Leaf Number and Thermal Requirements for Leaf Development in Winter Barley

摘要

Development and growth of cereal leaves significantly affect grain yield since dry matter accumulation depends of the leaf area that intercepts light. Phyllochron is defined as time interval between the appearance of successive leaves on the main stem. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of year and cultivars on final leaf number (FLN) and phyllochron (PHY) in winter barley. Thermal unit was used as time scale with 0°C as base temperature. Twelve cultivars differing in origin and time to anthesis (early, medium and late) were tested during six growing seasons (GS), 2002/032007/08. FLN across cultivars and GSs was 13.5 and PHY was 75.7 GDD leaf-1. The highest FLN across GSs was in the late, sixrowed barley cultivar Kredit (14.7). The lowest FLN was in the early, two-rowed barley cultivar Novosadski 581 (11.3). In regard to earliness, lowest FLN was in the early cultivars (12.9) and highest in the late ones (13.9). The highest PHY across GSs was in the tworowed cultivar Cordoba, 81.6 GDD leaf1, the lowest in the tworowed cultivar Novosadski 581, 71.0 GDD leaf1. The early cultivars had fast leaf development, the medium cultivars medium and the late cultivars slow development, 72.5 GDD leaf1, 75.6 GDD leaf-1 and 78.9 GDD leaf1, respectively. The tested cultivars showed significant variability in the FLN and PHY, which can be used for selecting most adaptable genotypes for specific conditions.