Field performance of anther culture-derived breeding lines of barley

Non-Peer ReviewedSince 1984, evaluation of anther culture derived lines has been carried out at the University of Saskatchewan. The anther culture method has been compared to pedigree, single seed descent, and Hordeum bulboeum methoda of cultivar production. In 1986 and 1987, the lines were evaluated in yield trials with grain yield, heading date, thousand kernel weight, hectolitre weight, kernels per spike, and percentage plump kernels were examined. In assessment of the cross of Abee and Norbert the means of the analyzed traits were found to be generally lower for anther culture, but variability was similar among all methods. Furthermore, the best lines of each method expressed similar potential. In the current studies the performance of the Abee/Norbert cross appears to support the previous evidence of lower mean performance. Materials from the crosses of Abee/Harrington and Abee/TR215 were also grown in 1987 for assessment