A three-season field trial found that hybrid winter barley is much less likely to produce very poor yields than a traditional pure-line variety, in both drought and soggy years. Looking at the full range of possible yields, not just the average, gives growers a better way to pick varieties and management that protect against bad seasons.
1
The chance of yielding at or below the overall mean (9.62 Mg per ha) was 0.40 for the hybrid versus 0.62 for the pure-line cultivar (P = 0.0002).
2
The hybrid's advantage was greatest in the lower tail of the yield distribution, meaning fewer extreme low yields in both drought and excess-rain seasons.
3
Optimized management combinations cut conditional low-yield risk to 0.09 for the pure-line and 0.24 for the hybrid.
mail
Weekly plant science — one email, Saturdays.
Check your inbox to confirm — link expires in 24 hours.
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many signup attempts from your network. Try again in an hour, or email hello@plant.news.
