Effect of Sowing Dates and Seeding Rates on Yield Components of Some Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Genotypes under Rainfed Conditions

Abstract

This study was carried out in the farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of  Damascus, during the growing season 2013-2014 to study the effect of  seeding rate (200,300,400 seed. m^-2) at two planting dates (December and January) on yield and its components for three barley genotypes (Furat6, Furat3, Line L-7003).

The results showed that there were significant differences between all studied traits. First sowing date (December) was significantly superior in number of productive  spikes. m^-2, number of seeds per plant and grain yield (422.7 sp.m^-2, 56.54 seed. plant^-1, 614 g. m^-2, respectively). However, there was no significant difference between the two planting dates (December and January) in thousand kernel weight ( 29.18 and  26.05g  respectively). The genotype Furat6 was significantly superior over other genotypes (Furat 3 and the line L-7003)  in the number of spikes.m^-2, number of seeds per plant and 1000-kernel weight (363.4 sp. m^-2 , 67.63  seed. plant^-1 , 29.18 g respectively) at seeding rate of 300 seed. m^-2, while, the genotype L-7003 was significantly superior in grain yield at the highest seeding rate (400 seed . m^-2).