Abstract
Considering water scarcity in Saudi Arabia, flied experiment was performed to assess the growth, grain yield and grain elements content of locally cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Ten landraces were irrigated with three irrigation water sources, tap water (TW), underground water (UW) and treated municipal wastewater (TMW). Significant increase of: growth such as height, tillers and spike length, and number and yield traits, 1000 grain weight and maximum yield per individual plant were recorded in plants treated with TMW compared to the other two irrigation treatments. Further, interaction of irrigation treatments and landraces significantly improved growth and plant yield of LR3 (Ad-Dilam local barley), LR5 (Buraidah local barley) and LR6 (Asir barley) treated with TMW (had the highest height, maximum tiller number, spikes length cm), and grain per spike and plant. Macro and microelement accumulation increased in the grain of barley landraces irrigated with TMW. However, trace elements levels did not exceed safe limits, with exception of Cd in all barley landraces grain was higher > 0.2 mg kg-1. Nevertheless, landraces LR6 (Asir barley) LR7 (Buraydah barley) and LR8 (Hail barley) accumulated Cd within safe limit. TMW is a viable choice for some barley cultivation sustainability to safe drinking and ground water.