RD 2624 - A new barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) variety for rainfed cultivation in north-western plains

Abstract

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is mainly grown as a rainfed crop on residual moisture in several parts of northern plains of India. In many of these situations, barley yields have not significantly increased and vary mostly in response to fluctuations in climates [1]. Drought escape is a particularly important strategy of matching phenological development with the period of soil moisture availability to minimize the impact of drought stress on crop production in environments where the growing season is short and terminal drought stress predominates [2]. For moisture stress environment an ideal variety is one, which combines high yield with stability of performance over several environments [3]. Hence, there is a need to develop a new set of varieties to sustain maximum production under limited moisture regimes and particularly under rainfed areas. The improved genotypes with early maturing and better tillering under rainfed condition are desired to give better yield.