A diallel cross analysis of gum content in barley (Hordeum vulgare)

A diallel cross analysis of gum content in barley (Hordeum vulgare) was made using six cultivars of two-rowed spring barley as parents. A Jinks-Hayman analysis of F2 progeny means showed that gum content was controlled by a simple additive-dominance genetic system and that low gum content was strongly dominant. The analysis suggested that gum content was principally controlled by two or three genes showing a high degree of dominance. Some genotype-environment interaction was detected in a comparison between the F2 and F3 generations which were grown in different years and locations. However, the character was found to be highly heritable both within and between generations, suggesting that the selection and breeding of barleys of reduced gum content should not be difficult.