Barley is one of the major crops in the agricultural zone of the Tyumen region. Over the past five years (2009-2013) barley yields amounted 2,1-2.9 t/ha, the area under the crop varied from 125.1 to 145.6 thousands hectares. The problem of barley varieties selection for cultivation in saline soils has been worked out.

The paper presents evaluation of 53 world collection samples of barley of N.I.Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry to chloride salinity in a simulated environment. The research was carried at the Department of Botany, Biotechnology and Landscape Architecture of the Tyumen State University and Tyumen branch of N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry.

Germination was carried out in Petri dishes, preheated at 175°C for one hour in a hot air oven, on a filter paper in 0.98% saline solution NaCl (7atm) for experience and distilled water for control. Before layout seeds were disinfected for 10 minutes with a 1% solution of KMnO₄.

The sample had size of 50 seeds per plate, repeated experiment 4-х for each sample of barley. Germination was carried out in an incubator TPC-2 at a constant temperature of 22^oC.

The efficiency of selection forms of barley for resistance to salt stressor on the complex features that characterize the ability of seeds to germinate and seedlings biomass formation of the provocative background. The advantage of laboratory tests over the field ones is the ability to explore a large number of collection materials for a relatively short time. When creating a provocative background use 0.98% solution of NaCl (chloride salinity is considered as the most toxic).

The most severe reaction to the effects of salinity on laboratory germination was observed for a length of roots and shoots. In identifying the general pattern, manifested in the reduction in seed germination and seedling morphological traits, there was a mixed reaction to the estimated samples of barley to salinity. One part of the samples was significantly higher than controls on the expression of the studied traits; the other part was characterized by values of features at the level of control and identified samples that are below the control. The majority of the samples studied was signs at the control level or were significantly lower.

In the structure of wet and dry biomass of seedlings under standard conditions and the provocative background marked predominance of roots. However, the proportion of the roots under salinity as compared to the control was reduced in the raw biomass and increased dry seedlings. Perhaps this is due to the large accumulation of moisture roots under salinity and its active loss on drying.

It was established that for the detection of salt-tolerant forms appropriate to use the ratio of the length of roots and shoots in the control and experimental variants. This indicator is more stable in the group of salt-tolerant designs and varied considerably in samples with less stability.

On the basis of analysis and generalization of experimental data on a set of characteristics (laboratory germination, length and weight of roots and shoots, the number of embryonic roots) collection of barley is divided into three groups: salt tolerant (30,2%), sensitive to salinity (47,2%) and salt-resistant samples (22,6%).

The 16 barley samples that are resistant to salinity were from 5 regions of the Russian Federation (Chelyabinsk, Samara, Rostov, Kirov, Saint-Petersburg area) and 6 foreign countries (Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Turkey, Ethiopia, Ukraine). Samples were treated to 2 subspecies (Hordeum distichon L., Hordeum vulgare L.) and 8 botanical species (nutans, triceros, medicim, ibericum, ricotense, pallidum, grseinigrum, horsfordianum).

Key words: salinity, resistance, barley, morphometric parameters, seedling, sample.