Genetic parameters and morpho-agronomic characterization of barley in the Brazilian Savannah

Abstract

There is a growing demand for malting barley in the world and the supply relies on introducing the crop into new agricultural regions, such as the Brazilian Savannah. This requires selection for high yield and seed quality, critical factors for the success of commercial production. This study aimed at estimating genetic parameters associated with morpho-agronomic characterization of 433 preliminarily selected accessions from a worldwide barley collection. The accessions were grown on a limed and fertilized Haplustox soil, using interpolated control experimental design, in the Savannah highlands, in Brazil. High-magnitude heritability and genetic variation coefficients were found for agronomic traits, allowing the identification of genotypes for crossing schemes to generate high-yield recombinants. Strong negative correlation between yield and number of days to heading and protein content indicated that selection should be directed at early-maturity cultivars with desirable malting quality. The method proved efficient and revealed interesting indicators to be considered in barley breeding programmes directed at high-quality malting production in the tropics. Copyright © 2018 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling.