Pathways of height reduction in induced mutants of barley

Abstract

In barley, reduced height mutants belong to the most frequently arising category. The reduction in culm length in several cases is associated with an improved straw stiffness resulting in increased lodging resistance [1]. The efficiency of a breeding program for the height of a crop can be improved if the various pathways by which final manifestation of this character can be reached are clearly understood. The material consisted of six induced, true breeding morphological mutants in M6 generation of barley isolated from gamma irradiated populations of cv. K-169. Yield trials were conducted at two locations during rabi 1997-98. The mutants along with their control (K-169) were grown in adjacent plots in three replications. Data were collected on main tiller of individual plants from 10 random plants per replication for culm length (from lowest node of the culm to the basal node of the spike, in cm), number of internodes/tiller, length of each internode (cm), spike length (cm), number of spike-nodes, and grain yield/plant (g). The basal internode of the culm was taken as the first and the one below the spike as the last.