Dry matter accumulation of winter wheat and barley at different sowing dates

Dry matter accumulation is one of the best estimates for crop reaction to the effect of genotype or environmental factors. However, there is a lack of information about comparative crop growth between wheat and barley under conditions of the Pannonian climate. The objectives of this work were to study and compare the patterns of biomass accumulation in wheat and barley, and identify the role of the logistic curve parameters in the determination of the final biomass. Therefore, field trials with two two-row winter barley and two winter wheat cultivars were carried out in two successive growing seasons with four sowing dates. Results from our study showed that grain yield and crop biomass were under significant influence of cultivar and sowing date in both growing seasons. The highest grain yield and crop biomass at maturity were obtained with early sowing - first and second sowing date. There was a significant positive relationship between the crop biomass and grain yield in both species. Barley and wheat had similar strategies for biomass determination. Crop biomass at maturity was positively associated with the duration of growing phases, while the relationship with weighted mean absolute growth rate was negative. Early sowing enables prolongation in duration of different phases of crop biomass accumulation, leading to significant biomass and grain yield increase.