BGN 4: Identification of a new high protein strain of barley BARLEY GENETICS NEWSLETTER, VOL. 4, II. RESEARCH NOTES
Bansal, pp. 8-9

II.4. Identification of a new high protein strain of barley.

H. C. Bansal, Nuclear Research Laboratory, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.

In the year 1970-1971, the Hiproly (CI3947) strain was found to segregate for two early plants, one was 2-rowed and the other fertile intermediate. Both these plants had hulled and plump grains whereas hiproly has naked and shrivelled grains. In the subsequent generations the 2-rowed plant bred true for bold and uniform grains while the fertile intermediate segregated for 2-rowed and 6-rowed, hulled and hull-less plants. The true breeding 2-rowed, hulled plant which was interesting from the point of view of its grain size and earliness, was analyzed for its protein content and quality. DBC value (in absorbance units at 470 nm) was 0.230-0.250 and crude protein content determined by microkjeldahl method was found to be about 16% (dry weight basis). Lysine content was 3.18g/16 gn. Analysis for three consecutive years (1971 to 1973: 16.5, 16.0- 18.5, 15.0 - 16.8% protein, respectively) showed that this particular strain called B1 was a high protein genotype. It seems that Hiproly has gone into its makeup though the other parent is unknown. Outcrossing at a certain stage with some hulled parent cannot be ruled out as Hiproly is late maturing and exhibits a high degree of sterility.

In a trial conducted in 1972-1973, performance of B1 was compared with two 6-rowed cultivars, NP113 and Jyoti. These were sown under uniform conditions in four replications with a plot size of 9' x 8', each plot containing 12 lines. It is evident from the preliminary data in Table 1 that B1 is a high yielder along with high protein content in its grains.

The protein evaluation tests on rats, carried out by Professor B. O. Eggum, have shown that B1 has better nutritive value than Jyoti. The Biological Value (B.Y.) of B1 was 82% as compared to 67% of Jyoti. The grains of B1 are lustrous and have low husk content. Its genetics is also interesting as it throws grass clumps when crossed with other parents. It was found to be a good combiner and also showed high degree of tolerance to aphids and yellow rust. The superiority of this newly developed strain is being tested under different fertility and climatic conditions.

Table 1. Performance of B1 tested in yield trial (1972-73) at Delhi.

It is interesting that unlike Hiproly and the mutants notch-l and notch-2 (derived from NP113, Bansal, 1970), the strain B1 possesses grains which are bold and plump and have higher 1000 grain weight (Table 1), thus making it a desirable genotype of applied value. The observation that the increase in protein content is not at the expense of the grain weight unlike the other higher protein strains, indicates that starch synthesis in B1 may not have been affected.

References:

Bansal, H. C. 1970. A new mutant induced in barley. Curr. Sci. 39:494.

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