Genetic resources of spring barley: influence of organic and conventional growing systems on spring barley varietal characteristics

Abstract

Developing organic agriculture requires cultivars with a complex of special traits. Organic farmers still largely depend on varieties produced for conventional farming systems. In order to test the utilisation of such crop varieties in organic agriculture, we evaluated how organic farming methods affected the grain yield, plant length, 1000 kernel weight, hectolitre weight, protein and starch content of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) breeding lines basically bred for the conventional farming system. The study was conducted at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture during 2006–2007 in conventional and organic crop rotations. The spring barley breeding lines LIA 8264, LIA 8056-2, LIA 8056-6, LIA 8611 and the variety ‘Luokė’ were involved in the test. Having assessed breeding lines of spring barley under different farming conditions, some lines were discriminated as possessing important and valuable traits for practical use in organic farming: LIA 8611 was noted for resistance to lodging and diseases and a high malting grain quality, LIA 8264 for resistance to powdery mildew, a high number of productive tillers and protein content. Keywords: spring barley, breeding lines, conventional farming, organic farming