In 2023, barley was fourth among grains in quantity produced, 146 milliontonnes, behindmaize,rice, and wheat. Globally, 70% of barley production is used asanimal feed, while 30% is used as a source of fermentable material forbeer, or furtherdistilled intowhisky, and as a component of various foods. It is used in soups and stews and inbarley bread of various cultures. Barley grains are commonly made intomalt using a traditional and ancient method of preparation. In English folklore,John Barleycorn personifies the grain and the alcoholic beverages made from it. Englishpub names such as The Barley Mow allude to its role in the production of beer.
TheOld English word for barley wasbere.[4] This survives in the north of Scotland asbere; it is used for a strain of six-row barley grown there.[5] Modern Englishbarley derives from theOld English adjectivebærlic, meaning "of barley".[3][6] The wordbarn derives from Old Englishbere-aern meaning "barley-store".[3]The name of thegenus is from Latinhordeum, barley, likely related to Latinhorrere, to bristle.[7]
Botanical illustration of leafy stem with roots, flowers, and 2- and 6-row ears
Barley is acereal, a member of thegrass family with edible grains. Its flowers are clusters ofspikelets arranged in a distinctiveherringbone pattern. Each spikelet has a long thinawn (to 160 mm (6.3 in) long), making the ears look tufted. The spikelets are in clusters of three. In six-row barley, all three spikelets in each cluster are fertile; in two-row barley, only the central one is fertile.[8] It is aself-pollinating,diploid species with 14chromosomes.[9]
The genome of barley was sequenced in 2012 by the International Barley Genome Sequencing Consortium and the UK Barley Sequencing Consortium.[10] The genome is organised into seven pairs[11] ofnuclear chromosomes (recommended designations: 1H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H and 7H), and onemitochondrial and onechloroplast chromosome, with a total of 5000 Mbp.[12] Details of the genome are freely available in several barley databases.[13]
Genetic analysis on the spread of barley from 9,000 to 2,000 BC[16]
Barley was one of thefirst grains to be domesticated in theFertile Crescent, an area of relatively abundant water in Western Asia,[17] around 9,000 BC.[16][18] Wild barley (H. vulgare ssp.spontaneum) ranges from North Africa andCrete in the west toTibet in the east.[9] A study of genome-wide diversity markers foundTibet to be an additional center of domestication of cultivated barley.[19] The earliestarchaeological evidence of the consumption ofwild barley,Hordeum spontaneum, comes from theEpipaleolithic atOhalo II at the southern end of theSea of Galilee, where grinding stones with traces of starch were found. The remains were dated to about 23,000 BC.[9][20][21] The earliest evidence for the domestication of barley, in the form of cultivars that cannot reproduce without human assistance, comes from Mesopotamia, specifically theJarmo region of modern-day Iraq, around 9,000–7,000 BC.[22][23]
Domestication changed themorphology of the barley grain substantially, from an elongated shape to a more rounded spherical one.[24] Wild barley has distinctivegenes,alleles, and regulators with potential for resistance toabiotic orbiotic stresses; these may help cultivated barley to adapt to climatic changes.[25] Wild barley has a brittlespike; upon maturity, thespikelets separate, facilitatingseed dispersal. Domesticated barley hasnonshattering spikelets, making it much easier to harvest the mature ears.[9] The nonshattering condition is caused by amutation in one of twotightly linked genes known as Bt1 and Bt2; manycultivars possess both mutations. The nonshattering condition isrecessive, so varieties of barley that exhibit this condition arehomozygous for the mutantallele.[9] Domestication in barley is followed by the change of keyphenotypic traits at the genetic level.[26]
The wild barley found currently in theFertile Crescent may not be the progenitor of the barley cultivated inEritrea andEthiopia, indicating that it may have been domesticated separately in eastern Africa.[27]
