Yield Performance, Stability and Grain Quality of Spring Barley Genotypes under Climatic Variability
Spring barley is a crop of major agronomic and industrial importance, widely used for malting and well suited to short crop rotations due to its reduced vegetation period. Under current climate change conditions, the identification of genotypes that combine high yield potential with stable performance across diverse environments is of increasing importance. During the period 2021-2023, a total of 25 spring barley genotypes were evaluated at the Agricultural Research and Development Station (ARDS) Turda in a comparative field trial arranged in a randomized block design with five replications. Grain yield was assessed in relation to key agronomic traits and grain quality parameters. Two advanced breeding lines, To 2033/18 and To 1990/18, recently registered as the varieties Ioana and Dumbrăvița, were additionally tested within the national SITRV multilocation network. The variety Ioana achieved grain yields ranging from 6,000 to 7,700 kg/ha, with maximum values recorded at the Dej and Sibiu locations, indicating a high yield potential under favorable conditions. Dumbrăvița recorded yields between 5.500 and 6.800 kg/ha and showed a high degree of yield stability across environments. Protein content varied between 10.28% and 11.38%. Compared with the standard variety Romaniţa, both newly registered cultivars demonstrated clear genetic progress. Ioana is a high-yielding malting-type variety recommended for intensive cropping systems, while Dumbrăvița is characterized by high stability and ecological plasticity, being well adapted to variable pedoclimatic conditions.