Soil salinity is one of the constraints of crop production in Egypt. The aims of this study
were to identify genomic regions associated with grain weight and its related traits along with their
salinity tolerance indices and to identify the most salinity tolerant and high-yielding genotypes.
Therefore, we evaluated an advanced backcross mapping population of barley in newly reclaimed soil
under two salinity levels of groundwater aquifers in South of Sinai, Egypt. We detected significant
QTL associated with grain weight related attributes and the salinity tolerance index (STI) distributed
throughout the whole genome of barley, which can be used to enhance salinity tolerance. Moreover,
the markers bPb-3739 (4H, 96.3 cM), AF043094A (5H, 156 cM), bPb-8161 (7H, 2.22 cM), and bPb-5260
(7H, 115.6 cM), were the most important identified genomic regions corresponding to vernalization,
dwarfing and dehydrin genes, which are correlated with salinity tolerance. Additionally, the doubled
haploid lines SI001, SI043, SI044, SI028, SI242, SI035, and SI005 had the highest STI values based on
yield average. The present study demonstrated that wild and elite barley do harbor novel valuable
alleles, which can enrich the genetic basis of cultivated barley and improve quantitative agronomic
traits under salinity conditions.