Effects of reduced plant height on breeding requirements and ...

their true potential.
The general 1ateness <strong>of</strong> the higher yielding, shortstrawed
genotypes may also be a disadvarttage, particularly
ln the more northerty barley produclng areas. Early short
strawed tJrpe s can be isolated ( several existed ín population
c'7o'3), but they tend to be lower ylelders. However, the
yierd <strong>of</strong> an ear!-y short strawed 1!ne shoutd be compared to
that <strong>of</strong> early maturing tal} .r¡arietÍes before any decísions
are nade. This generaL lateness <strong>of</strong> the better short tJrpe s
wiLl necessÍtate a reconmendation <strong>of</strong> early seeding even in
areas with a l0nger growing season, due to the latene ss <strong>of</strong>
heading as well as lateness <strong>of</strong> maturity.
0n the basis <strong>of</strong> limÍted research and data, lt is also
possible that short stature in barley nay be assoeíated with
sLower growlng and less extensive root systens. This again
suggested these types wour-d not be suited to the areas wíth
stress types <strong>of</strong> environment. 0n the othe¡ hand, these para_
meters were associated with *u,"r-r. kernel size and iraprovement
<strong>of</strong> this conponent rnay result in the irnprovement <strong>of</strong> the root
parameters as we l-1.
ft appears then that short strawed barley cou1d. be a
viab1e <strong>plant</strong> t3¡pe in the barl_ey growing areas <strong>of</strong> Western
Canâda, particularly 1n the most productive regions where
lodgÍng is frequently a lirniting factor. fhere witl be need
to make producers aware <strong>of</strong> the unique field nanagement
practices requíred to provide an environment suitable for
these types in order to achieve maximurn performanee " fhe
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