The barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grain demand gradually increases, which could be due to many reasons, and particularly that of rapid growth of livestock farming in Kazakhstan. In South Kazakhstan, as well as generally in Central Asia, growing barley is mainly during autumn. In these existing environmental conditions, drought stress is the most critical cause of the barley crop decline. Therefore, a suggestion indicated that barley cultivars must be resistant to environmental fluctuations, especially to varied rainfall conditions. The task of combining numerous economically valuable and biological traits in one genotype requires processing a large germplasm, developed locally and internationally. The objective was to assess the adaptability and yield potential of 103 barley lines under rainfed conditions. Genotypes L-1/T-74, Tokak, L-8/T-59, and L-12/T-60 incurred placement in the early-ripening group as compared to the mid-ripening cultivar Bereke 54. Fifteen genotypes showed high productivity (up to 430 g/m²) and 1000-grain weight exceeding 60 g. Six barley genotypes appeared to be resistant (R) to helminthosporiosis. The barley genotypes (L-12/T-75, L-34/T-75, L-35/T-75, L-33/T-75, H-3-1, and H-12-3) showed the highest 1000-grain weight. In grain yield, the barley genotypes L-1/T-74, L-2/T-74, and L-6/T-74 exceeded the standard cultivar by 23.0 to 56.0 g/m².
Winter barley (H. vulgare L.), germplasm, advanced lines, high-yielding genotypes, resistant to adverse climatic factors, yield and quality traits
The barley (H. vulgare L.) germplasm study identified donors with the highest potential for breeding valuable traits at the southern steppes of Kazakhstan. The study identified 15 highly productive, winter-hardy, disease-resistant, and environmentally resilient winter barley genotypes, which can be favorable in hybridization and full breeding programs to increase productivity.