Determination of dry herb, green herb and silage values of some hooded barley lines

This study aimed to evaluate the forage yield and quality traits of various awnless barley lines. The research was conducted at the GAPTAEM Koruklu Serince Station under the conditions of the Şanlıurfa Harran Plain over the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. The experimental design consisted of three separate trials, each replicated three times, following a randomized block design. The plant materials used in the study included 20 distinct awnless barley lines, four standard barley varieties, and one triticale variety, all of which had shown prominence in the regional yield trials of the GAP Agricultural Research Institute. The study focused on assessing the green forage, dry forage, silage, and grain yields of the awnless barley lines, which demonstrated a greater biomass mass compared to standard barley varieties. Over the three-year period, significant variations were noted among the varieties and lines regarding plant height, with an average height of 118 cm. The awnless barley lines were competitive with triticale in terms of plant height. The Ege Yıldızı variety exhibited the tallest plant height at 133.14 cm, whereas the local black variety had the shortest plant height at 99.43 cm. Awnless barley lines, particularly line number 63, which yielded 3098 kg/da, outperformed others in terms of green forage yield, while the Local Black Barley yielded 1661 kg/da. Additionally, awnless barley lines exhibited favorable results in silage quality. Analysis of Relative Feed Values (RFV) indicated that awnless barley lines surpassed the standard varieties, achieving a second-class quality grade. RFV percentages ranged from a low of 112.84 in line number 32 to a high of 146.62 in the Akhisar 98 variety. Regarding grain yield, awnless barley lines produced higher yields than the local black barley but did not surpass the standard barley lines. The highest grain yield was recorded for the Kendal variety at 569.93 kg/da, while the lowest was for Local Black Barley at 277.37 kg/da. The grain yields of the awnless barley genotypes varied between 277.37 and 569.93 kg/da. In conclusion, under GAP conditions, awnless barley genotypes numbered 32, 38, 47, 59, and 63 demonstrated superior dry forage yields compared to standard barley varieties and triticale. The promising grain yields and silage quality traits of these identified lines suggest that continued breeding efforts and the registration and increased production of these lines will significantly enhance the production of high-quality roughage.