This study was aimed to provide understanding on the eco-physiological response of barley tillers as affected by difference in seeding date. Yield and yield contribution rates of tillers were investigated with the data of field experiments in the former Wheat and Barley Research Institute of Suwon, Korea from September 1982 to July 1984. When barley was sowed 15 days earlier than or at the locally recommended sowing date (i.e. October 5), it produced more mainstem leaves than the that sowed 15 days later than the local recommendation. The effective tillers (i.e. ear-bearing tillers) were observed in concurrently occurring leaves up to 10/0 (abbreviation of the 10th mainstem leaf) from early and optimum sowed crops, while 9/0 from late sowed crops. Tillering followed the production rule of Gatayama(l952) which has the linear leaf appearance pattern. Early sowing produced more effective tillers, but the highest production of effective ears (i.e. ears heavier than 0.505g) was noticed in sowing at the recommended date. The tillers in the axil of first leaf in mainstem (abbreviated as 1) produced more effective ears than other mainstem tillers (i.e. primary tillers such as C, 2, 3 and 4). The tillers from the axil of first leaf, whether they were primary or secondary, always performed better in the production of effective tillers, grains per ear, grain weight, and grain yield per ear than those from the axil of coleoptile or prophyll. Other tillers from subsequent leaves were also inferior in production with the order of their appearance, thus making first leaf tillers as the best performer(e.g. 1 against C, 2, 3, 4 of primary tillers, 11 and 21 against 1P, 12, 13, 2P, 22 of secondary tillers). Even though the first leaf tiller from the first mainstem leaf(i.e. 11) emerged at a same time with the fourth mainstem leaf tiller(i.e. 4), it was always a better producer of ears and grains. The above observations of hierarchy among tillers were persistent irrespective of cropping conditions and treatments. Sowing at the recommended date produced more effective tillers and grains per ear than early or late sowing. In early and late sowings, more grains per effective ear were observed by early sowing, whereas more grains per ear were produced by late sowing. The order of performance in production of effective tillers and ears per plant was as follows: optimum > early > late sowings. In optimum sowing the mainstems were the highest in grain weight per ear, while the first leaf tillers were the ones in early sowing probably due to winter damage on mainstem ears. Yield contribution by the tillers was greater with the following order irrespective of sowing dates: mainstem, 1, 2, 3, C, 11, 12 and Cl. The contribution of CP, 2P, 21 and 31 varied with sowings.