Yield and grain quality of spring barley as affected by biomass formation at early growth stages

Abstract

Timely and reliable prediction of grain yield and quality of spring barley represents a key prerequisite for effective crop management. Within this study we evaluated the relationships between yield components, grain quality, biomass production and the number of tillers in different growth stages. For this purpose, in three years (2011–2013) multifactorial field trials focused on the combined effects of cultivar, sowing density and nitrogen nutrition were conducted. Based on ANOVA it was found that the formation of grain yield was affected by individual factors in the following order of importance: year, nitrogen, cultivar and sowing rate. The final grain yield significantly correlated both with the number of tillers and dry weight of above-ground biomass per unit area. The best estimation of yield provided both parameters at early growth stage (R = 0.83** and 0.81** for number of tillers and the above-ground biomass at BBCH 25). The grain protein content was inversely related to early growth parameters (R = –0.64** and –0.41** for number of tillers and above-ground biomass at BBCH 25). Based on the comparison of relationships between the years, it can be concluded that the early growth of barley and tiller differentiation is a key parameter for the formation of yield and grain quality.