Response of Two Barley Cultivars to Three Seeding Rates Under Supplemental Irrigation PDF

Keywords

Barley, Seeding rates, Supplementary irrigation

Abstract

A field trial was conducted at the Muwaqqar Research Station in the 1996/1997 growing season to evaluate the effect of three seeding rates and three water levels of supplemental irrigation on the forage and grain yield of two barley cultivars (ACSAD 176 and Rum). Supplemental irrigation was applied at three stages during the growth of the barley crop as follows: at germination, tillering and booting stages. A single clipping at the tillering stage produced the highest fresh and dry matter yield for both cultivars grown under the highest water level. By increasing both the seeding rate and supplemental irrigation, plant height, fresh matter yield, dry matter yield and biological yield were increased. Cultivar ACSAD 176 produced 1547 kg/ha of dry matter under the highest water level , while cultivar Rum produced 1454 kg/ha under the same water level. Meanwhile, the highest grain yield (505 kg/ha) was obtained from unclipped Rum plants grown at the highest water level and a seeding rate of 100 kg/ha. However, clipping reduced the grain yield for the same treatments by about 54%. It is concluded that barley can be grown in dry areas with water application at a rate of 140 mm distributed according to the growth stages of the crop.