AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND MALTING QUALITY OF DOUBLED HAPLOID BARLEY LINES DEVELOPED BY THE BULBOSUM METHOD

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) haploid can be obtained from interspecific hybridization between H. vulgare and H. bulbosum followed by the selective elimination of H. bulbosum chromosomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the agronomic performance and malting quality of doubled haploid barley lines developed by the bulbosum method. F1 plants derived from two cross combinations of barley cultivars were crossed with a strain of H. bulbosum, and their haploid hybrids were treated by 0.05% colchicine solution to produce the doubled haploids. As the results, 209 doubled haploid plants were obtained from 2 F1's (DH1, DH2) by the bulbosum method. Ranges for grain yield, 1000 grain weight and plump grain percentage of 143 lines tested in 1988 were 22.8-46.2 kg/a, 41.2-50.6 g, 65.0-96.6% (DH1) and 25.6-53.2 kg/a 44.0-54.8 g, 75.5-96.4% (DH2), respectively (Fig. 2), and 56 lines were selected. Ranges for grain yield, 1000 grain weight, plump grain percentage and malting quality of the 56 lines tested in 1989 were 35.2-50.5 kg/a, 44.0-50.9 g, 65.0-95.7%, -14.2-15.7 (DH1) and 39.6-57.5 kg/a, 43.9-51.5 g, 70.8-93.4%, -7.5-13.3 (DH2), respectively (Fig. 3). Four superior lines were selected to test the local adaptability from the experimental results in 1988 and 1989 (Tables 1 and 2). These lines had superior to the check cultivars in agronomic performance and malting quality, and were resistant to powdery mildew and Barley Yellow Mosaic Virus (BaYMV). The tests at 5 experiment stations in 1990 showed that agronomic performance of the 4 lines were moderately superior to the check cultivar Amagi Nijo (Fig. 4) with local adaptability. In conclusion, highly promising lines were obtained in a short period by the bulbosum method, suggesting that the method is useful for malting barley breeding.