Variation in culm anatomy among barley cultivars differing in lodging resistance

Abstract

Five registered Canadian six-row barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars, including two recently registered semidwarfs ('Duke' and 'Samson'), that differ in lodging resistance and height were studied over 2 years for differences in morphological and anatomical characteristics of culms that could be related to lodging resistance. Plants were grown in nonirrigated field plots at a population density of 220 plants/m2 under conditions of high soil fertility. Significant cultivar differences were observed for culm length, number of internodes, length of four basal internodes, culm diameter, culm wall thickness, number of vascular bundles, and thickness of the sclerenchyma ring. No cultivar differences were found for thickness of the sclerenchyma cell walls. Of the characters studied, culm length, basal internode length, culm wall thickness, and sclerenchyma ring thickness were most closely associated with differences in lodging resistance among the cultivars. The results of this study indicate that it may be possible to select lodging resistant genotypes from early generations in breeding programs on the basis of these traits.