ISSN 0253 - 6749 MISCELLANEOUS REPORTS 21

DESCRIPTION OF THE BARLEY CULTIVARS ATHENAIS AND KANTARA

Athena Della

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

CYPRUSNICOSIA

NOVEMBER 1985

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DESCRIPTION OF THE BARLEY CULTIVARS ATHENAIS AND KANTARA

Athena DeUa

SUMMARY

The barley cultivars Athenais and Kantara were grown at five environments during 1980-2 and are described for a number of morphological and physiological characteristics. The description was mainly based on the 'Guidelines for the Conduct of Test for Distinctness, Homogeneity and Stability' of the 'International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)'. The two varieties differ in a number of characteristics, i.e. hairiness of lower leaf sheaths, earliness, number of rows on the ear, ear density, ear length, awn length, awn/ear length, awn spiculation of margins, grain size, kernel colour of aleurone layer etc. The expression of several characters such as the height of plants, growth habit, awn emergence, heading date, grain size and presence of anthocyanin on different parts of the plant, was affected by the environment and, therefore, for these characters to be used in the description, varieties must be grown under strictly comparable conditions. Among the characters which were not influenced by the environ­ment were the number of rows on the ear. the awn spiculation of margins, the grain husk, the rachilla hair type, the kernel colour of aleurone layer, the lodicule type, the presence or absence of teeth on the lemma 'nerves', the occurr­ence or not of hair inside the ventral furrow etc. It was also observed that the full expression of certain characters depends on the stage of growth.

der preparation in line with the GECD and EEC INTRODUcnON rules and standards (Xenophontos, 1984).

In Cyprus the main barley cultivar is Athenais, a The aim of any registration system is the recogni­6-row variety introduced from Greece in the 1950's tion of the variety as a unique entity. In order to en­(Parisinos, 1962). In 1980 the 2-row variety Roho, sure that a potential new variety is recognized as which outyielded Athenais by 16%, was recom­ such, it is essential that it is uniform, stable and dis­mended for release under the name Kantara (Had­ tinct. The basic criterion of distinctness is that the jichristodoulou et al., 1980). The yield components variety should exhibit a clear and repeatable differ­and other traits affecting the performance and grain ence in one or more important characteristics from quality, namely heading date, tillering, plant height, any other variety whose existence is a matter of WOO-grain weight, volume weight, protein content common knowledge (Anonymous, 1979). The 'In­and disease resistance of the variety Kantara in com­ ternational Union for the Protection of New Var­parison with Athenais were given, but a detailed de­ ieties of Plants (UPGV)' has adopted 'Guidelines scription of the morphological and physiological for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness characteristics of the two varieties was not included. Homogeneity and Stability' (Anonymous 1976;

Anonymous 1981). Document UPGV/TG/1/2 con­In many countries, including all member States of tains explanatory notes on the general principles on

the European Economic Community (EEC). a new which the guidelines have been established. variety must by law be described and registered in the National list or in the Common catalogue of the In Cyprus description of some characteristics of European Communities. As a result marketing re­ Athenais and Kantara is given by the Agronomy strictions are avoided and the breeder's rights are and Seed Production Section of the Department of protected on national and international level. Cer­ Agriculture in the instructions to the certification of­tified seed is available only from registered varieties ficers (Xenophontos, personal communication). (Mansholt, 1972; Sneep et aI., 1972; Anonymous, This paper sets out the basis to describe barley var­1984). ieties and presents a detailed description of

Athenais and Kantara.

In Cyprus there is no such legislation at present, MATERIALS AND METHODSand breeding, seed certification and marketing of the new cultivars are the responsibility of Govern­ Athenais and Kantara barleys were sown in a ment Departments. However, a new seed law is un- Randomized Complete Block design with 6 replica­

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tions in fallow land at Athalassa in 1980-1 and at Athalassa, Laxia and Dromolaxia in 1981-2. Plot size was 7m2 (8 rows.Sm long. spaced at 0.175m). In addition, in 1980-1 the varieties were studied at Laxia in two trials of the breeding programme of the Institute (plot size 14m2) Basic seed was used, and seed rate was adjusted for seed size and percent ger­mination so that the same number of viable seeds was sown per unit area. The rate of 14 kg/donum of Athenais having 42g WOO-grain weight and 96% ger­mination was taken as the basis for the calculations. Nitrogen fertilizer was given in two doses of 3 kg N/donum each at seeding and tillering. In addition, 4 kg of P205 was applied at sowing. The trials were grown under rain fed conditions at Laxia and Dromolaxia, while at Athalassa they were given ad­ditional irrigation when needed.

