Improvement in cold resistant barley varieties through mutation breeding

Barley is one of the most suitable plants for mutation breeding because of its diploid nature. It covers some 680,000 ha of irrigated lands in the cold and temperate regions of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the past, the crop was cultivated in early spring when the frost was over. During the past 4 years, a newly released winter barley (Makooei) has been widely grown in the cold areas of the country. Winter planting has led to the production of lines with a high potential for resistance to cold. Through crosses between land races and improved barley varieties, several winter types and new cold resistant lines have been obtained and tested in different trials. The average yield (obtained from two cycles of 3 years in a uniform, regional barley yield trial) has risen from 3.8 t/ha to more than 6 t/ha. 2 refs, 4 tabs