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Effects of Plant Density on the Performance of 10 Barley Cultivars

The effects of plant density on yield and related traits were studied in ten cultivars of spring barley, Hordeum vulgare L., to determine if selection in low density stands is effective in improving expression in dense stands. Five plant densities (1.6, 6.2, 25, 100, and 400 plants/m²) were evaluated in each of 3 years.

Spikes/plant, shoot weight and grain yield were the only characteristics that had significant cultivar x density interactions. All three characteristics increased asymptotically as density decreased and did not show significant changes in cultivar rank.

Interplant variability, although minimum at a density of 100 plants/m² for spikes/plant, shoot weight and grain yield, showed a significant decrease at a density of 6.2 plants/m² (40 x 40 cm) for all traits. Our results show that single plant selection may be most effective at plant spacings near 40 x 40 cm and that selection under low densities should be effective in improving dense seeding expression of yield and several related traits.

Key Words: Heterogeneity of variances • Genotype-environment interaction • Early generation selection • Hordeum vulgare L.

Received for publication January 13, 1982.