The choice of various characters was mainly based on the 'Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Dis­tinctness, Homogeneity, and Stability' (Anonymous, 1976; Anonymous, 1981). More details on the characters and the «descriptor states» (Table 1) were obtained from Anonymous (1971), Hervey­Murray (1970), Ulvinen et al. (1973), Kooi and Nij­dam (1957), Bergal and Clemencet (1962), Briggs (1978), Carson and Horne (1962), Weibe and Reid. (1961), Della (1979), McMullan and Fisher (1968) and from reports from East Graigs,Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland.

The growth stages used in this study as indicated in the vPOY Guidelines are presented in Table 2 (Zadoks et aI., 1974). For each characteristic it was also indicated whether actual measurements (M), or visual assessments by a single observation of a group of plants/ears/grains (YG). or visual assessments of a number of individual plants/ears/grains (YS) should be made (Table 1). For most of the characteristics recorded as YS, 191 cars from five environments were tested under a stereoscope. Grain characteristics were recorded on the mid third of the ear.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results of all 34 characters studied are pre­sented in Tables 1 and 3. Detailed description is gi­ven below for each trait, with the number of the characteristic' in parenthesis.

Plant: growth habit (1)

Yisual observations at tillering showed that both varieties have erect growth habit with a tendency of semierect growth habit where the plots were thin­ner. However, beyond the tillering stage all tillers assumed an erect posture. For recording growth habit it is therefore important that observations should be made at tillering stage and under strictly comparable conditions as emphasized by Carson and Horne (1962). ­

Lower leaves: hairiness of leaf sheaths (2)

In addition to the visual observation in the field a total of 240 young plants from each variety from four environments were examined under a stereos­cope. Hairs were present in 90% of the plants of Kantara, but in only 3% of Athenais. Hairs on the sheaths were denser at the base of the plant than higher up. Observations for this character, which is reasonably stable, should be made at tillering be­cause hairs might be rubbed off or shed later on (Carson and Horne, 1962).

The percentage of plants which differed in hairi­ness. 3% and 10%, in Athenais and Kantara,' re­spectively. could be expected as the two varieties have never been purified for this trait. Wiebe and Reid (1961) describe the sources of variation for 'mixed traits'.

Flag leaf: attitude (3)

The attitude of flag leaf was recorded immediately before ear emergence. namely when the awns ap­ ) peared, and varied with environment, even with re­plication. Therefore, this trait has limited value in ,describing barley varieties.

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Flag leaf: anthocyanin coloration of auri • des (4,5)

In all environments anthocyanin pigment de­veloped at the auricles of flag leaves in the majority of plants. However, the intensity of pigment varied

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Table 1. Descriptor states of varieties Athenais and Kantara according to 'UPOV Table of Characteristics'.

