Abstract

Genetic diversity among 63 hulless barley accessions originating from ICARDA (International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area) was investigated using agromorphological traits and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) variation. Among 20 agromorphological traits under study, a considerable diversity was observed for grain yield per plot, 1000-grain weight and peduncle length. High estimates of heritability in broad sense were recorded for plant height, number of grains per spike and number of tillers. These traits can be used for indirect improvement of yield. Cluster and Principal component analysis based on agromorphological traits could effectively classify the samples. The RAPD-based genetic similarity ranged from 0.221 to 0.81, with the mean of 0.481. Cluster analysis based on Jaccard Similarity Coefficient divided genotypes into 8 different groups.  The average of genetic diversity index for RAPDs and storage proteins were compared and showed that mean of genetic diversity index was lesser for RAPDs than storage proteins. Thus, when resources are a limiting factor and considering the cost of consumables and work time, seed storage proteins must be the technique of choice for a first estimation of genetic variation in hulless barley genetic resource collections. In RAPD analysis, a special band was observed which could be used in identifying hulless barley varieties with low or high b-glucan.

Key words: Genetic diversity, hulless barley, agromorphological traits, RAPDs, storage proteins.