Stability of variety mixtures of spring barley

Summary

Six 3-component variety mixtures of spring barley and their component varieties have been grown in 17 different environments (3 years, 3 locations, 3 different growing systems). For three of the six mixtures, the grain yield was significantly higher than the average yield of its components; in none of the mixtures it was significantly lower. The variation in grain yield over environments of all variety mixtures was compared to the variation of all component varieties. The six mixtures were on average more stable than the 14 component varieties grown in pure stands with respect to actual yield as well as to rank values of yield.