Characteristic Stage Descriptor State Note Athenais Kantara

I. Plant: growth habit 25-29 erect 1 I, 1-3 I, 1-3 VG semi-erect 3

intermediate 5 semi-prostrate 7 prostrate 9

2. Lower leaves: hairiness 25-29 absent 1 1, 9 9, 1 of leaf sheaths VS present 9

3. Flag leaf: attitude 49 rectilinear 1 1, 3, 5 1, 3, 5, 7 VG slightly recurved 3

recurved 5 strongly recurved 7 very strongly recurved 9

4. Flag leaf: anthocyanin 45-49 absent 1 9, 1 9, 1 coloration of auricles VG present 9

5. Flag leaf: intensity of 45-49 very weak 1 3, 1 I, 3 anthocyanin coloration VG weak 3 of auricles medium 5

strong 7 very strong 9

6. Flag leaf: glaucosity 50-60 Absent or very weak 1 7, 5-7, 7-9 7, 5-7, 5 of sheath VG weak 3

medium 5 strong 7 very strong 9

7. Time of ear emergence 50-52 very early 1 3 5 (first spikelet visible on VG early 3

50% of the ears) medium 5 late 7 very late 9

8. Awns: anthocyanin 60-65 absent 1 9. I 9 coloration of the tips VG present 9

9. Awns: intensity of 60-65 very weak 1 5, 3, 1 anthocyanin coloration VG weak 3 of the tips medium 5

strong 7 very strong 9

10. Ear: glaucosity 65-75 absent or very weak 1 5. 5-7, 3 5, 3-5, 3 VG weak 3

medium 5 strong 7 very strong 9

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Charucteristic Stage

11. Ear: attitude 70 VG

75-9212 Plant: height (stem and ear) M

80-92 VS

13. Ear.number of rows

80-1)214. Ear: shape VS

RO-9215. Ear: density VS

16. Awn: length compared to ear 80-lJ2 VS

17. Awn: spiculation of "1argins 80-92 VS

9218. Rachis: length of

first segment VS

19. Rachis: curvature of 92

first segment VS

20. Rachis: humping of segments 92

in mid-third of ear VS

(Two-row barley only)

21. Rachis: degree of zig-zag lJ2

(alignment of segments in VS

mid-third of ear). (Barley

with more than 2 rows only)

Descriptor State Note Athenais Kantara

erect semi-erect horizontal semi-drooping drooping

I 3 5 7 I)

very short short medium long very long

I 3 5 7 9

5 5

two more than two

1 2

2

tapering parallel fusiform

2 3

very lax lax medium dense very dense

I 3 5 7 9

9 7

shorter equal longer

2 3

3 3,1

absent present

I 9

I) I)

very short short medium long very long

I

3 5 7 9

3 3

absent or very

weak medium strong very strong

weak I 3 5 7 I)

I. 3

absent or very

weak medium strong very strong

weak I 3 5 7 <)

N.A.

absent or very weak medium strong very strong

weak I 3 5 7 9

NA

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Characteristic Stage Descriptor State Note Athenais Kantara

22. Sterile spikelet: 92 parallel N:A. 3 attitute (as for 20) VS parallel to weakly

divergent 2 divergent 3

23. Sterile spikelet: 92 very short 1 N.A. 5 length of lemma (as for 20) VS short 3

medium 5 long 7 very long 9

24. Sterile spikelet: 92 pointed 1 N.A. 2, 1 shape of tip (as for 20) VS rounded 2

square 3

25. Median spikelet: length of 92 shorter 1 3, 2 1, 2 glume and awn relative VS equal 2 to grain longer 3

26. Grain: rachilla hair type 92 short 1 2 2 VS long 2

27. Grain: husk 92 absent 1 9 9 present 9

28. Grain: anthocyanin 80-85· absent or very weak 1 I, 5 I, 7 coloration of nerves VS weak 3 of lemma medium 5

strong 7 very strong 9

29. Grain: spiculation of inner 92 absent or very weak 1 7 7, 9 lateral nerves of lemma VS weak 3

medium 5 strong 7 very strong 9

30. Grain: hairiness 92 absent 1 of ven tral furrow VS present 9

31. Grain: disposition of 92 frontal 1 2 2 lodicules VS clasping 2

32. Kernel: color of aleurone 92 white 1 2 layer VS colored 2

33. Seasonal type VG winter type 1 3 3 alternative type 2 spring type 3

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within plots, and therefore this character was consi­dered as 'mixed'. In both varieties, states I and 3 were recorded, state 3 (weak presence) being do­minant in Athenais and state 1 (very weak presence) being dominant in Kantara.

Flag leal: glancosity of sheath (6)

Both varieties developed a waxy covering, the in­tensity of which varied with the environment, being medium to strong in Kantara and medium to very strong in Athenais. Growth stage was critical for the full expression of this character, the greatest inten­sity expressed after ear emergence. At early stages, Kantara had very weak presence of wax, while Athenais had medium to strong presence; the colour of leaves and stems in Kantara appeared light green while in Athenais appeared grey green. Thus, this character must be recorded at the same environment and after ear emergence.

