Evaluation of Production Performance and Quality Parameters of Barley Varieties and Lines under the Pedo-Climatic Conditions of Northwestern Romania
Abstract
Winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most important cereal crops cultivated in Romania for its high productive potential, adaptability, and multiple end-uses. This study evaluated the agronomic performance, yield components, and grain quality of winter barley cultivars and breeding lines at ARDSLivada, northwestern Romania, over two contrasting growing seasons (2023/2024 and 2024/2025): 25 genotypes in 2023/2024 and 27 in 2024/2025. The seasons differed substantially in temperature and precipitation, with higher temperatures and abundant rainfall in 2023/2024 versus a significant precipitation deficit in 2024/2025providing an opportunity to assess genotype adaptability under contrasting conditions. Significant genotype differences were found for grain yield, yield components, and grain quality. Grain yield ranged from 4153 to 7252 kg ha⁻¹ in 2023/2024 (highest: Iulian, then F8-1-2020) and from 4250 to 9182 kg ha⁻¹ in 2024/2025, with the new breeding lines FB-38-24 and FB-14-24 significantly outperforming the control and all other genotypes. F8-1-2020, Gabriela, Artemis, and Expert FD showed relatively stable performance across both years. Substantial variability was also found for yield components and quality: Ileana had the highest protein content (17.0%), while FB-38-24 combined exceptional yield with the highest TKW (56.4 g) and a high hectoliter weight (64.2 kg/hl), reflecting considerable genetic diversity and the importance of jointly assessing productivity and quality in barley breeding. The breeding lines FB-14-24 and especially FB-38-24 demonstrated superior agronomic performance and represent promising genetic resources for future cultivar development and variety registration. Further multi-year experiments will provide a more comprehensive assessment of genotype performance, stability, and adaptability, and will strengthen the identification of superior barley genotypes for breeding and registration.