A study of grain dormancy and viability in spring barley

In field experiments carried out between 1989 and 1991, spring barley was sampled to observe changes in the grain viability and dormancy during grain filling. The weather during the grain filling periods of 1989 and 1990 was unusually warm and dry, and the crop in 1989 was affected by drought. Some grains were capable of germination shortly after anthesis, but were dormant. Dormancy declined with increasing maturity, but was prolonged by low temperatures and reduced by warm weather. Differences were found in the dormancy characteristics of the two cultivars tested. Apart from grains at the extremities of the ear, which were sometimes found to be small and with low viability and greater dormancy, though not significantly so, no consistent differences were found between the viability and dormancy of grains in different positions in the ear.