Screening for High-Yielding Barley Genotypes with Adequate Foliar Disease Resistance in North Delta of Egypt

Abstract

In addressing the global impact of fungal foliar diseases on barley yield; namely powdery mildew, net blotch and leaf rust, this study undertakes a robust phenotypic and genotypic evaluation. A set of 132 barley genotypes, were evaluated under conditions of elevated pathogenic stress. Multivariate analyses revealed statistically significant inter-genotypic variances for all measured agronomic and pathological traits, concomitant with noticeable seasonal effects. In a nuanced observation, the genotype-by-season interaction elicited significant impacts across a plethora of traits, with the exception of spike length and thousand grain weight. From a quantitative genetics perspective, broad-sense heritability estimates were remarkably high: 97.2% for powdery mildew, 89.3% for net blotch, and 97.5% for leaf rust. Concurrently, genetic advance estimates for biological yield, grain yield, powdery mildew, net blotch, and leaf rust registered in the high to very high categories. Correlational analyses substantiated a positive linear relationship between grain yield and maturity date, plant height and biological yield. Using biplot analysis, 12 genotypes were identified that showed high yield and resistance to powdery mildew, net blotch, and leaf rust. Thus, investigation illuminates the possibility of deploying high-yielding, disease-resistant barley cultivars as an effective strategy for mitigating the deleterious effects of fungal foliar pathogens on barley production in Egypt.