Barley

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. Barley is the fifth largest cultivated cereal crop in the world (530,000 km² or 132 million acres). Its germination time is anywhere from 1-3 days.

Cultivars

Barley may be divided into two major cultivar groups, fall and spring, to which may be added a bastard variety called bear or bigg, which affords similar nutriment or substance, though of inferior quality. The spring is cultivated like oats; the fall, like fall wheat. Early barley, under various names, was formerly sown in Britain upon lands that had been previously summer-fallowed, or were in high condition.

Related Topics:
Cultivar groups - Oat

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The most proper seed season for spring barley is any time in March or April, though good crops have been produced by seeds sown at a much later period.

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Barley can be divided by the number of kernel rows in the head. Three species have been cultivated; two-row barley (Hordeum distichum), four-row (Hordeum tetrastichum L. and six-row barley (Hordeum vulgare) according to the traditional terminology. In two-row barley only one flower is fertile, two in the four-row variety, in the six-row variety all three; modern barley growing largely uses H. vulgare.

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Two-row barley is the oldest form, wild barley having two rows as well. Two-row barley has a lower protein content than six-row barley but a higher enzyme content. High protein barley is best suited for animal feed or malt that has a large adjunct content. Two-row barley is best suited for pure malts. Four-row is unsuitable for brewing.

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There are naked and hulled barleys, the hulled barleys being the older forms.

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Barley is widely adaptable and is currently a major crop of the temperate and tropical areas.

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