Anaccount of barley rations issued monthly to adults (30 or 40pints) and children (20 pints) written incuneiform on clay tablet in year 4 of KingUrukagina (circa 2350 BCE), fromGirsu, Iraq
Archaeobotanical evidence shows that barley had spread throughout Eurasia by 2,000 BC.[16] Genetic analysis demonstrates that cultivated barley followed several different routes over time.[16] By 4200 BC domesticated barley had reached Eastern Finland.[28] Barley has been grown in the Korean Peninsula since the EarlyMumun Pottery Period (circa 1500–850 BC).[29] Barley (Yava inSanskrit) is mentioned many times in theRigveda and other Indian scriptures as a principal grain in ancient India.[30] Traces of barley cultivation have been found inpost-Neolithic Bronze Age Harappan civilization 5,700–3,300 years ago.[31] Barley beer was probably one of the first alcoholic drinks developed by Neolithic humans;[32] later it was used as currency.[32] TheSumerian language had a word for barley,akiti. In ancientMesopotamia, a stalk of barley was the primary symbol of the goddessShala.[33]
Rations of barley for workers appear inLinear B tablets in Mycenaean contexts atKnossos and atMycenaean Pylos.[34] In mainland Greece, the ritual significance of barley possibly dates back to the earliest stages of theEleusinian Mysteries. The preparatorykykeon or mixed drink of the initiates, prepared from barley and herbs, mentioned in theHomeric hymn toDemeter. The goddess's name may have meant "barley-mother", incorporating theancient Cretan wordδηαί (dēai), "barley".[35][36] The practice was to dry the barleygroats and roast them before preparing the porridge, according toPliny the Elder'sNatural History.[37] Tibetan barley has been astaple food inTibetan cuisine since the fifth century AD. This grain, along with a cool climate that permitted storage, produced a civilization that was able to raise great armies.[38] It is made into a flour product calledtsampa that is still a staple in Tibet.[39] In medieval Europe, bread made from barley and rye was peasant food, while wheat products were consumed by the upper classes.[40]
Spikelets are arranged in triplets which alternate along therachis. In wild barley (and otherOld World species ofHordeum), only the central spikelet is fertile, while the other two are reduced. This condition is retained in certain cultivars known as two-row barleys. A pair of mutations (one dominant, the other recessive) result in fertile lateral spikelets to produce six-row barleys.[9]A mutation in one gene,vrs1, is responsible for the transition from two-row to six-row barley.[41] Brewers in Europe tend to use two-row cultivars and breweries in North America use six-row barley (or a mix), and there are important differences in enzyme content, kernel shape, and other factors that malters and brewers must take into consideration.[42]
In traditional taxonomy, different forms of barley were classified as different species based on morphological differences. Two-row barley with shattering spikes (wild barley) was namedHordeum spontaneum. Two-row barley with nonshattering spikes was named asH. distichon, six-row barley with nonshattering spikes asH. vulgare (orH. hexastichum), and six-row with shattering spikes asH. agriocrithon. Because these differences were driven by single-gene mutations, coupled withcytological andmolecular evidence, most recent classifications treat these forms as a single species,H. vulgare.[9]
6-row barley has three fertilespikelets per cluster
Hulless or "naked" barley (Hordeum vulgare var. nudum) is a form of domesticated barley with an easier-to-removehull. Naked barley is an ancient food crop, but a new industry has developed around uses of selected hulless barley to increase the digestibility of the grain, especially for pigs and poultry.[43] Hulless barley has been investigated for several potential new applications as whole grain, bran, and flour.[44] Hulless barley can offer higher protein, increased beta-glucan content, and more efficient handling and processing because of the lack of hull.[45][46]
In 2023, world production of barley was 146 million tonnes, led by Russia accounting for 14% of the world total (table). Australia, France, and Germany were secondary producers.