Time of ear emergence (7)

Ear emergence of barley is described in five stages, 50-59 (Table 2). In the UPOV list it is re­commended that time of ear emergence be recorded at the first stage (50, 52) when the first spikelet of the inflorescence is visible in 50% of the ears. In this study ear emergence was recorded in two stages: (a) at awn emergence, i.e. when awns were visible in 50% of the ears (stage 49), as this is much more readily ascertained stage (Carson and Home, 1962), and (b) at heading, i.e. when emergence of spikelets was completed in 50% of the ears (stage 59). Kan­tara was later by 4 days in awn emergence and by 5 days in heading date compared to Athenais (Table 4), as also reported by Hadjichristodoulou et al. (1980).

In 1980-1 at Athalassa it was .observed that ears of both varieties were still in sheath at flowering stage while in 1981-2 'Kantara' behaved at the same loca­tion as a 'sheathed' variery. Bergal and Clemenceti (1962) proposed that in cases of 'sheathed' barleys emergence must be recorded when the edges of leaf sheath are pushed apart.

Athenais was considered to be an early variety and Kantara a medium one.

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Table 2. Decimal codes for the growth stages of barley used in this study

(reproduced from Zadoks et al., 1974).

2-digit Code General Description

25 Main shoot and 5 tillers 29 Main shoot and 9 or more tillers 45 Boots swollen 49 First awns visible 50,51 First spikelet of inflorescence just visible 52,53 1/4 of inflorescence emerged

54.55 1/2 of inflorescence emerged 56.57 3/4 of inflorescence emerged 58,59 Emergence of inflorescence completed 60,61 Beginning of anthesis 64,65 Anthesis half-way 68,69 Anthesis complete 70 Beginning of Milk development 71 Caryopsis water ripe 75 Medium milk 80 Beginning dough development 85 Soft dough 92 Caryopsis hard (can no longer be dented

by thumb-nail)

Awns: anthocyanin coloration of the tips (8,9)

The presence of anthocyanin coloration on awn tips varied with the environment and variety. In 1980-1 in Athenais it was absent at both locations, Athalassa and Laxia, while in Kantara it was present at both locations but was very weak at Athalassa and weak at Laxia. In 1981-2 it was present in both varieties at the three locations, being very weak in Athenais and medium in Kantara. Thus under con­ditions favouring its expression, anthocyanin was more intense in Kantara than in Athenais.

Ear glaucosity (10)

Both varieties developed glaucosity on the ear, the intensity of which varied with the environment. In Athenais it ranged from state 3 to 7, while in Kantara from state 3 to 5.

Ear attitude (11)

At all locations ear attitude, recorded at milk de­velopment, was erect and remained such right upto, and including, maturity for both varieties.

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Table 3. Descriptor states of varieties Athenais and Kantara (according to Table 1) in five environ­ments during 1980-82.

Athenais Kantara

1980-1 1981-2 1980-1 1981-2

Chara- Atha- Laxia Atha- Laxia Dromo1axia Atha- Laxia Atha- Laxia Dromolaxia cheristic lassa lassa 1assa 1assa

1 1-3 1-3 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1-3 2 1. 9 I. 9 I. 9 1. 9 1, 9 9. 1 9. I 9. 1 9, 1 9. 1 3 1 1 I 3, 5 1 1 3 1 3,5,7 1 4 9. 1 9 9 9 9 9.1 9 9 9 9 5 I 3 3.1 3.1 3.1 I 1,3 1,3 1,3 1,3 6 7 7-9 7 7 5-7 5 5-7 7 7 5-7 7 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 5 5 5 8 1 1 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 1 1 I 3 5 5 5

10 5-7 5-7 3 5 5 5 3-5 3 5 5 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 13 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 14 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 15 9 9 9 9 9 7 7 7 7 7 16 3 3 3 3 3 1 3 3 3 17 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 18 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 19 1 1 1 1 1 1.3 1,3 1,3 1 1 20 N.A 1 1 1 1 1 21 I N.A 22 N.A 3 3 3 3 3 23 N.A 5 5 5 5 5 24 N.A 2 2.1 2,1 2 2 25 3,2 3,2 3 -3 3 1,2 1,2 1 1 1 26 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 27 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 28 1 1 1 5 1 1 1 1 7 1 29 7 7 7 7 7 7,9 7 7 7 7 30 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 31 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 32 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 33 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Table 4. Characters measured during 1980-2.

