Results of Breeding Six-Row Barley Cultivars for Arid Conditions of the Middle Volga Region

Research was carried out in 1995–2024 in Samara region to develop six-row spring barley cultivars adapted to the arid conditions of the Middle Volga region. Collection and selection barley accessions were used as material for breeding work. The main methods of breeding were intraspecific pair hybridization, bulk method, and single plant selection. The six-row morphotype of spring barley is characterized by higher indices of number of grains and grain weight from the main ear in comparison with the two-row ones, by 72.7% and 28.0% on average, respectively, and higher harvest index (by 7.8%) but inferior in weight of 1000 kernels by 13.8%, tillering capacity by 17.0%, and grain yield by 4.5%. Fifty-nine sources of traits valuable for breeding of six-row barley were identified, of which the complex of traits, including high grain productivity, was characterized by samples k-30035, k-30719, k-30720, k-30883, k-30983 (hulled barley), and k-30173 (hulless barley). With the involvement of selected accessions, a new source material for breeding was developed. Barley cultivars‚ Sarych (Vakula × Orlan) and‚ PoseiDon (Vakula × Timofey) of intensive type with grain yield at the level of two-row checks in typical and drought years and responsiveness to improved moisture conditions were breeding. The grain yield of Sarych cultivar in 2019–2021 was 1.81–4.10 t/ha (2.71 t/ha on average), test weight 637–684 g/L, weight of 1000 kernels 36.8–42.0 g, and protein content in grain 12.5%. The cultivar‚ PoseiDon (created in cooperation with Agrarian Research Center Donskoy) was characterized by an average grain yield of 2.97 t/ha (0.96–4.35 t/ha for 2020–2022), test weight 624–686 g/L, weight of 1000 kernels 33.0–47.8 g, and grain protein content 12.0–14.0%. By the weight of 1000 grains, new cultivars are comparable to the two-row check Berkut, inferior to it only by 1.5–2.5%.