Reverse introduction of two‐ and six‐rowed barley lines from the United States into Egypt.

In the current study, 248 two‐rowed and another 253 six‐rowed spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) breeding lines from several US barley breeding programs were evaluated in multiple locations in Egypt to select for potentially adapted lines. The introduced plant materials were planted in two locations during three growing seasons (2015, 2016, and 2017). The focus of the first growing season was to increase available seeds and collect preliminary observations. During the second and third growing seasons, the advanced plant materials and local check cultivars were planted in an incomplete block design in two replicates within three locations. Grain yield, leaf rust, number of days to flowering, and plant height were measured. Based on grain yield production, the top 94 lines from the two‐rowed and 100 from the six‐rowed barley lines were selected and advanced for further evaluation in 2017. The introduced materials contained several lines that consistently outperformed the check cultivars. Therefore, these lines could be used as parents to improve barley production and enhance genetic diversity or be directly released as cultivars after appropriate testing in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]