Barley

Spring barley has excellent cold tolerance
Spring types are grown at HIGHER ALTITUDES than any other cereal
Grown in upper plateaus of Tibet - Spring barley is grown farther north than any other cereal
Some grown within the ARCTIC CIRCLE

EARLY RIPENING

Some barley varieties ripen earlier than any other cereal
Barleys in the ARTIC CIRCLE ripen in 60-70 days

ALKALINE SOILS

Barley has excellent tolerance to alkaline (basic) soils, but has poor tolerance to acidic soils Basic soils: BARLEY>WHEAT>TRITICALE>OATS>RYE

DROUGHT TOLERANCE

Barley has very good drought tolerance
Known for drought tolerance in the western USA & CANADA
Grown in arid climates of the Sahara Desert

HEAT TOLERANCE

Barley has good HEAT TOLERANCE, but the heat must be DRY heat
Barley does not do well in humid areas - too many disease problems
Overall, barley is a crop that is best adapted to COOLER, DRIER areas
Best conditions for growth
Loam soils with medium to medium high fertility and a long, cool spring with relatively dry conditions after heading

ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION

USA - Barley is grown primarily in the NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS & NORTHWEST

Leading states ND, MINN, SD, MONT, IDA, WASH, CA
Some winter barley is grown in the SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS (Nebr, OK) and in SOUTHEASTERN states (GA, MD, NC, etc)
Wisconsin was a leading barley state from the late 1800's until the early 1940's
Principal barley area has moved west of the Mississippi River
Better quality barley produced in western states

WORLD - Barley is widely grown in many countries

Russia - 20% of world's acreage
ASIA - China, Turkey and India have large acreages
EUROPE - Many countries have large acreages
NORTH AMERICA - Western US & Western CANADA
NORTH AFRICA - Several countries (Morocco, Algeria, and Ethiopia) have sizable acreages
AUSTRALIA - barley is popular in some areas
Barley is not widely grown in South America

SPECIES

Cultivated barleys: (Tough rachis) Diploids
Six-rowed: Hordeum vulgare L.
Two-rowed: Hordeum vulgare L.
Wild barleys: (Brittle rachis) Diploid: Hordeum spontaneum L.
Tetraploid: Hordeum bulbosum L. Hordeum jubatum L. - perennial - squirrel tail barley

PLANT DESCRIPTION

VEGETATIVE

Barley is similar to the other small grains
Fibrous roots
Parallel leaf veination
Alternate leaves - largest auricles
Culms - 6 or 7 nodes & internodes
Tillers more than wheat, oats, & rye
Slightly larger leaf area than other spring grains

INFLORESENCE - SPIKE

Central axis of spike = rachis
Six-rowed barley - 3 spikelets/rachis node
Two-rowed barley - 1 spikelet/rachis node
Two-rowed & six-rowed varieties have similar grain yield potential
Six-rowed - More kernels/spike - Smaller kernels - Less tillering
Two-rowed - opposite of above
Cultivated barleys = 1 floret/spikelet
Glumes are small
Awns = extension of lemma - Rough, smooth, & semismooth. Most varieties have long awns
Rachilla = Central axis of a spikelet - Used in classification in barley

Pollination

Begins in the middle of the spike & proceeds up and down
Takes 2-3 days for pollination to be completed in a spike
In the field, pollination often occurs before the spike has emerged from the boot (cleistagamous)

CULTURE AND MANAGEMENT

Similar to oats and sp wheat, but a higher level of management is required if growers want to sell their barley for malting. Not much Wisconsin barley is malted because kernel quality of WI barley is not as good as kernel quality of western barley. In WI, frequent morning dews discolor kernels during ripening. Discolored kernels have higher fungal activity and are more difficult to handle during malting and brewing

Barley growers need to manage N APPLICATION very carefully

HIGH N CAN LEAD TO:

Lodging
Reduced grain yield and quality Reduced harvest efficiency
EXCESSIVELY HIGH PROTEIN

Not a problem for feed barley, but is a problem for MALTING barley

Why a problem for malting barley?

