B. Dyulgerova, D. Valcheva
Abstract. Twenty two double haploid lines from winter malting barley breeding program of the Institute of Agriculture – Karnobat were tested in randomized complete block design with four replications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the breeding potential of double haploid lines of winter malting barley using multiple selection indices. Selection indices used included: Elston’s index, Baker’s index, Rank summation index and a simple-weighted index as proposed by Wehner. The significant correlation between selection indices calculated for 6 quality traits (1000 grain weight, hectoliter weight, malt extract content, protein content, germination on day 3 and grain grading) and indices based on the most important 4 (1000 grain weight, hectoliter weight, malt extract content and protein content) quality traits was found, indicating that the 4-trait indices could be substituted using 6-trait indices to save work in data collection. Selection indices were calculated using the most important 4 quality traits and grain yield. The lines A 9/16, A 8/3, A 25/19, A 15/2 combine the desired quality characteristics with high grain yield and can be selected for further evaluation in a breeding program of winter malting barley.