Abstract
The Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was used to analyze the genetic material (DNA) of ten local barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes with five primers for using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The results of the genetic relationships among the studied cultivars indicated that five primers provided twenty seven bands, eleven (40%) were polymorphic. These polymorphic bands were used in the statistical analyses to provide the genetic similarity matrix and dendrograms. Paired comparison analysis was carried out to measure the genetic similarity between the cultivars. The results of the analysis indicated that the values of the genetic similarity ranged from 0.474 between Acsad-176 and Delimi, and 1.000 between Tagermin and Wadi Alhai. The genetic tree obtained had two branches (groups of cultivars); the first group contained six cultivars and the second contained four cultivars. The genetic tree indicated that Acsad-176 was the most distant genetically from the other cultivars. On the other hand, Tagermin and Wadi Alhai were the most related cultivars genetically. The ten studied barley cultivars seemed to have a great deal in common in their genetic materials as a result of a tightly linked genetic base.