Phenotypic Diversity in Barley Ecotypes of Arid- zone of Iran

In this study 278 ecotypes of cultivated barley were evaluated for qualitative and quantitative traits within a trial in SPII experimental field (Karaj, Iran). Different characters showed different levels of diversity based on descriptive statistics and Shannon diversity index. Yield, number of spikelet per spike and plant height represented the highest diversity between quantitative traits based on coefficient of variation (CV). In quantitative traits, growth habit, grain color and lemma type were the most diverse traits. Number of spikelet per spike was significantly correlated with grain yield indicating their close relationship. Cluster analysis based on agronomical and morphological traits and the origin of morphotypes resulted in clustering the ecotypes into four different groups.