Relationship Between Agronomic Traits and Grain Nutrients in Barley Cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L.) Under Drought Stress Conditions

Barley has been recognized as the most drought tolerant species among the cereals and due to its high genetic diversity, it is well adapted to different environmental conditions. Extreme weather events have increased leading to the volatility of crop production in many regions, thus increasing the possibility of jeopardizing global food security. Cultivating crops with improved tolerance to a combination of abiotic stresses is an effective solution to deal with the adverse effects of climate change. Due to the decreased availability and increased demand for water, drought stress is becoming more significant. The demand for clean water globally is currently ۷۰% based on agriculture, and this percentage is expected to rise rapidly in the coming years. In drought stress conditions, the interference of the absorption and depletion mechanisms along with the decrease in transpiration causes a decrease in the absorption of grain nutrients. Therefore, the reduction of available water in rainfed conditions reduces the amount of iron and other nutrients available to the plant. Reducing the amount of iron that can be absorbed by the plant not only causes a decrease in yield, especially under drought stress, but also causes a decrease in the nutritional value of barley and ultimately malnutrition in livestock and humans. Cluster analysis can be used to identify attributes that can be classified into groups and subgroups based on similarity and dissimilarity. This technique is useful for selection in plant breeding programs.

کلیدواژه ها:

Barley ، Agronomic traits ، Grain nutrients ، Drought stress ، Cluster analysis