereals, adequate stands of all cereals were established and germination was not a major factor except on a plot where salinity stress was combined with spring drought. Six-row barley did not maintain its salt-stressed yield advantage over the other cereals under the drought conditions on a non-saline soil. The tolerance of cereals to osmotic stress thus differed from the tolerance to drought stress under dryland field conditions.