Maximizing malt barley (Hordeum distichum L.) potential: A participatory evaluation of yield and agronomic traits in released varieties in North Gondar, Ethiopia

Malt barley (Hordeum distichum L.) plays a critical role in Ethiopia's agro-industrial development and smallholder livelihoods; however, productivity and quality remain below potential due to limited use of improved varieties and inconsistent agronomic performance across environments. To address this gap, a field experiment was conducted in North Gondar to evaluate the performance of six improved malt barley varieties with a focus on yield, key agronomic traits, and grain quality, using a participatory research approach. The study employed a randomized complete block design with three replications over two consecutive growing seasons. The tested varieties included Holker, HB1963, Sabine, Ibone174/03, EH1847, and Freygebse. Results revealed that critical crop traits such as days to 50% heading, days to 90% physiological maturity, effective tiller number, number of kernels per spike, grain yield, biological yield, and straw yield were significantly influenced (p < 0.05) by both variety and growing season. Significant interaction effects between variety and growing season were also observed for all traits, except plant height and number of kernels per spike (p > 0.05). Moreover, plant height and spike length were not significantly affected by varietal differences (p > 0.05). Grain quality assessments showed that all varieties, with the exception of Holker and HB1963, had protein contents within the optimal range of 9.5%–11.5% suitable for malting. Through participatory variety selection, local farmers identified EH1847 and Holker as top performers based on a range of agronomic and quality criteria. Therefore, among the evaluated varieties, EH1847 consistently excelled across seasons, demonstrating superior yield, favorable agronomic traits, and desirable grain quality.