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Effects of inter-varietal diversity, biotic stresses and environmental productivity on grain yield of spring barley variety mixtures

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Abstract

Varietal seed mixtures tend to increase and stabilize crop yields, yet their application is sparse. Large-scale cultivation of variety mixtures may require a better understanding of how inter-varietal interactions and their interaction with the environment may influence the grain yield of variety mixtures relative to their component varieties. For this purpose, six variety mixtures of spring barley and 14 component varieties were grown in each of 17 trial environments. A total of 28 observed and a priori plant characteristics, including grain yield, disease severity and weed competitiveness, were derived for each component variety in each trial. The relationship between inter-varietal diversity of each characteristic and the mixing effect on grain yield was analysed. Additionally, various types of yield stability were estimated and compared among mixtures and component varieties. One mixture out-yielded all of its component varieties in almost half of the trial environments. Inter-varietal diversity in grain yield potential correlated significantly with mixing effect, as did straw length diversity when weighted with weed pressure. The grain yields of most mixtures were more stable across environments than their component varieties when accounting also for the general response to environmental productivity. Hence, most mixtures adapted slightly better to environmental productivity and were less sensitive to environmental stress than their component varieties. We conclude that the efficacy of variety mixtures may be enhanced by mixing relatively high-yielding varieties differing in responsiveness to environmental productivity.

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Acknowledgments

Data were obtained from the BAR-OF project (DARCOF II, 2000–2005), funded by the International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS, Denmark). We would like to thank Kristian Kristensen, Maria Finckh and two anonymous reviewers for useful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.

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Author notes

  1. Lars P. Kiær

    Present address: Department of Agriculture and Ecology, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

  2. Hanne Østergård

    Present address: Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, DTU, 2800, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biosystems Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark, DTU, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Lars P. Kiær & Hanne Østergård

  2. Department of Basic Sciences and Environment, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Lars P. Kiær & Ib M. Skovgaard

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  1. Lars P. Kiær
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Correspondence to Lars P. Kiær.

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Kiær, L.P., Skovgaard, I.M. & Østergård, H. Effects of inter-varietal diversity, biotic stresses and environmental productivity on grain yield of spring barley variety mixtures. Euphytica 185, 123–138 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-012-0640-1

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