Variety

Awn emergence(3) (days after 1st March)

Heading date (.t)

(days after 1st March)

Plant height (.t)

(em)

HX)O-grain weight (3)

(g)

Rachis length 1st segment (5)

(mm)

Athenais Kantara

18 22

25 30

91 83

38.6 43.0

:2.3 2.8

Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of test locations

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Plant: height (stem and ear) (12)

Athenais was 91 cm tall and Kantara 83 cm (Table 4), which is in agreement with Hadjichristodoulou et al. (1980). The two varieties were classified as hav­ing medium height, in comparison with the other varieties of the breeding programme.

Ear: number of rows (13)

In Athenais, all spike lets were fertile (six-row var­iety) while in Kantara only the median spikelets were fertile (two-row variety) as reported by Had­jichristodoulou et al. (1980). The two varieties can be easily distinguished with this character.

In two-row barleys the grains grow freely at the node of the rachis and are all symmetrical in structure, while in six-row barleys the lateral grains are more or less asymmetrical (Kooi and Nijdarn, 1957).

Table 5. Ear and awn length of Athenais and

Ear shape (14)

Ear shape can be tapering, parallel or fusiform (Anonymous, 1981). In both Athenais and Kantara ear shape was tapering.

Ear density (15)

This character was recorded both in the field (from dough development to maturity) and in the laboratory (at maturity). In Athenais, the ear is very dense (state 9) and in Kantara it is dense (state 7).

Awn: awn length compared to ear length (16)

The length extending beyond the collar was re­garded as the length of the ear and the length ex­tending beyond the ear tip as the length of the awn. The ratio of ear length over awn length varied with the environment, being on average over a number of plants 1.91 to 2.93 for Athenais and 0.84 to 1.52 for Kantara with a mean of 2.48 for Athenais and 1.16 for Kantara (Table 5). The ratio was lower in

Kantara.

1980 - I 1981 - 2

Laxia Athalassa Trial I Trial 2 Laxia Dromolaxia Weighted

(60) (30) (60) (90) (60) mean

Ear length (em) Athenais 5.8 b 4.9 b -Ub 4.9 b 4.7 b 5.0 Kantara 9.5 a 7.0 a 7.8 a 7.7 a 7.3 a 7.9 SX 0.102 0.055 0.095 0.D71 0.095 0.092 CV% 10.4 5.5 11.8 11.1 12.4

-Awn length (em) Athenais 10.8 a 14.1 a 13.0 a 12.2 a 11.5 a 12.1 Kantara 7.9 b 10.6 b 9.5 b 8.9 b 9.0 b 9.0 SX 0.164 . 0.045 0.122 0.173 0.098 0.139 CV% 13.6 2.1 8.6 15.5 7.3

Awn length/ear length Athenais 1.91 a 2.93 a 2.75 a 2.55 ;; 2.45 a 2.48 Kantara 0.84 b 1.52 b 1.23 b 1.16b 1.25 b l.l6 SX 0.032 0.021 0.032 0:032 0.015 0.072 CV% 20.9 5.1 9.1 15.4 6.4

Numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of ears tested

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Kantara. In Athenais, awns were markedly longer than the ears in all environments. Athenais is there­fore classified in state 3 (Table 1). In Kantara, awns were longer than ears in four environments while at Athalassa they were shorter; therefore Kantara was classified as having both states 1 and 3. Briggs (1978) reported that interplant competition may r~­duce or prevent awn growth. It seems that this character is of limited value in describing barley var­ieties. The ears of Kantara were longer and its awns shorter than those of Athenais (Table 5).

Awn: spiculation of margins (17)

Minute teeth or barbs were present along the length of the awn in both varieties. However, the extent of barb presence along the awn, which is a valuable diagnostic character, differed in the two varieties. According to Carson and Horne (1962) Athenais could be classified as being rough awned (barbs occurred from the base towards the apex), while Kantara as semi-smooth awned (the basal one third to one half of the awn being without barbs).

Length and curvature of fIrst segment (18, 19)

The length of the first segment, measured in a number of spikes at five environments.was 2.8 mm in Kantara and 2.3 mm in Athenais (Table 4). Therefore both varieties were classified as 'short', state 3. The curvature of the first segment was given score 1 in the variety Athenais, and in the majority of spikes in Kantara, while the remaining 8% of Kantara spikes were given score 3. Both the length and curvature of the first segment are subject to rather wide fluctuations and are therefore consi­dered to be of minor diagnostic value (Carson and Horne, 1962).

