This study explores the potential of Spanish germplasm for the development of hybrids adapted to southern Europe, a new region for hybrid barley (Hordeum vulgare). A set of 140 locally adapted, advanced breeding lines, developed in a Spanish public breeding program, were evaluated for their potential to widen the germplasm available for hybrid barley development. A subset of 24 lines was introduced into three-way hybrid combinations and tested in a field trial network of four locations and 2 yr. The hybrid performance of the rest of the lines was estimated based on genomic prediction models. No three-way hybrid exceeded the best check. We succeeded in identifying lines with high general combining ability, which could produce promising two-way hybrids. Some were among those tested in the field, whereas others resulted from genomic predictions, validating the strategy followed of mining locally adapted breeding lines. Rachis brittleness detected in field trials revealed a low but detrimental effect of the presence of alternative brittle mutations in the hybrid combination. The success of hybrid breeding in southern Europe requires further investigation of the underlying heterotic patterns, and appropriate management of brittle genes through prebreeding, to widen the germplasm accessible for hybrid barley breeding.

中文翻译：

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鉴定适应性育种系以改良西班牙的大麦杂交种

本研究探讨了西班牙种质资源在开发适应南欧杂交大麦（Hordeum vulgare). 在西班牙公共育种计划中开发的一组 140 个适应当地情况的先进育种系被评估为扩大可用于杂交大麦开发的种质资源的潜力。将 24 条线路的子集引入三路混合组合，并在 4 个地点和 2 年的现场试验网络中进行测试。基于基因组预测模型估计其余品系的杂交性能。没有三路混合动力车超过最佳检查。我们成功地鉴定出具有高综合结合能力的品系，这些品系可以产生有前途的双向杂种。有些是在现场测试的，而另一些则来自基因组预测，验证了挖掘当地适应的育种系所遵循的策略。在田间试验中检测到的轴脆性揭示了杂交组合中存在替代脆性突变的低但有害的影响。南欧杂交育种的成功需要进一步研究潜在的杂种优势模式，并通过预育种适当管理脆弱基因，以扩大杂交大麦育种可获得的种质资源。