Evaluation of genotypic variation for seed iron content and concentration in barley genotypes under dryland conditions

Drought stress and iron (Fe) deficiency are abiotic stress factors limiting crop production and its quality, especially in rainfed areas. With the aim of evaluation of genotypic variation for Fe efficiecny, 121 barley genotypes during the growing season of 2015-2016, a research farm was carried out at the agricultural research institute of the dryland (Maragheh) were studied under rainfed field conditions. . The experiment was conducted in square lattice. Based on ANOVA, there was significant differences among genotypes for seed Fe concentartion and content traits. The high range of variation for these traits showed that there is a great genotypic variation among barley genotypes. The existance of high general heritability (h2) for seed Fe concentration and content could be helpful in breeding for these traits under different environments. Seed Fe concentration had significant and positive correlation (r=0.63**) with seed Fe content. In short, the result of this study revealed the great genotypic variation among barley genotypes for Fe absorption and accumulation in seed. Moreover, the efficient genotypes could alleviate drought stress that will result in higher grain yield with Fe-dense grains under cold dryland conditions.