Rachis: humping of segments (two-row barley only) and degree of zig-zag (barley with more than two rows) (20,21).

The rachis, stripped of its spikelets, was viewed from the side. Both varieties had relatively straight rachis and were both given score 1.

Sterile spikelet: attitude (two-row barley only) (22)

Viewed from the side, the arrangement of the sterile spikelets is characteristic of the variety. The spikelets may be straight and have their longitudinal axes parallel or they may be curved and termed div­ergent (Carson and Horne, 1962; An~nymous,

1981). Sterile spikelets of Kantara were divergent.

Sterile spikelet: length of lemma (two-row barley only (23)

Visual assessment on a number of ears classified Kantara in state 5, namely having sterile spikelets of medium length.

Sterile spikelet: shape of tip (two-row barley, only) (24)

The tip of sterile spikelets may be of three diffe­rent shapes, although intermediate forms can also be found. In 188 Kantara ears the tip was 'rounded' and in only three ears were the tips 'pointed'. Although Hervey-Murray (1970) and Carson and Horne (1962) question the importance of this fea­ture, because of its variability, this character was consistent in this study.

Median spikelet: length of glome and awn re­1ative to grain (25)

In the majority of the ears of Athenais the total length of glume and awn was greater than the length of the grain (state 3) but in some ears it was equal (state 2). In Kantara, state 1 (shorter) was dominant while state 2 was recorded only in very few spikes. Ulvinen et al. (1973) reported that the glumes in two-row barleys are shorter than in multirow bar­leys, and in both groups the dense-eared cultivars usually have longer glumes than the lax-eared ones.

Rachilla: hair type (26)

The rachilla is covered either with short, or with long and stiff hairs, the difference between the two types being very sharp (Kooi and Nijdam, 1957). Both varieties had long hairs and were both given score 2.

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Grain: husk (27)

Both varieties were classified as being hulled or husked as opposed to other varieties in which the caryopsis does not fuse with the lemma and palea, and are designated naked or hull-less (Carson and Horne, 1962). This character is not affected by the environment, and is of major diagnostic value.

Grain: anthocyanin coloration of nerves of lemma (28)

The intensity of anthocyanin pigmentation on the lemma nerves varied with environment and stage of growth. In 1981 at Laxia, pigment of Kantara was up to strong, while in Athenais it was up to medium at dough stage. In the other locations, the pigment was absent or very weak. However. examination un­der the stereoscope of a number of mature grains from five locations showed that the colour of nerves of lemma was absent or very weak in both varieties. Persistence of pigment in the mature grain. although a varietal character, it fluctuates with the environ­ment and the stage of maturity of the grain at har­vesting (Carson and Horne. 1962); thus. this charac­ter has lin\ited diagnostic value.

Grain: spiculation of inner lateral nerves of lemma (29)

In both varieties grains examined under a stereos­cope had teeth on the inner lateral nerves, and both varieties were given score 7 with the exception of only two Kantara plants which were given score 9.

Grain: hairiness of ventral furrow (30)

When the rachilla is removed from the grain the sides of the ventral groove may be observed clearly. Grains were observed under a stereoscope by using strong magnification and suitable lighting.' It ap­peared that neither variety possessed hairs on the sides of the grooves.

Grain: disposition of lodicuJes (31)

Small lodicules are referred to as 'small', 'bib'. 'parvisquarnose' or 'frontal' but bigger lodicules,

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which cover the embryo like a collar. are referred to as 'large', 'collar', 'latisquamose ' or 'clasping' (Ulvi­nen et a!., 1973; Carson and Horne, 1962; Anonym­ous, 1981). Both varieties had lodicules of the 'clasping' type when examined in situ under a stereoscope.

Kernel: colour of aleurone layer (32)

Visual assessment on a number of grains both in the field and under a stereoscope showed that Kan­tara had coloured aleurone layer while Athenais had white. Colour was absent from the husk of either variety.

SeasonaJ type (33)

Athenais and Kantara are classified as being spring barleys. In Cyprus, because of mild winters. both varieties are sown in November - December and harvested in May.

