EFFECTS OF SEED SOURCE AND SEED TREATMENT ON BARLEY EMERGENCE, YIELD, AND KERNEL WEIGHT

Abstract

Volla and Keystone barley were planted in Prince Edward Island in a 3-yr test to determine the importance of cultivar, seed source, and the influence of seed treatment on emergence, yield, and kernel weight. In general, seed from Eastern Canadian sources had higher levels of contamination with Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc. in Sorokin.) Shoemaker, and this seed responded more to seed treatment in emergence than seed with lower levels of contamination. Yields were influenced by seed source. Seed treatment reduced the range of variation in yield among sources. Kernel weight was significantly increased by seed treatment. Volla barley had lower emergence than Keystone, and seed treatment had a greater influence on the performance of Volla than on Keystone.