Sowing Date and Genotype Influence on Yield and Quality of Dual-Purpose Barley in a Salt-Affected Arid Region

Abstract

Dual-purpose barley is an alternative approach to producing high-quality forage yield plus an acceptable grain yield in marginal environments of arid regions that are characterized by lack of forage. Field experiment was performed in two consecutive growing seasons at an arid region affected by salinity in irrigation water and soil at Western Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The study aimed to optimize sowing date and screen salt-tolerant barley genotypes that perform better in terms of forage yield and quality as well as grain and biomass yield production in salt-affected environment. Sowing dates, genotypes, and their interaction significantly impacted most of the studied variables such as forage yield, crude protein yield, and grain and biomass yields. The early sowing in late October yielded higher than intermediate sowing in mid-November and late sowing in early December. Some of the tested genotypes performed better than others as indicated by about 50% higher forage yield, 6% crude protein content, 39% grain and 21% biological yields (total aboveground dry matter), suggesting higher adaptation capacity. Interestingly, grain and biological yields did not differ significantly between dual-purpose approach and grain-only pattern. In conclusion, dual-purpose barley was found favorable for producing grain and forage production in similar environments under early sowing date.

Physiological and Biochemical Mechanisms of Exogenously Applied Selenium for Alleviating Destructive Impacts Induced by Salinity Stress in Bread Wheat

“…Its acreage in Egypt is about 1.41 million hectares, providing around 9.0 million tons [1]. Salinity is one of the main abiotic stresses that poses great constraints to agricultural production [2][3][4]. Various crops are responsive to salt stress and incapable of tolerating salinity even at low levels [5].…”

Selenium Modulates Antioxidant Activity, Osmoprotectants, and Photosynthetic Efficiency of Onion under Saline Soil Conditions

“…A common response to abiotic stresses including salinity is the hyper production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant tissues, such as hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), superoxide (O 2 − ), singlet oxygen ( 1 O 2 ), hydroxyl radicals (OH), and alkoxy radicals (RO). Salinity-induced ROS provoke oxidative damages at the cellular level by increasing lipid peroxidation, protein degradation, and decreasing membrane stability [14][15][16][17].…”

Detection and Verification of QTL for Salinity Tolerance at Germination and Seedling Stages Using Wild Barley Introgression Lines

“…Barley, the fourth most leading cereal crop worldwide, is one of the main winter cereals in the Mediterranean region [9]. Barley is relatively salt-tolerant and has the advantage of growing in marginal environments that are unsuitable for other cereal crops [9,10].…”

“…Barley, the fourth most leading cereal crop worldwide, is one of the main winter cereals in the Mediterranean region [9]. Barley is relatively salt-tolerant and has the advantage of growing in marginal environments that are unsuitable for other cereal crops [9,10]. Therefore, it is oftentimes used as a model plant for understanding salinity adaptation mechanisms in crops and for studying the germination in monocots [11,12].…”