Grain size (34)

The weighted mean WOO-grain weight for Athe­nais over two years was 38.6g and for Kantara 43.0 g (Table 4). Similar results were found by Hadjichris­todoulou et a!. (1980). The size of grain varies con­siderably with the environment and is thus of limited value in distiguishing varieties unless they are grown in adjacent plots (Carson and Horne, 1962).

CONCLUSION

Most of the characters studied were recorded at five environments. It was therefore possible to study their relative stability. Obviously, the most stable characters are more valuable in describing varieties. Among the most stable characters were the number of rows OQ the ear, the awn spiculation of margins, the presence of grain husk, the rachilla hair type, the colour of the aleurone layer, the lodicule type etc. For characters influenced by the environment. such as plant height, growth habit, heading date, awn emergence, grain size, presence of anthocyanin on different parts of the plant etc., cultivars must be compared in adjacent plots with replications in the same environment, as emphasized by Carson and Horne (1962). Though actual values may vary with

the environment. the relative values of varieties tested in the same environments are valid. This can also he seen by comparing the results of this study with the results of an earlier study (Hadjichristodo­ulou et al., 1980), in which these varieties were re­corded for heading date, plant height and grain size.

Since the full expression of certain characters de­pends on the stage of growth, it is essential that re­cords be taken at the optimum time for each charac­ter as indicated in the «UPOV» Guidelines.

The varieties studied were not pure for several characters, such as the hairiness of leaf sheath and stem, presence of anthocyanin coloration of auri­cles, rachis curvature of first segment, length of glume and awn relative to grain, and others. The presence of 'mixed characters' (Weibe and Reid, 1961) was expected since during the selection of the foundation seed for both varieties not all characters used in this study were examined.

The two varieties showed a number of differences such as hairiness of lower leaf sheaths, earliness, number of rows on the ear, ear density, ear length, awn length, awn spiculation of margins, grain size, colour of the aleurone layer and others, and they can be easily distinguished from each other, even in the early stages of growth. According to the Na­tional Institute of Agricultural Botany, Cambridge, (Anonymous, 1971) the varieties could be described as follows:

ATHENAIS

Origin: Introduced from Greece in the early 1950's.

Field characters: At tillering, habit of growth erect to semierect; leaves grey-green, leaf sheaths glabrous (hairs in 3% of the plants). At ear emergence, flag leaves rectilinear with a ten­dency to be recurved in certain environments. Flag leaf auricle very weakly or weakly pigmented. Ear emergence early. After earing, culms and leaves strongly to very stronly glauc­ous, ears weakly to strongly glaucous. Awn tips may be slightly pigmented. Ears erect. Height of plants medium (91 em). Spring type.

Ear: Six row, tapering, small to medium (5.0 em), very dense. Awns present, rough, much longer

than the ear; length of glume+awn greater than or equal to the length of the grain.

Rachis: First segment short (2.3 mm); curvature ab­sent or very weak. Segments in mid third of the ear without zig-zag in alignment.

Grain: Husk present, colourless; hairiness of ventral furrow absent; spiculation of inner lateral nerves of lemma strong. Lemma nerves may be coloured up to medium at dough develop­ment, but colour is absent at maturity. Aleurone layer white. Rachilla hair type long. Lodicules 'clasping', 1000-grain weight 38.6 g.

KANTARA

Origin: Introduced from CIMMYT in 1975, released by the ARI in 1980.

Field characters: At tillering, habit of growth erect to semierect; leaves, light green; leaf sheaths with hairs in 90% of the plants. At awn emerg­ence flag leaves rectilinear but may be up to strongly recurved in certain environments. Flag leaf auricle very weakly or weakly pigmented. Ear emergence medium. After ear­ing, culms and leaves medium to strongly glaucous, ears weakly to medium glaucous. The intensity of anthocyanin coloration of awn may be very weak to medium. Ears erect. Height of plants medium (83cm). Spring type.

Ear: Two row, tapering, rather long (7.9 em), de­nse. Awns present semi-smooth, smaller or longer than the ear, depending on the environ­ment. Length of glume+awn shorter than the grain (in only few cases equal).

Rachis: First segment short (2.8 mm); curvature very weak to weak. Humping of segments in mid third of the ear absent or very weak.

