Variation and Stability in Agronomic Traits Among Geographic Groups of Traditional Landraces Grown Under High Yielding Conditions

Abstract

Future crop production needs to deliver increased yields with less agronomic inputs in the face of increasingly variable climate, which is predicted to result in greater seasonal variation in production. To support more sustainable production, new crop varieties need to have increased resilience in their agronomic traits to cope with fluctuation in growing conditions. We investigated the breadth of phenotypic expression in yield related agronomic traits among groups of European barley landrace from different geographic origin and Harlan composite cross populations grown under a common high yield test protocol. Stability of agronomic traits and yield were assessed for each group across environments and years. There were significant differences in thousand grain weight (TGW), seeds per ear and shoot production (tillering) among landrace groups and between 2 or 6 rowed ear habit. Modern cultivars and, to a lesser extent, Harlan populations had significantly more stable TGW than other groups. Traits most strongly associated with yield stability in 2 rowed landraces were TGW and tillering, whilst in 6 rowed landraces tillering, ear length and plant height were associated with stable yield. Absence of significant difference in agronomic trait stability among landrace groups was attributed to high phenotypic variation within groups. We conclude that phenotypic variation and stability in agronomic traits among barley landraces could be exploited for enhancing resilience in future crop breeding.