Barley

Barley is the fourth largest grain crop globally, after wheat, rice, and corn. Barley is commonly used in breads, soups, stews, and health products, though it is primarily grown as animal fodder and as a source of malt for alcoholic beverages, especially beer.

Barley comes in two varieties, distinguished by the number of rows of flowers on its flower spike. Six-row barley has its spike notched on opposite sides, with three spikelets at each notch, each containing a small individual flower, or floret, that develops a kernel. Two-row barley has central florets that produce kernels and lateral florets that are normally sterile. Whereas six-row barley has a higher protein content and is more suited for animal feed, two-row barley has a higher sugar content and is thus more commonly used for malt production.

Barley has a nutlike flavour and is high in carbohydrates, with moderate quantities of protein, calcium, and phosphorus and small amounts of the B vitamins. Because it contains little gluten, an elastic protein substance, it cannot be used to make a flour that will produce a porous loaf of bread. Barley flour is used to make an unleavened type, or flatbread, and to make porridge, especially in North Africa and parts of Asia, where it is a staple food grain. Pearl barley, the most popular form in many parts of the world, consists of whole kernels from which the outer husk and part of the bran layer have been removed by a polishing process. It is added to soups. Barley has a soft straw, used mostly as bedding for livestock and as a feed providing bulk roughage.

Most of the barley grown in the world is used for animal feed, but a special pure barley is the source of malt for beer production. Barley is also used in the manufacture of vinegar, malt extract, some milk-type beverages, and certain breakfast foods. In addition, in flaked form it is employed in some sections of the brewing industry, and pearl barley (skins removed by emery friction) is used in various cooked foods.

Barley can be cultivated on poorer soil and at lower temperatures than wheat. An important characteristic in barley is “winterhardiness,” which involves the ability to modify or withstand many types of stresses, particularly that of frost. However, barley is subject to many of the diseases and pests that affect wheat.

The use of barley in animal feed is increasing; it has been a basic ingredient of pig foods for years and is increasingly used for cattle feed. Its use in poultry foods has decreased because it has a lower starch equivalent when compared with wheat or corn and thus provides a lower-energy ration, unsuitable in modern poultry production. Barley vitamin content is similar to that of wheat.

Ideal malting barley grain protein is about 11.5% dry (optimum yield) or 10.1 % wet @ 12% grain moisture. Target for feed barley grain protein is about 12% dry (max yield) or 10.5% wet at 12.5% grain moisture. Sursa: https://www.britannica.com/plant/barley-cereal