Causes erratic germination during malting
Lowers the amount of beer produced
Reduces mellowness of malt

The CHALLENGE is to have enough N to produce high yields, but not so much that LODGING and PROTEIN % are excessive

Traditionally, LODGING problems have been more serious with barley than with other small grains

Better to grow barley on higher ground, avoiding heavy soils
Watch N, and consider carryover fertility from previous crop
Barley breeders have improved lodging resistance significantly during the past 10 to 15 years

EMERGENCE through a crusted soil is more difficult for barley than for other small grains

Coleoptile is wider & not as tough
Very important to have a shallow planting depth with barley (1" is ideal)

Traditionally, barley has not been used to ESTABLISH ALFALFA because - More susceptible to lodging than oats - Lower straw yields than oats - Most newer varieties have good stiffness and can be used to establish alfalfa - Two-rowed varieties probably are not desirable if alfalfa establishment is important because they tiller so extensively

Harvesting barley at physiological maturity as HIGH MOISTURE BARLEY is becoming a popular practice in WISCONSIN - High moisture barley is an excellent feed for dairy and beef cattle - Has almost as much digestible energy as corn - Has 2-4% more protein than corn - Inhibits cholesterol synthesis in livestock 9

RECENT TRENDS. Farmers in some areas of Wisconsin have switched some crop acreage from corn to barley because:

Corn harvesting difficult in wet fall
In recent years corn has not been as profitable as it once was
Barley is harvested much earlier than corn - spreads workload and harvest risks
New varieties have high yields, lodging resistance, and smooth awns
Northern WISCONSIN - Corn matures slowly, difficult to reach PM prior to first killing frost Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan - Too far north for corn - barley is a major feed grain in these provinces

KERNEL CHARACTERISTICS - MALTING BARLEY

VARIETY IDENTIFICATION CHARACTERISTICS

Two-rowed vs six-rowed barleys Six-rowed: 2/3 of kernels have a twist Two-rowed: No twisted kernels
Aleurone color White vs Blue
Awn type: R, S, SS
Rachilla hairs - length
Gel electrophoresis patterns - "finger printing"

U.S. GRADING STANDARDS - Several classes and subclasses used in grading barley, malting barley has more strict requirements

MALTING and BREWING TRAITS

PROTEIN % Current spec's for six-rowed are MAXIMUM 13.5% OPTIMUM 13.0%
PLUMPNESS Industry wants barley with plumpness > 65%
COLOR Higher value means brighter kernels Brighter kernels have better malting quality due to less fungal activity
EXTRACT Refers to the amount of soluble material that can be converted into beer Industry desires high extract
FINE-COARSE DIFFERENCE Difference (in %) in maltable material produced in a fine grind vs coarse grind Industry wants difference to be 2% or less
WORT PROTEIN Wort protein is the soluble protein that is in beer after it has been brewed with hops
S/T = Soluble protein/Total protein Current optimum S/T value is 42% Soluble protein is required for yeast nutrition and is important for flavor and stability of beer
ENZYME CHARACTERISTICS
- Diastatic Power These measure the ability of Alpha Amylase enzymes in malt to convert starch into simpler sugars
- Alpha amylase - a specific enzyme that breaks down parts of the starch molecule
- DP - refers to the collective ability of all enzymes, including alpha, to convert starch into simpler sugars

[Insert Table] BEER QUALITY HIGH MEDIUM LOW 2-rowed barley 2 and 6-rowed 6-rowed barley No adjunct Some adjunct More adjunct Imported hops Domestic hops Domestic hops

BARLEY UTILIZATION-FEED & FOOD VALUE

Barley is regarded as a good livestock feed - rate of gain for fattening cattle is slightly less than corn - Only about 2% lower TDN than corn (78 vs 80%) - High moisture barley is gaining popularity in dairy rations in certain areas of Wisconsin - Northern Wisconsin - difficult getting corn to mature - Cows seem to do well on high moisture barley

Barley is similar to oats in that it contains a cholesterol synthesis inhibitor (bran is water soluble) - significant in terms of FOOD and FEED

FOOD SOURCE - Barley is a primary food source for humans in some areas of the world - Asia (NEPAL) - People in these areas have a low incidence of heart disease

FEED SOURCE- In swine feeding trials that compared barley and corn, barley produced - A meatier hog - Hogs had better finish - Bacon had a more favorable meat to fat ratio - Less fat on the pork chop - Changed taste/flavor to some extent

Years ago cattle feeders used to finish cattle on barley to give them a better finish and meatier appearance

High barley ration fed to poultry resulted in 17-20% reduction in yolk cholesterol