Abstract

Barley is a major crop grown under harsh environments, where water and salt stress are limiting factors which determine barley growth, development and yield. A total of 14 barley genotypes were exposed to salinity stress at different stages of plant growth (germination, seedling stage, vegetative phase and maturity). The experiment included three six-rowed (Rum, Acsad 176 and Athroh) and 11 two-rowed barley varieties (Yarmouk, Muta’, Tadmor, Arta, Morocco 9–75, WI 2291, Zanbaka, Harmel, Furat 2, Er/Apm and local barley landrace). Barley genotypes were irrigated with 150 mM NaCl (stress treatment) and tap water (no stress treatment or control). A group of genotypes was identified at different growth stages as salt-tolerant using salinity susceptibility index (SSI) as an indicator for salt tolerance. The most tolerant varieties at germination phase were Tadmor, ER/Apm and Harmel with SSI values-0.38, 0 and 0.12, respectively. The most tolerant varieties at seedling stage were Acsad 176, Athroh, Muta'a, Morocco 9–75, Furat 2 and local landrace with SSI ranged from 0.41–0.59, while Morocco 9–75, WI 2291 and Furat 2 were the most salt-tolerant varieties at vegetative phase and displayed the lowest SSI values (0.66, 0.75 and 0.69, respectively). Based on biological yield, the most tolerant varieties were Morocco 9–75, Yarmouk and ER/Apm with minimum reductions in biological yield (reductions= 30.3, 44.3 and 48.5%) and consequently the lowest SSI values (0.51, 0.74 and 0.81, respectively). Based on grain yield, the most tolerant varieties were Athroh (SSI=1.78) followed by Harmel (SSI=1.92) and Muta'a (SSI=1.78), where they displayed minimum reductions in grain yield under salt stress. It is worth mentioning that Morocco 9–75 salt tolerance rank remained consistent and unchanged during different stages of plant development even though it gave low grain yield under salt stress (0.46 g/plant) with medium SSI value (2.18) as compared with other varieties. Therefore, it might be concluded that this variety harbors a potential gene for salt tolerance at different stages of development.