Abstract:
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is globally an important cereal crop, mainly used for food, animal
feed and brewing. In Ethiopia, it is the fifth most important cereal crop after teff, wheat, maize
and sorghum both in terms of area covered and production. In spite of the importance of barley,
its productivity and production has remained low. Barley shoot fly (Delia flavibasis Stein) has
been a major constraint to barley production at the seedling stage among other insect pests.
Infestation levels of up to 100% of D. flavibasis and significant yield losses on susceptible barley
cultivars were frequently reported in the highlands of Bale, Ethiopia. Host plant resistance is one
of the most effective methods in managing this insect pest. Resistance to barley shoot fly is
governed by complex traits that derived from biophysical or morphological and/or genetic
characters of the plant.
