One of the actual tasks in the selection of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is the developing of sufficiently high-yielding awnless cultivars. In economic relation, awns of barley are ballast: they cause difficulties in harvesting, increase falling of spikes, and decrease fodder value of straw.

There are numerous patterns of awnless barley in the world collection. They all have low productivity of spike and are low yielding. Numberous attempts to develop the high-productive cultivars of awnless barley on their basis have become unsuccessful.

We have developed and studied a few cultivars of awnless barley (multirow, two-row, furcate, hulled, hulless) in three ecological regions of Daghestan (East Caucasus). But they all had less in yield-productivity than the standard awned cultivars. Therefore, there are no awnless cultivars of barley in production. But it is desirable.

Experimentally, it is determined, including our researches (Table 1), that the low grain productivity of the existing awnless barley sorts is the biological rightful phenomenon caused by their awnlessness. The awns in barley are active grain production organs that provide 15-20% of grain yield.

The analysis of these facts and numerous other given lower leads to the conclusion about the priciple impossiblility with traditional selection methods to develop the productive sorts of anwnless barley. But a question comes up, why are there such sorts in other releative crops to barley, for example, in wheat (Table 1). It is to be supposed and confirmed experimentally the high productivity of such cultivars is provided with the crop formation function of awns that is substituted with wide ear glumes (the common forms of barley have bristle glumes). Therefore, the more productive cultivars of awnless barley must have the wide ear glumes.

There are wide-glume forms in the worl collection of barley, they may be got with the mutation, among them with productive spke and large grain (Table 1). But, they all are with awns, besides that they have some negative characters (late-ripeness, falling, irregular ripening). They are useless for production.

At the same time, in the world collection of barley, there is another component necessary for creation of high-productive awnless barley - they are awnless forms.

Suggested selection-process of creation of awnless barley cultivar consists of the following: the awnless forms are crossed with the wide glume forms and in hybrid posterity the genetic high-productive plants with the awnless wide glume spike are selected.

For the realisation of this selection -scheme the following initial material will be recommended (catalogue number of All-Russian Institute of Plant Industry).

Awnless forms: K-15542, K-17400, K-17826, K-18555

K-18740, K-19280, K-19287, K-19312

K-19402, K19467, K-19626, -3478

-3489

Wide glume forms: K-735, K-5476, K8687, K8749

Mutant X, X 11/1, X 128/7
 
 

Table 1. The role of awns and glumes in grain formation of barley and wheat.

	Grain weight per spike				1000-grain weight
			Experiment				Experiment
Variant	Control	Experiment	to control		Control	Experiment	to control
	-----------------g------------------				-----------------g--------------------
Removal of awns
Hulled barley	1.59	1.20	75.5		46.4	36.4	78.4
Hulless barley	1.26	1.03	81.7		57.6	52.0	90.3
Wide glume barley	1.55	1.38	89.0		56.9	53.6	94.3
Common wheat	1.10	1.08	98.2		39.8	38.2	96.0
Removal of glumes
Narrow glume barley	1.60	1.56	97.5		52.1	49.8	95.6
Wide glume barley	1.58	1.32	83.4		66.5	56.1	84.4
Common wheat	1.15	0.93	80.7		32.6	28.8	85.9

 
 
 

Note: Each variant has 100 resistrated spikes. In experiments, awns or glume were removed at heading.
 
 

We have carried our practical researches for experimental control of the mentioned scheme and as the first step of its practical realisation. Numerous hybrids have been received and 50 perspective populations and lines have been chosen and studied. Among them, there were more productive lines, perspective as the initial material for producing high productive awnless cultivars (Table 2).

Table 2. Indices of productivity of awnless barley forms (Figures, average in 24 relative

lines. Gramm, M±m).

	Awnless wide glume	Awned narrow glume	Experiment to
Index	forms (experiment)	forms (control)	control
			%
Grain yield per plant	3.36±0.34	3.01±0.20	112.0
1000-grain weight	53.3±1.0	51.7±1.3	1.3

 
 
 

As a result of mentioned researches, 15 new botanical varieties of barley (Hordeum vulgareL.)- awnless wide glumes- have been provided. There are some patterns with the complex of economic valuable sings. In accordance with established order, they were transferred to the fund of All-Russian Institute of Plant Industry, and are in the herbariuum of Daghestan Agricultural Academy.

Thus, it may be considered that it is experimentally confirmed the effect of given method for the creation of the high production awnless barley. The receiving on its basis mentioned awnless forms is the first hopestep on the way to it's practical realization.