Worldwide barley production in 2023 was fourth among grains, following maize (1.2 billion tonnes), rice (800 million tonnes), and wheat (799 million tonnes).[48]
Barley is a crop that prefers relatively low temperatures, 15 to 20 °C (59 to 68 °F) in the growing season; it is grown around the world in temperate areas. It grows best in well-drained soil in full sunshine. In the tropics and subtropics, it is grown for food and straw in South Asia, North and East Africa, and in the Andes of South America. In dry regions it requires irrigation.[49] It has a short growing season and isrelatively drought-tolerant.[40] Barley is more tolerant ofsoil salinity than other cereals, varying in different cultivars.[50] It has lesswinter-hardiness thanwinter wheat and far less than rye.[51]
Like other cereals, barley is typically planted ontilled land. Seed wastraditionally scattered, but in developed countries is usuallydrilled. As it grows it requires soil nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), often supplied as fertilizers. It needs to be monitored for pests and diseases, and if necessary treated before these become serious. The stems and ears turn yellow when ripe, and the ears begin to droop. Traditional harvesting was by hand withsickles orscythes; in developed countries, harvesting is mechanised withcombine harvesters.[49]
Young winter barley in early November, Scotland, 2009
Among the insect pests of barley areaphids such asRussian wheat aphid, caterpillars such as of thearmyworm moth,barley mealybug, andwireworm larvae of click beetle genera such asAeolus. Aphid damage can often be tolerated, whereas armyworms can eat whole leaves. Wireworms kill seedlings, and requireseed or preplanting treatment.[49]
Hulled barley (or covered barley) is eaten after removing the inedible, fibrous, outer husk or hull. Once removed, it is called dehulled barley (or pot barley or scotch barley).[62]Pearl barley (or pearled barley) is dehulled to remove most of the bran, and polished.[62] Barley meal, a wholemealbarley flour lighter than wheat meal but darker in colour, is used ingruel.[62] This gruel is known as سويق :sawīq in theArab world.[63]
InEastern andCentral Europe, barley is used in soups and stews such asričet. In Africa, where it is a traditional food plant, it has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development, and support sustainable landcare.[66]
InJapanese cuisine, barley is mixed with rice and steamed asmugimeshi.[68] The naval surgeonTakaki Kanehiro introduced it into institutional cooking to combatberiberi, endemic in the armed forces in the 19th century. It became standard prison fare, and remains a staple in theJapan Self-Defense Forces.[69]
InKorean cuisine, a similar dish calledboribap (보리밥) has been eaten since theJoseon dynasty. InJeju Island, unripe barley rice was eaten in spring when food was short.[70][71][72] Barley rice, hard to cook and linked to poverty, had lower status than white rice. In the 1960s and 1970s, schoolchildren'slunchboxes had to contain barley rice.[73] Barley rice has become a nostalgic food for older people, served in specialty restaurants.[74][70][75]
Barley, made intomalt, is a key ingredient inbeer andwhisky production.[83] Two-row barley is traditionally used inGerman andEnglish beers. Six-row barley was traditionally used inUS beers, but both varieties are in common usage now.[84] Distilled from green beer,[85] Scottish and Irish whisky are made primarily from barley.[83] About 25% of American barley is used for malting, for which barley is the best-suited grain.[86] Accordingly, barley is often assessed by itsmalting enzyme content.[11]Barley wine is a style of strong beer from the Englishbrewing tradition. An 18th-century alcoholic drink of the same name was made by boiling barley in water, then mixing the barley water with white wine,borage, lemon and sugar. In the 19th century, a different barley wine was prepared from recipes of ancient Greek origin.[3]
Some 70% of the world's barley production is used as livestock feed,[89] for example forcattle feeding in western Canada.[90] In 2014, an enzymatic process was devised to make a high-protein fish feed from barley, suitable for carnivorous fish such astrout andsalmon.[91]
Barley straw has been placed in mesh bags and floated in fish ponds or water gardens to help prevent algal growth without harming pond plants and animals. The technique's effectiveness is at best mixed.[92]Barley grains were once used for measurement in England, there being nominally three or fourbarleycorns to the inch.[93] By the 19th century, this had been superseded by standard inch measures.[94] In ancientMesopotamia, barley was used as a form of money, the standard unit of weight for barley, and hence of value, being theshekel.[95]
InEnglish folklore, the figure ofJohn Barleycorn in thefolksong of the same name is a personification of barley, and of the beer made from it. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death, and indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting; but he is revenged by getting the men drunk: "And little Sir John and the nut-brown bowl / Proved the strongest man at last."[99][100] The folksong "Elsie Marley" celebrates analewife ofCounty Durham with lines such as "And do you ken Elsie Marley, honey? / The wife that sells the barley, honey". The antiquaryCuthbert Sharp records that Elsie Marley was "a handsome, buxom, bustling landlady, and brought good custom to the [ale] house by her civility and attention."[101]
Englishpub names such as The Barley Mow,[102] John Barleycorn,[99] Malt Shovel,[103] and Mash Tun[104] allude to barley's role in the production of beer.[102]
Porcelain figurine ofJohn Barleycorn, complete with songsheet and little brown jug of beer
Englishpub names such as The Barley Mow (like this pub atClifton Hampden) allude to the use of barley to make the beer available inside.[102]
^abcdefgZohary, Daniel; Hopf, Maria (2000).Domestication of Plants in the Old World: The Origin and Spread of Cultivated Plants in West Asia, Europe, and the Nile Valley (3rd ed.).Oxford University Press. pp. 59–69.ISBN978-0-19-850357-6.
