Genetic Variability and Trait Association of Semi-Hulled Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Genotypes in North Western Ethiopia

Barley is the fifth most important cereal crop and a secondary center of diversity in Ethiopia, with a large number of accessions preserved in its gene bank. To determine the genetic variability and to assess the associations among morpho-agronomic traits. 22 Semi-hulless genotypes were originated from ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area) was evaluated in the 2022 and 2023 main cropping seasons at Debretabor sub-center agricultural research using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among semi-hulless barley genotypes in all traits except biomass yield, indicating the presence of genotypic variation among the studied genotypes. Fifty percent of the semi-hulless barley genotypes gave significantly higher yields than the grand mean (3349.58) kg ha-1. The genotype (G13) (4392.67 kg ha-1) showed the highest grain yield among all the semi-hulless barley genotypes. The number of grains per spike had a high phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation. Both higher heritability and higher genetic advance were observed for days to heading, number of grains per spike, thousand seed weight, and plant height. Grain yield exhibited positive, highly significant correlations with both genotypic and phenotypic traits, including the number of grains per spike, and harvest index. Both genotypic and phenotypic path coefficient analysis revealed that thousand-seed weight, harvest index, spike length, and number of grains per spike had positive direct effects on grain yield. Thus, these traits could be used as selection criteria for yield improvement in semi-hulless barley.