Open Access

ARTICLE

Exploring Qualitative and Quantitative Genetic Variations of Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Genotypes Grown under Heat Stress Conditions

Nadira Mokarroma¹, Imrul Mosaddek Ahmed¹, Md. Romij Uddin², Md. Shihab Uddine Khan^3,*, Zakaria Alam^4,*, Nahid Afridi⁵, Sadia Afroz Ritu⁶, Md. Motiar Rohman⁷, Suman Biswas⁸, Abul Fazal Mohammad Shamim Ahsan¹, A. A. M. Mohammad Mustakim¹, Hela Znazen⁹, Ahmed Gaber¹⁰, Akbar Hossain^11,*

1 Plant Physiology Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur, Bangladesh
2 Department of Agronomy, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
3 Agricultural Research Station, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Satkhira, Bangladesh
4 Tuber Crops Research Centre, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh
5 Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
6 Department of Crop Botany, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
7 Plant Breeding Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh
8 Department of Statistics and Data Science, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh
9 Department of Physical Sports Sciences, College of Sports Sciences and Physical Activity, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
10 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
11 Division of Soil Science, Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur, Bangladesh

* Corresponding Authors: Md. Shihab Uddine Khan. Email: ; Zakaria Alam. Email: ; Akbar Hossain. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Plant Breeding and Genetic Improvement: Leveraging Molecular Markers and Novel Genetic Strategies)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2026, 95(8), 20 https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2026.086460

Received 31 May 2026; Accepted 25 June 2026; Issue published 28 August 2026

Abstract

Heat stress is a major abiotic constraint limiting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) productivity in regions experiencing rising temperatures. This study evaluated the genetic variability and morphophysiological as well as yield responses of 50 barley genotypes under control and heat-stressed conditions to identify superior lines for thermotolerance breeding. A completely randomized design (CRD) with replications was used, and data was collected for ten morpho-physiological and yield traits. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated highly significant (p ≤ 0.001) effects of genotype, treatment, and their interaction on most of the measured traits. Wide phenotypic variation was observed for grain yield (1.62–9.60 g plant⁻¹) and thousand-grain weight (19.18–40.02 g). High genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, heritability, and genetic advance for grain yield plant⁻¹, total biomass accumulation plant⁻¹, and leaf area plant⁻¹ indicated strong additive genetic control. Correlation and network analyses showed strong positive associations among plant height, total biomass accumulation plant⁻¹, chlorophyll content, leaf area plant⁻¹, thousand-grain weight, and grain yield plant⁻¹. Heatmap clustering and the multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index (MGIDI) identified BD7194, BD7188, BD8579, BD9681, and IBON14 as best heat-tolerant genotypes. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed variation primarily driven by grain yield plant⁻¹, leaf area plant⁻¹, and number grains spike⁻¹. Overall, these findings demonstrate substantial genetic variation for heat tolerance and identify promising genotypes that can be used as valuable resources for developing climate-resilient barley cultivars suited to heating environments.

---

Keywords

---

Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material File

---