Mutated Barley: A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Food Security and Biodiversity Management

Ouhoud  Al-Ragam; Habibah S.  Al-Menaie

doi:10.4236/wjet.2015.33B010

Habibah S. Al-Menaie^*, Ouhoud Al-Ragam

Abstract: Increased agricultural production under the harsh environmental conditions with limited water resources and scarce natural resources is a major challenge in arid regions like Kuwait. The implementation of sustainable agricultural practices holds paramount importance in delivering better agricultural environment for increased production. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one among the most dependable cereal crops under saline and drought conditions. Mutant barley genotypes that have evolved under stress conditions using the improved genetic resources have the desired morphological, physiological and agronomic traits. As Kuwait lack local barley genotypes, it is important to find suitable barley genotypes adaptable to drought and salinity, with high crop water productivity. In this study, several mutant barley varieties were screened for better performance under drought and salinity, with high feed quality. The growth performance and the nutritive value of twelve different barley cultivars were evaluated under both fresh and brackish water irrigation in Kuwait. The seeds of the superior lines were multiplied for fodder production trials and their nutritive value was evaluated in animal production systems. It was found that two parental lines Gustoe and California Marriot and two mutant barley genotypes ari-e.228 and Golden Promise produced high grain yield of 3 - 4 ton/ha. The mutant genotype Golden Promise was the most tolerant, while ari-e.156 was the most susceptible genotype to saline stress. Both proximate analysis and animal feeding trial showed that the dry matter content of the air dry straws varied from 91.26% to 93.35%. The crude fat contents were within the acceptable range (1.13% to 1.93%), and high concentrations of ash and crude protein were found in straw in all genotypes. Thus, the evolution of farming systems that are economically viable, competitive, sustainable and environmental friendly improves the production efficiency, productivity and product quality of various crops.

Keywords: Mutant Barley, Fresh Water Irrigation, Brackish Water Irrigation

Cite this paper: Al-Menaie, H. and Al-Ragam, O. (2015) Mutated Barley: A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for Food Security and Biodiversity Management. World Journal of Engineering and Technology, 3, 57-64. doi: 10.4236/wjet.2015.33B010.

References

[1] Druka, A., Sato, K. and Muehlbauer, G.J. (2011) Genome Analysis: The State of Knowledge of Barley Genes. In: Ullrich, S.E., Ed., Barley: Production, Improvement, and Uses, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., United Kingdom. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470958636.ch4

[2] Jana, S. and Wilen, R.W. (2005) Breeding for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Barley. In: Ashraf, M. and Harris, P.J.C., Eds., Abiotic Stresses: Plant Resistance through Breeding and Molecular Approaches, Food Product Press, New York.

[3] KISR (1996) Agricultural Master Plan of the State of Kuwait (1995-2015): Plan Overview. Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait.

[4] Parry, M.A., Pippa, J.J., Bayon, M.C., Katie, T., Hernandez-Lopez, A., Marcela, B., Mariann, R., Walid, H., Al-Yassin, A., Ouabbou, H., Labhilili, M. and Phillips, A.L. (2009) Mutation Discovery for Crop Improvement. Journal of Experimental Botany, 60, 2817-2825. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erp189

[5] AOAC (2002) Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International. 16th Edition, AOAC, Arlington.

[6] NRC (1984) Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle. 6th Edition, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington DC.

[7] Hollena, N., Halim, A. and Ramlan, M.A. (2006) The Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization Levels on the Straw Nutritive Quality of Malaysian Rice Varieties. Journal of Agronomy, 5, 482-491. http://dx.doi.org/10.3923/ja.2006.482.491

[8] Ensminger, M.E., Oldfield, J.E. and Heinemann, W.W. (1990) Feeds and Nutrition. The Ensminger Publishing Company, Clovis.