Barley is a very important crop worldwide and has good impact in preserving food security. The impacts of 10 mM proline and 0.5 mM salicylic acid were evaluated on water stressed barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L. Giza126). Salicylic acid and proline treatments led to increased stem length, plant dry weights, chlorophyll concentration, relative water content, activity of antioxidant enzymes, and grain yield under drought stress. Nevertheless, lipid peroxidation, electrolyte leakage (EL), superoxide (O2·−), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) significantly decreased in treated barley plants with proline and salicylic acid in both growing seasons as compared with drought treatment only, which caused significant decrease in stem length, plant dry weights, chlorophyll concentration, activity of antioxidant enzymes, as well as biological and grain yield. These results demonstrated the importance of salicylic acid and proline as tolerance inducers of drought stress in barley plants.

This study is intended to identify barely genotypes efficient for water use. For this, a field experiment was conducted at Sakha Research Station. The experimental design was randomize complete block with three replicates during 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 growing seasons. Twenty barely genotypes were grown under two water application treatments ((full irrigation (FI) and water stress (WS)). The values of applied irrigation water were 3430 and 1995 m3/ha under WS and FI, respectively, being lower by 42%, compared to FI amount, average over the two seasons. The interaction between barley genotypes and irrigation water revealed that plant height of line-7, spike length and number of grains/spike of line-6, number of spikes/m2 of Giza133, and grain and biological yields of line-5 were the least affected by WS, compared with their values under FI.  The highest values of WUE under WS were found for line-6 and line-11, which also attained the highest WP Line-8 and line-13, expressed the highest value of mean productivity, geometric mean productivity and stress tolerance indices. Furthermore, line-7 had the highest value of stress susceptibility index. Thus, based on WUE, WP and drought tolerance indices, it could be concluded that line-6, line-7, line-8, line-11 and line-13 have the ability to withstand water stress and could be selected for breeding programs for water use efficiency.

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This comparative study was conducted to access the drought tolerance and yield stability in different genotypes of barley. Study was conducted in growing seasons of 2013-14 and 2014-15 by imposing two water regimes viz. optimal and water stressed. Result of study revealed sufficient genetic variability among the genotypes, substantial expression of genetic potential and the importance of selection was based on stress condition. The mean squares of irrigation regimes explained most of the variations for all the traits in both growing seasons, indicating the relative importance of the genotypes in drought tolerance. Water deficient conditions highly affect the various growth parameters, yield and yield traits in both the studied growing seasons. Among the studied genotypes, Line 2 genotype have minimum heading and maturity time so this genotype could be use as a source of earliness in breeding program. Further, Line 7 and Line 11 genotypes showed highest yield potential under water deficit condition in both seasons, possessed high values for MP, YSI, STI, GMP, YI, and least SSI values less than one indicating suitability of these genotypes for drought tolerance and desirability for both water deficit and non-deficit conditions.

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