NATURAL VARIATION AMONG BARLEY KERNELS

The variation of barley kernels was studied among and within small bre eders' plots and within individual barley plants. Differences between the basal, middle, and apical regions of the ear, and differences amon g individual kernels from different positions in the ear were examined . Kernel weight and protein content varied widely in single kernels of Alexis barleys grown in small plots in different European countries. Sieving tests of three regional fractions of the ear indicated that th e kernels of apical fractions were smaller than those of the other two regions. This was also clearly demonstrated by weights of single kern els. The average protein contents of the three regional fractions of t he ear did not differ significantly in most cases. However, the variat ion within one ear and between main and secondary stems of the same pl ants was of the same magnitude as that among different plants. The bet a-glucan contents did not vary significantly between the three regiona l fractions, among individual kernels, or between main and secondary s tems. Germination behavior determined by traditional methods did not v ary significantly within the ear. However, the Germination Index of th e apical fractions was, in some cases, slightly higher than that of th e other fractions of the ear.