Sterile spikelets: Attitude divergent; length of lemma medium; shape of tip rounded.

Grain: Husk present, colourless; hairiness of ventral furrow absent; spiculation of inner lateral nerves of lemma strong. Lemma nerves couloured from weakly to stronly at dough de­

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velopment, colourless at maturity. The aleurone layer coloured. Rachilla hair type long. Lodicules 'clasping'. lOoo-grain weight 43.0 g, larger than that of Athenais.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to Mr. Gr. Papageorgiou for his as­sistance in field and laboratory work. and to Mr. Chr. Theodorides for his assistance in the statistical analyses.

REFERENCES

Anonymous. 1971. Barley. Detailed descriptions of vurieties of wheal, burlev and oats. National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB). Cambridge.

Anonymous. 1976. Barley. Guideline, for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness, Homogeneuv and Stability. UPOV. TG/19/4. 19p.

Anonymous. 1979. Article 6 (Conditions Required for Protec­tion). International Convention for the Protection of nell' varieties of Plants of December 2. 1961 and Addi­tional Act of November I(), 1972 and Revised Text of October 23, 197/\ urov 2'13 (E). pp. 8-10.

Anonymous. 1981.. Barley. Gliidelinel' [o: the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness, Homogeneity and Stability, upav. TG/19j7. 24p.

Anonymous. 191'\4. Commission. Common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species (Tenth complete edition. 84/C4 A/OJ). Annex to Offici«! Journal of the European

Communities ,Vol. 27. 263 p.

Bergal. P. and M. Clemencet. 1962. The botany of the barley plant. In Barley and Mal: (A.H. Cook Ed.). pp. 1-23.

Briggs. D.E. 1978. The morphology of barley; the vegetative pha­se. The morphology of the reproductive parts in bar­ley. In Barley. Chapman & Hall. London. pp, 1-38 and 38-75.

Carson. G.P, and F.R. Horne. 1962. The identification of barley varieties. In Barlev and Malt (A.H. Cook Ed.). pp. 101-159.

Della. Athena. 1979. Variation in barleys collected in Cyprus. M. Sc. Thesis. Plant Biology Department. University of Birmingham.

Hadjichristodoulou, A .. C. losephides and Athena Della. 1980. Improvement of grain barley varieties in Cyprus ~

'Kanrara' a new variety. Technical Bulletin 32. Agricultural Research Institute. Nicosia. l-tp.

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Hervey - Murray. C.G. 1970. Barlev. A preliminary course of in­struction in the identification of cereal varieties. Agricultural Research and Advisory Services. Essex. 39 p.

Kooi, Itske and F.E. Nijdam. 1957. On recognising harley var­

ieties. TN.a. 21. Wageningen. 24 p.

Mansholt , S.L. 1972. Commission directive of 14 April 1'172 de­termining the characteristics and minimum conditions for examining agricultural varieties. Secondary Legisla­tion of the European Communities. Subject Edition. 1972. Vol. 38. Seeds and Propagating Material. pp. 150 - 172.

McMullan. l.L. and H.M. Fisher. 1968. Identifying the grain of barley varieties in Western Australia. Bulletin 3612. Western Australian Department of Agriculture. 7 p.

Parisi nos. J. 1962. Survey of wheat and harley production in Cvp­rus. Department of Agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Nicosia. 6 p.

Snecp , J .. B.H. Oltholf and l.A. Hogen. 1972. A comrnentarv on the 47th descriptive list of varieties of field crops. /972. (The Committe for the Compilation of the List of Var­ieties of Field Crops. Wagcningen, the Netherlands. eds). 22 p.

Ulvinen, a .. A, Voss. H.C. Baekaard and P.E. Terning. 1'173. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). In Testing for genuiness of cultivar, International Seed Testing Association. pp. 37-51.

Wiebe. G.A. and D.A. Reid. 1961. Classification of barley var­ieties grown in the United States and Canada in 1958. Technical Bulletin 1224. USDA.

Xenophontos. E.P. 1984. Report of the Agronomy and Seed Pro­duction Section for the years 1975 - 1981. Annexure II. Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. De­partment of Agriculture. Nicosia. 48 p.

Zadoks. le.. TT Chang and c.r. Konzak . 1974. A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Research 14: 415 - 421.

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