^abcHayes, Patrick M.; Castro, Ariel; Marquez-Cedillo, Luis; Corey, Ann; Henson, Cynthia; et al. (2003). "Genetic diversity for quantitatively inherited agronomic and malting quality traits". In Roland von Bothmer; Theo van Hintum; Helmut Knüpffer; Kazuhiro Sato (eds.).Diversity in Barley (Hordeum vulgare).Amsterdam,Boston:Elsevier. pp. 201–226.doi:10.1016/S0168-7972(03)80012-9.ISBN978-0-444-50585-9.OCLC162130976.
^Soreng, Robert J.; Peterson, Paul M.; Romaschenko, Konstantin; Davidse, Gerrit; Zuloaga, Fernando O.; et al. (2015). "A worldwide phylogenetic classification of the Poaceae (Gramineae)".Journal of Systematics and Evolution.53 (2):117–137.doi:10.1111/jse.12150.hdl:11336/25248.
^Badr, A.; M, K.; Sch, R.; El Rabey, H.; Effgen, S.; et al. (1 April 2000). "On the Origin and Domestication History of Barley (Hordeum vulgare)".Molecular Biology and Evolution.17 (4):499–510.doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a026330.PMID10742042.
^Nadel, Dani; Piperno, Dolores R.; Holst, Irene; Snir, Ainit; Weiss, Ehud (December 2012)."New evidence for the processing of wild cereal grains at Ohalo II, a 23 000-year-old campsite on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, Israel".Antiquity.86 (334):990–1003.doi:10.1017/S0003598X00048201.S2CID162019976.Traces of starch found on a large flat stone discovered in the hunter-fisher-gatherer site of Ohalo II famously represent the first identification of Upper Palaeolithic grinding of grasses. Given the importance of this discovery for the use of edible grain, further analyses have now been undertaken. Meticulous sampling combined with good preservation allow the authors to demonstrate that the Ohalo II stone was certainly used for the routine processing of wild cereals, wheat, barley and now oats among them, around 23 000 years ago.
^Clark, Helena H. (1967). "The Origin and Early History of the Cultivated Barleys: A Botanical and Archaeological Synthesis".The Agricultural History Review.15 (1):10–11.JSTOR40273219.
^Orabi, Jihad; Backes, Gunter; Wolday, Asmelash; Yahyaoui, Amor; Jahoor, Ahmed (29 March 2007). "The Horn of Africa as a centre of barley diversification and a potential domestication site".Theoretical and Applied Genetics.114 (6):1117–1127.doi:10.1007/s00122-007-0505-5.PMID17279366.S2CID31695204.
^Tobin, Vincent Arieh (1991). "Isis and Demeter: symbols of divine motherhood".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.28:187–200.doi:10.2307/40000579.JSTOR40000579.OCLC936727983.Demeter's name, therefore, could be interpreted in Greek to mean 'barley-mother'
^J. Dobraszczyk, Bogdan (2001).Cereals and cereal products: chemistry and technology. Gaithersburg, Maryland:Aspen Publishers. p. 7.ISBN978-0-8342-1767-6.
^"Winter-hardiness". Stockinger Lab, Ohio State University. Retrieved14 January 2024.
^Parry, D. W.; Jenkinson, P.; McLeod, L. (1995). "Fusarium ear blight (scab) in small grain cereals—a review".Plant Pathology.44 (2):207–238.doi:10.1111/j.1365-3059.1995.tb02773.x.
^Chelkowski, Jerzy; Tyrka, Miroslaw; Sobkiewicz, Andrzej (2003). "Resistance genes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and their identification with molecular marker".Journal of Applied Genetics.44 (3):291–309.PMID12923305.
^Lembi, Carole A."Barley straw for algae control"(PDF). Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 8 April 2003.
^"Barleycorn". Collins Dictionary. 2023. Retrieved18 September 2023.
^George Long (1842)."Standard Measure, Weight".The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Vol. 26,Ungulata–Wales. C. Knight. p. 436.
^Powell, Marvin A. (1996). "Money in the Orient: Money in Mesopotamia".Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient.39 (3). Leiden: Brill:224–242.doi:10.1163/1568520962601225.JSTOR3632646.
_-_United_States_National_Arboretum_-_24_May_2009.jpg)
.jpg)
_(3885627341).jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
![English pub names such as The Barley Mow (like this pub at Clifton Hampden) allude to the use of barley to make the beer available inside.[102]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aThe_Barley_Mow%2c_Clifton_Hampden_(wide).jpg)
