Abstract:

This study screened 39 varieties of forage barley （Hordeum vulgare） to identify elite varieties suitable for planting in the southwestern region of Jiangsu Province. Thirteen major agronomic traits： plant height， stem diameter， leaf length， leaf width， tiller number， the third internode length， the fourth internode length， spike length， spike width， kernel number per spike， fresh weight per plant， dry weight per plant， and fresh forage yield， were measured to determine agronomic performance. From the data， combined with agronomic evaluation， ten barley varieties with better multivariate scores for production and agronomic performance were identified. Further evaluation of six nutritional quality parameters， including acid detergent fiber （ADF）， neutral detergent fiber （NDF）， crude protein （CP）， crude fiber （CF）， ether extract （EE）， and relative feeding value （RFV）， was carried out for the ten varieties； and together with their production and agronomic trait indicators， the multivariate analysis used to identify the ten elite barley varieties included correlation analysis， principal component analysis， and membership function analysis. It was found that varieties Hv031， Hv013， Hv027， and Hv017 had the highest fresh herbage yields （>50000 kg?hm^-2） among all tested barley varieties. Meanwhile， selection of ten varieties （lines） with better adaptability and nutritional quality traits， identified varieties Hv017， Hv030， and Hv036 as the most outstanding （CP>10 or RFV>100）. The correlation analysis and principal component analysis of all measured traits indicated that the fourth internode length， plant height， spike width， the third internode length， stem diameter， and ADF can be used as key evaluation indicators for agronomic traits and nutritional quality traits in forage barley. The multivariate evaluation by membership function analysis demonstrated that Hv017， Hv027， and Hv009 were better for overall trait performance， with Hv017 being particularly outstanding. We therefore recommend that this variety be prioritized as the primary candidate variety for promotion and planting in Nanjing and surrounding areas of Jiangsu Province.

Key words: forage barley, agronomic traits, nutritional quality, correlation analysis, principal component analysis, membership function method