Suitability for double cropping of seven varieties of barley (Hordeum vulgare L) in a semi-arid environment of Tunisia

This study was carried out during two cropping seasons, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, in the experimental field ofHigher School ofAgriculture of Keflocated in the North West region of Tunisia. The objective is to evaluate the effect ofdefoliation at (C.31) stage on yield and quality of 7 barley varieties. Results showed that cutting at stage 31 reduced grain yield significantly for 5 varieties: Manel, Souihli, Te); Lemssi and Momtez. Only Rihane has given higher grain yield after defoliation: 3.24 T/ha Vs 295 T/ha and 3.31 T/ha Vs 3.24 T/ha respectively during the first year and the second year of the study. The harvested biomass (Straw + grain yield) after defoliation was the highest for Rihane genotype and the yield was 4,45 T/ha on average for the two years of the study. Neither was Martin significantly affected by cutting at (C.31) stage. Grain yield reduction and total biomass reduction for this genotype did not exceed respectively 11 % and 17 Moreover, barleygrain was not significantly affected by forage removal and grain protein was between 9.9 % and 125 % for the seven genotypes.