Abstract
Main conclusion
Soil acidity in Ethiopian highlands impacts barley production, affecting root system architecture. Study on 300 accessions showed significant trait variability, with potential for breeding enhancement.
Abstract
Soil acidity poses a significant challenge to crop production in the highland regions of Ethiopia, particularly impacting barley, a crucial staple crop. This acidity serves as a key stressor affecting the root system architecture (RSA) of this crop. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the RSA traits variability under acidic soil conditions using 300 barley accessions in a greenhouse experiment. The analysis of variance indicated substantial variations among the accessions across all traits studied. The phenotypic coefficient of variation ranged from 24.4% for shoot dry weight to 11.1% for root length, while the genotypic coefficient variation varied between 18.83 and 9.2% for shoot dry weight and root length, respectively. The broad-sense heritability ranged from 36.7% for leaf area to 69.9% for root length, highlighting considerable heritability among multiple traits. The genetic advances as a percent of the mean ranged from 13.63 to 29.9%, suggesting potential for enhancement of these traits through breeding efforts. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into two major clusters, each containing varying numbers of genotypes with contrasting traits. This diverse group presents an opportunity to access a wide range of potential parent candidates to enhance genetic variablity in breeding programs. The Pearson correlation analysis revealed significant negative associations between root angle (RA) and other RSA traits. This helps indirect selection of accessions for further improvement in soil acidity. In conclusion, this study offers valuable insights into the RSA characteristics of barley in acidic soil conditions, aiding in the development of breeding strategies to enhance crop productivity in acidic soil environments.
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Abbreviations
- GCV:
-
Genotypic coefficients of variation
- PCV:
-
Phenotypic coefficients of variation
- RA:
-
Root angle
- RSA:
-
Root system architecture
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Ministry of Education, Ethiopia. We acknowledge Department of Horticulture and Plant Science, College of Agriculture and Veterinary medicine, Jimma University and greenhouse team to allow us to use the high-throughput root phenotyping platform.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Girma Abebe, Temesgen Menamo, and Amsalu Nebiyu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Girma Abebe and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Abebe, G., Nebiyu, A., Bantte, K. et al. Root system architecture variation among barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) accessions at seedling stage under soil acidity condition. Planta 259, 145 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04424-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04424-z