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Leaf Area Relationships and Inheritance in Barley¹

Five barley, Hordeum vulgare L., populations were used in a study of leaf area. Information was obtained on estimation of leaf area, leaf area relationships on single plants and on inheritance and gain from selection. The formula, leaf width x leaf length x b, where b is the regression coefficient of actual leaf area on the width-length product, provided a relatively good estimate of leaf area. Our results suggest that a coefficient of b = .69 would be satisfactory for most situations. However, the coefficients that were estimated differed significantly from one population to the other and for different leaves. Area per leaf increased progressively from the flag to the third leaf below the flag in the populations studied. Leaf area of adjacent leaves was highly correlated suggesting that it may be difficult to develop plants that have individual leaves of distinctly different size.

Heritability estimates of leaf area, parent-progeny method, ranged from .18 to .73 on the F₃ and F₄ plant basis, and from .24 to .49 on the family or plot basis, without replication. The mean estimates of gain from one generation of selection on the plant basis were 41 and 20% of the mean leaf area for the flag and the first leaf below the flag, respectively. Hence, the results should be encouraging to those who contemplate breeding programs in grass species aimed at altering leaf area.

Key Words: Hordeum vulgare L. • Leaf size • Plant-type • Plant-design

² Formerly graduate student and Professor of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn. 55101.

Received for publication April 10, 1969.