Environmental and Genetic Analysis for Plant Height Genes in Barley Genotypes in Jordan.

Dwarfing genes have widely been used in barley breeding program. More than 30 types of dwarfs or semidwarfs varieties have been reported. The semi-dwarfing varieties had better lodging resistance, higher harvest index, and more efficient utilization of the environment. In this study, the differences in plant height in twelve barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes were tested in three agricultural stations in Jordan; the Jordan university (JU) campus research station located in the middle part of Jordan (semi-humid area around 500 mm rainfall), the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) campus research station located in the northern part of Jordan (drought area with less than 200 mm rainfall), and Rabbah research station located in the southern part of Jordan (intermediate drought area around 300 mm rainfall). In all research locations, the genotypes were grown under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions using a split plot experimental design. Our results show that the Location (L), genotypic (G) effects and their interactions (L X G) were significant (P<0.05). In addition, there was a very high significant difference between the irrigated and non irrigated treatments (P<0.05). Rum and Morex genotypes were the tallest genotypes over all locations, whereas, Arta genotype was the shortest (48 cm). Compared to other locations, the plant height for the same genotypes in JUST station was significantly taller for the irrigated plots when compared with rainfed. To determine if the semi dwarf genotypes respond differently to the environment, the twelve genotypes will be assayed using molecular markers and the results of this analysis will be analyzed.