Barley (Hordeum vulgare .
L) 2n=2x=14
Distribution: Area under this crop is mainly
concentrated in the states of U.P, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Haryana, M.P., Bihar and also in the
plains of H.P., Uttranchal and J&K.
Progenitor of cultivated barley- Hordeum spontaneum
Centers of origin: Western Asia or Ethiopia
Classified into two rowed and six rowed barley
•Two rowed barley with shattering spikes (wild
barley): Hordeum spontaneum
•Two rowed barley with non-shattering spikes: H.
distichum.
•Six rowed barley with non-shattering spikes: H.
vulgare L.
•Six rowed with shattering spikes: H. agriocrithon
•Ear may be two rowed or six rowed: H. irregulare
Two rowed barley: Generally in barley spikelets are
arranged in triplets and these triplets alternate along the
rachis. In case of two rowed barley only the central spikelet
of the triplet is fertile, while the other two are reduced. The
row type is basically controlled by the gene vrs1. Ex.H.
distichum.
Six rowed barley: All the three spikelets are fertile. This
is because of one dominant and one recessive mutation in
barley. Recent genetic studies have revealed a mutation in
one gene, vrs1, is responsible for the transition from two
rowed to six rowed barley. Ex. H. vulgare L.
Hulled and naked barley: Hulled barley is generally
known as barley groats. Hordeum vulgare var.
nudum.
Barley spikes showing different row-types;
(a) Two rowed barley
(b) Six-rowed barley
(c) Deficiens
(d) Spikelets from top to bottom:
two-rowed, six-rowed and deficiens and
(e) Different spike forms of labile-barleys showing
increased lateral fertility from left to right (Awns were
clipped off for clarity)
Perennials with a self-incompatibility system: H. bulbosum L. and H.
brevisubulatum
Autoploidy is found in two species: H. bulbosum and H.
brevisubulatum.
Primary gene pool: varieties, landraces and the progenitor of
domesticated barley, H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum
Secondary gene pool: includes only a single species, H. bulbosum,
sharing the basic H genome with cultivated barley H. vulgare L.
Flower Biology
1) The spike (head) at the top of the stem, consisting of the flowers
arranged in spikelets, three of which are attached at each node of
flat zig-zag rachis.
2) The spikelet, forms a single floret. The floret is made up of the
enveloping lemma and palea surrounding two lodicules, three
stamens and central carpel housing a single ovary. The pistil has a
two branched feathery stigmas. Self pollination occurs naturally
3) The kernel, consisting of the caryposis in naked barleys but
including the lemma, the palea and the rachilla. Which adhere to the
caryopsis, in hulled barleys (Reid and Wiebe, 1979).
Emasculation
The is done in the early stage of the spike development when
the spike is slightly visible through the covering of flag leaf.
The upper 1/3 portion of the spike is removed.
The emasculated spike is covered with butter paper bag. After 2-
3 days, when the stigma is protruding.
The spike is ready for pollination are carried out by twirling a
spike with ripe with ripe anthers over the emasculated spike.
Breeding objectives:
Barley for feed and food
Malt barley improvement
Breeding barley for abiotic stress tolerance
Resistance to insect pests and diseases
Barley for feed and food:
•Majority of barley produced in India is utilized for
cattle and poultry feed.
•Major emphasis of barley breeding programmes is on
improvement for grain/feed purposes.
•A large number of varieties have been released for
areas addressing different production conditions.
•In some parts of the country barley is also sued as a
fodder for cattle.
•Thus breeding for dual purpose barley with higher
grain yield and more foliage is one of the objectives of
the barley improvement programmes.
Malt barley improvement:
Research efforts on malt barley improvement in the
country did not receive much attention due to low demand
from the industry.
Also the demand for malt products inthe country was low.
Recently this aspect of barley improvement has become
important in the wakeof industrial demand.
The Indian barley varieties were never bred for malting
purpose and thus there is a huge need to develop varieties
with better malting characteristics.
Ex. Amber, RS-6, Clipper etc.,- good for malting and
brewing
Breeding barley for abiotic stress tolerance:
•Barley is known for its inherent tolerance to salinity and alkalinity as
compared to other cereals. It has a good potential for problematic soils
where otherwise its difficulty to grow crop in winter season.
•There is a lot of area under such conditions in the country. However, it’s a
higher challenging task to screen materials for such conditions due to very
high variability in the field conditions affected by salinity and alkalinity.
•As a result the field screening for salinity tolerance sometimes cannot be
fully reliable, because of non-repetitive performance due to soil
heterogeneity.
•To have more efficient evaluation, there Breeding Indian Field crops –
(Hordeum vulgare L.) is a need for in-vitro screening for salinity/alkalinity
tolerance to
•supplement the regular research efforts.
Ex., Ratna is highly tolerant to salinity
Resistance to insect pests and diseases:
Barley is exposed to various diseases and insect pests responsible
for heavy reduction in yield and quality. Among the major diseases
of barley, rusts and blight are of significant importance.
Crop losses due to these diseases especially blight are huge. Since
both of these diseases are multiple cycle diseases, the use of
chemical control measure may not be sufficient.
The use of resistant varieties is highly recommended. Other than
these diseases, loose smut and covered smut also cause yield loss
in barley.
These diseases being spread via seed are easily controlled by
seed treatments. Ex. Azad (K.125) and Dolma - res. to yellow rust
Breeding methods
[Link]: Clipper is a var of barley introduced
from Australia. Other varieties: LSB-2, Alfa 93, Rekha
(BCU 73).
2. Hybridization and selection
A. Bulk method
B. Pedigree breeding method
C. Backcross breeding
D. Single Seed Descent
Ex. Karan 16, Ratna, Type 4 & 5, K-251, NP-100,
Barley local, BR-32, K-12, Ballia barley etc.,
3. Haploid breeding method: The production of a high frequency of
viable haploids that can subsequently be doubled with colchicine is
an important development in barley breeding because it allows the
recovery of homozygous inbred lines in single generation.
Bulbosum method/chromosome elimination method: Khasa and Kao (1970)
4. Mutation: RDB-1 ( mutant of RS 17), PL-56 (mutant of C 164),
HBL-316 ( mitant of HBL-96) etc.,
Achievements of Barley
Sr. Name Parentage Release year Specific area of
No. adaptation
1. K603 K257/C135 2000 NEPZ
2. BH393 California/ mariout 2001 Haryana
3. NBBNOB(020) Ratna K-425/Jyoti 2001 UP
4. RD3592 RD2503/UBL9 2003 Rajastan
5. K713 RD2540/BH407 2004 NEPZ
Sr. Varieties Features
No.
1 Ratna, Jyoti, Kailas Hulled varieties
2 Karan-750, Amber, Himadri Huskless varieties
3 C-138, RS-6, RD-57, RD-137, Malting varieties
Clipper
4 Karan 16, Karan 18, 19, Jyoti karan- Salt tolerant varieties
3,4 Amber, Azad
5 Kailash, Himani, Dolma, NP-100, Suitable for hilly areas
NP-13, 21, 103
6 Rajkiran Nematode resistant variety
7 Nilam and Karan 19 Better chappati making quality for
barley varieties