Spring freezing injuries and their effects on yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

To understand the spring freezing injury symptoms during sensitive growth stage and yield loss of barley and wheat, field tests were done by using vinyl mulching and natural cold weather. The growth stage sensitive were booting, spikelet differentiation and flower organ development stages for both crops. However, barley and wheat differed in their growth responses, in that barley was less affected than wheat. For instance, barley recorded 28 percent dead ears, 10 percent dead plants and 18 percent ear degenerations while wheat recorded higher values of 59 percent, 44 percent and 44 percent, respectively. Although there were no recorded froze-resistant varieties in both barley and wheat, some showed tolerance as their yields were not affected by freezing stress. The 'Chalbori' cultivars of barley and 'Geurumil' and 'Chokwang' cultivars of wheat recorded steady yields. The yield components of barley and wheat that were greatly affected by freezing stress were the number of spike per square and the number of grain per spike. The major cause of yield loss in Suwon 259 and Kangbori was the number of spike per square but not the number of grain per spike. The study showed, however, that both the number of spike per square and the number of grain per spike were vulnerable to freezing and that which contribute much to yield loss of barley and wheat.