Dissecting the phenotypic diversity of Ethiopian barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)  genotypes through variance components and multivariate analysis | Preučevanje fenoptipske raznolikosti etiopskih genotipov ječmena (Hordeum vulgare L.) na osnovi variance in multivariatne analize

English. Exploring the genetic diversity of barley germplasm conserved in the gene bank is critical for climate-resilient breeding. This study explored the phenotypic diversity and associations of 10 quantitative agro-morphological traits among 229 Ethiopian barley genotypes to identify desirable traits and promising accessions. The experiment was conducted at Holeta Agricultural Research Center in 2023 using an augmented design. The result of the analysis of variance revealed significant variation among the studied genotypes. A significant variability and wide range of mean performance were observed for the studied traits. Key traits like heading and maturity, grain filling period, 1000-kernel mass, kernel number per spike, and productive tillers were the most discriminating traits contributing to the highest variability (46.9 %). Cluster analysis identified three major trait-specific clusters. Grain yield exhibits a moderate correlation with plant height and kernel number per spike. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were obtained for grain yield, productive tillers, kernel number per spike, and spikelet per spike. In addition, high heritability and genetic advance were observed for days to heading, productive tillers, spike length, kernel number and spikelet per spike, and grain yield suggesting selective breeding for these traits is likely to be effective for crop improvement programs.

Slovenian. Preučevanje genetske raznolikosti ječmena shranjenega v genski banki je nujno potrebno za podnebno odporno žlahtnjenje. V raziskavi je bila preučevana fenotipska raznolikost in z njo povezane lastnosti desetih kvantitativnih agro-morfoloških lastnosti med 229 etiopskimi genotipi ječmena z namenom določiti željene lastnosti in obetavne akcesije.  Izsledki analize variance so pokazali značilne raznolikosti med preučevanimi genotipi. Med preučevanimi lastnostmi je bila ugotovljena značilna variabilnost z širokim razponom poprečij. Ključne lastnosti kot so čas do klasenja, zrelost, obdobje polnjenja zrnja, masa 1000-zrn, število zrn na klas, in število fertilnih poganjkov so se najbolj razlikovale in so največ prispevale (46.9 %). S klastersko analizo so bili prepoznani trije specifični grozdi, glede na glavne lastnosti. Pridelek zrnja je pokazal zmerno korelacijo z višino rastlin in številom zrn na klas. Doseženi so bili veliki fenotipični in genotipični koeficienti raznolikosti za pridelek zrnja, plodne poganjke, število zrn na klas in število klaskov na klas. Dodatno je bila opažena velika dednost in genetska prednost v znakih kot so število dni do klasenja, v številu plodnih poganjkov, v dolžini klasa, v številu zrn in klaskov na klas ter v pridelku zrnja, kar nakazuje, da bi bilo selektivno žlahtnjenje za te lastnosti verjetno učinkovito v programih izboljšanja te poljščine.