Short communication. Plant density effect on the individual plant to plant yield variability expressed as coefficient of variation in barley

Abstract

The effect of plant density on the coefficient of variation (CV) for individual plant yield was studied in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). An F2 population originating from the cross Niki x Carina was planted in three densities: high (51.32 plants/square m), intermediate (4.61 plants/square m), and low (1.15 plants/square m) using the honeycomb design. In each of the experiments, the most promising 15 plants were selected based on the individual plant yield. Progeny (F3) of the 30 plants selected from the intermediate and the low plant density were grown the following year in two experiments under an intermediate and low density. It was observed that in the F2 population the CV was reduced from 71 to 55% when the density reduced from 51.32 to 4.61 plants/square m, whereas the CV value was increased when the density was further reduced to 1.15 plants/square m. Similarly, the following year the CV was increased from 39 to 56% when the density was decreased from 4.61 to 1.15 plants/square m in the F3 generation, and from 22 to 58% in the control. It was concluded that for barley an optimum plant density might exist under which the CV for individual plant yield is minimized and therefore the effectiveness of selection might be optimized.