Abstract:

In order to screen high-quality germplasm of hulless barley suitable for functional food research and development, and establish a multi-trait collaborative evaluation system, 11 new lines of spring hulless barley selected by Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the control variety ‘Longke 1’ were used as materials in this study. Seven growth indexes such as tiller number, plant height and ear length, and six nutritional indexes such as crude protein, β-glucan and total dietary fiber were measured. The correlation degree between the indexes was quantified by grey correlation analysis method to comprehensively evaluate the strains. The yield of the tested varieties all reached more than 5000 kg/hm², and the quality reached the national excellent standard, especially the β-glucan content, which was all above 5%. The yield of the strain 202004 is the highest, reaching 7618.47 kg/hm², and its β-glucan and Insoluble dietary fiber contents are higher than the CK, reaching 6.78% and 16.77% respectively. The gray correlation analysis results showed that the correlation values between the selected growth indicators and nutritional indicators were high, both above 0.6. Among them, ear length is the dominant factor in crude protein and ash content. Plant height is the dominant factor in β-glucan. Blade width is the dominant factor in EXTRACT and total dietary fiber. Tiller number is the dominant factor in crude fat. Leaf length is the dominant factor in yield, and crude fat is a secondary factor. This strain can be considered for development in health care. The early management to promote seedling growth should be the main focus in the cultivation.

Key words: grey correlation analysis, functional hulless barley, evaluation of the new lines, growth indicators, nutritional indicators