Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T04:21:56.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Genotypic Differences in Root and Shoot Growth of Barley (Hordeum vulgare). II. Field Studies of Growth and Water Use of Crops Grown in Northern Syria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

A. Wahbi  and
P. J. Gregory
A. Wahbi
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, London Road, Reading, RG1 5AQ, England
P. J. Gregory
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, London Road, Reading, RG1 5AQ, England
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Five genotypes of barley (Arabic Abiad, Beecher, Cytris, Rihane ‘S’ and Swanneck) were grown under rainfed conditions at Breda and Ghrerife in northern Syria. During the winter, rates of shoot growth were similar at both sites but by anthesis crops at Breda were almost twice as large as crops at Ghrerife. Overall, Arabic Abiad was heavier and had a greater green area than other genotypes at both stem elongation and anthesis and, by maturity, had the greatest shoot dry mass and grain yield.

Differences in root dry mass between sites were small so that crops at Ghrerife had a higher ratio of root:total plant mass at anthesis and maturity than those at Breda. Rooting depth was shallower at Ghrerife but root length densities in the layers below 15 cm were greater than at Breda. Arabic Abiad had the longest root system below 15 cm at both sites. The genotypes did not differ in total seasonal water use at either site but there were differences in the patterns of water use during the early spring. Arabic Abiad used more water below 15 cm in the period from mid-February to mid-March and less during grain-filling than other genotypes.

The greater yields of Arabic Abiad may be associated with the greater root lengths below 15 cm and the correspondingly faster rates of water use during early spring. Yields of barley were greater when more water was used before anthesis; there appeared to be no advantages in saving water for use during grain-filling in this region.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , July 1989 , pp. 389 - 399
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Brown, S. C., Keatinge, J. D. H., Gregory, P. J. & Cooper, P. J. M (1987). Effects of fertilizer, variety and location on barley production under rainfed conditions in northern Syria. 1. Root and shoot growth. Field Crops Research 16: 53–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, P. J. M., Gregory, P. J., Keatinge, J. D. H. & Brown, S. C. (1987a). Effects of fertilizer, variety and location on barley production under rainfed conditions in northern Syria. 2. Soil water dynamics and crop water use. Field Crops Research 16: 67–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, P. J. M., Gregory, P. J., Tully, D. & Harris, H. C. (1987b). Improving water use efficiency of annual crops in the rainfed fanning systems of West Asia and North Africa. Experimental Agriculture 23: 113–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregory, P. J., Shepherd, K. D. & Cooper, P. J. M. (1984). Effects of fertilizer on root growth and water use of barley in northern Syria. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 103: 429–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ICARDA (1986). Annual Report, 1985. Aleppo, Syria: International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas.Google Scholar
Passioura, J. B. (1977). Grain yield, harvest index, and water use of wheat. Journal of Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 43: 117–120.Google Scholar
Shepherd, K. D., Cooper, P. J. M., Allan, A. Y., Drennan, D. S. H. & Keatinge, J. D. H. (1987). Growth, water use and yield of barley in Mediterranean-type environments. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 108: 365–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tennant, D. (1975). A test of a modified line intersect method of estimating root length. Journal of Ecology 63: 995–1001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wahbi, A. (1986). Varietal variation in root growth of barley and its influence on water use. PhD thesis, University of Reading.Google Scholar
Wahbi, A. & Gregory, P. J. (1989). Genotypic differences in root and shoot growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare). I. Glasshouse studies of young plants and effects of rooting medium. Experimental Agriculture 25: 375–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar