Barley lines showing prominent high green shoot regeneration in cultures derived from immature embryos

Eighty-four cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare) and 95 wild strains (82 of H. spontaneum and 13 of H. agriocrithon) were surveyed for the production of callus, callus growth, and shoot regeneration in cultures derived from immature embryos. All cultivars except for 'Turkey 381', induced calli from more than 90% of embryos. On the other hand, the wild lines showed a large variation in the percentage of callus induction from 0 to 100%. Among the cultivars, those with the brittle rachis genotype, bt Bt₂, on chromosome 3H, regenerated shoots with a significantly higher percentage than the cultivars with the Bt bt₂ genotype. Green shoots were produced in a higher ratio (0.84) in the cultivars than in the wild lines (0.52). Among the lines examined, 'Lenins' regenerated shoots efficiently (90.4%) and produced the highest number of calli with green shoots per embryo (4.77) followed by 'Golden Promise' (3.15). Examination of callus growth and shoot regeneration from embryos at different developmental stages revealed that scutellum development affected the quantity and quality of callus and shoot regeneration.