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Performance of Spring Barley in Narrow Rows¹

Several researchers in the U. S. and Canada have investigated the effect of row spacing on yield and other agronomic traits of small grains with variable results. The objective of this study was to compare the performance of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L. emend Bowden) seeded in a very narrow row spacing (7.5 cm) with two row spacings (15 and 30 cm) commonly used in production agriculture and in experimental research. Three genotypes were planted at Madison, WI, in 1975 and 1976, in a St. Charles silt loam soil (Typic Hapludalf, fine-silty, mixed, mesic) and at Arlington, WI, in 1977, in a Piano silt loam soil (Typic Arguidoll, fine-silty, mixed, mesic). A seeding rate of 134 kg/ha was used in all row spacings. The three environments had yield levels ranging from high to low, due primarily to differences in rainfall.

When results were combined over environments, 7.5 cm-rows yielded 4% more grain than 15-cm rows and 12% more grain than 30-cm rows. These differences were significant, but differences were not always significant for a single environment. Straw yield response to row spacing was similar in magnitude to the grain yield response. The increased grain and straw yields in narrower rows were attributed to greater tillering. There was significantly less lodging in 7.5-cm rows than in 15 and 30-cm rows in the two environments in which lodging occurred.

Although the grain and straw yield improvements in this study may not be large enough to encourage changing to grain drills with a row spacing narrower than 15 cm, the reduced lodging in 7.5-cm rows may be an added advantage when lodging is substantial.

Key Words: Hordeum vulgare L. emend Bowden • Grain yield • Lodging • Row spacing

² Assistant professor and research specialist, Dep. of Agronomy, and associate professor, Dep. of Meat and Animal Science, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706.

Received for publication October 4, 1978.