Weed phenotypes are mainly the result of interaction between genotype and environment and could be beneficial in weed management approaches. Phenotypic diversity for 30 wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum Koch) populations were investigated (28 populations collected from Fars and two others from Lorestan and Kermanshah provinces of Iran). investigatedThe study was conducted under glasshouse condition at Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center from October 2014 to April 2015. The experiment was based on a completely randomized design (CRD) with four replications. The plants were collected randomly at three different phenological stages, three leaves (ZGS13), heading emergence (ZGS60) and ripened (ZGS99) stages. The results revealed that in all three growth stages the studied parameters were significantly different amoung various populations. According to the results, populations were divided into three, six and five groups in accordance with the studied stages, respectively. PCA analysis indicated that plant biomass, plant height and spike length were the most effective traits for population distinction. Biomass showed positive and significant correlation with other traits except for the days to ripen. Furthermore, seed weight and biomass were strongly correlated. Mantel test showed no significant correlation between population characteristics and geographic distances. Generally, populations and groups with the maximum similarity belonged to comparable latitudes. Populations grown in similar annual mean temperature; mean August and mean January temperatures, and annual precipitation showed the maximum similarity. Ultimately we may conclude that phenotypic populations may be valuable features of wild barley populations in employing the most suitable weed management approach.

Keywords