Annual Crops

2.2. Barley

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain. Important uses include use as animal fodder, as a source of fermentable material for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods. The grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation.

Cultivation

Barley is a widely adaptable crop. It is currently popular in temperate areas where it is grown as a summer crop and tropical areas where it is sown as a winter crop. Its germination time is one to three days and grows under cool conditions. It is more tolerant of soil salinity than wheat, and has a short growing season and is also relatively drought tolerant.

Other uses

1. Algicide : Barley straw placed in mesh bags and floated in fish ponds or water gardens can help reduce growth of algae without harming pond plants and animals. However, its effectiveness as an algicide in ponds has produced mixed results during university testing in the US and the UK.

2. Animal feed: Half of the US barley production is used as livestock feed. Barley is an important feed grain in many areas of the world not typically suited for maize production, especially in northern climates, for example, northern and eastern Europe. Barley is also the principal feed grain in Canada, Europe, and in the northern US.

Beverages: Alcoholic beverages. A large part (about 25 per cent) of the remainder is used for malting, for which barley is the best-suited grain. It is a key ingredient in beer and whisky production.

Hydroponic farming: the fodder solution.

A recently introduced fodder growing technology is fast rising in the country, offering farmers a year round supply of nutritious green fodder, grown for just nine days and producing up to 16 kgs in a 1 by 0.5 meter tray, enough to feed 2 mature cows. Dubbed hydroponics technology for its ability to grow fodder and other crops without the soil, the project has been hailed as a revolutionary way of farming coming at a time when land is continually becoming limited thanks to population and real estate pressure and the ever rising cost of commercial The nutritional value of barley fodder is higher than that of ordinary grass or Lucerne. Barley fodder over 24 percent protein content, high level of fermentable sugars, vitamins and its potent in beta carotene and there are no restriction towards the amount you can feed your animal on. To produce this fodder, a farmer needs an ordinary room of temperature between 17-25 degrees Celsius, aluminum trays, slanted shelves and shade net or ultra violet polythene which can be sourced cheaply and locally.The germinated barley seeds have all the nutrients required for farm animals and birds and it’s free from diseases and other antigens which may cause diseases to the animals. Barley is the grain of choice due to its superior performance and high nutritional value since the grains develop roots, green shoots and form a dense mat. The injection of carbon dioxide cuts the growing time to four days and increase production by up to 25 percent. A 10 by 10 feet squared room can hold over 42 trays and produce an average of over 600kg per day using only 20 to 30 litres of water. This amount of fodder can be used to supplement two dairy cows and ten heads of goats, sheep or pigs and over 400 birds per day.

Merits:

In growing green feed conventionally, a farmer incurs costs towards buying insecticides, fertilizers and paying laborers to cultivate and harvest. A kilo of green feed under hydroponics is nutritionally equivalent to 3kgs of Lucerne, the commonly used grass among Kenyan farmers.

3. Non-alcoholic beverages. Non-alcoholic drinks such as barley water and barley tea (called mugicha in Japan) have been made by boiling barley in water. In Italy, barley is also sometimes used as coffee substitute, which is obtained from ground, roasted barley and it is prepared as an espresso (it can be prepared using percolators, filter machines or cafetieres). Nowadays, it is experiencing a revival and it is considered by some as an alternative to coffee when, for health reasons, caffeine drinks are not recommended.

Varieties

Nguzo, Bima, Ahadi and 3 new Cocktail, Quench and HKBL-5 or Fanaka 

The brewer now pays Sh3,285 up from Sh2,800 that farmers were earning last year for every 90kg bag of the raw material.

Malting quality

-Germination>98%

-Coefficient of mealiness-mealy

-Nitrogen content 1.4-1.6%, >1.8% will be rejected co high N will form cloudy suspension of protein in the beer reducing its quality

-Unbroken grains, diseased, discoloured

Common diseases and management practices in Wheat and Barley

Diseases being a major factor that reduces barley production. Some of the diseases that barley farmers should watch out for include; Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), Spot and Net Blotch, scald, and Rust diseases etc. Here is how to identify and control these diseases.

Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV)

Leaves of the infected barley plants turn bright yellow from the tip then down along the margins of the leaf. In some cases, heads may be wholly or partially sterile. There may also be an increase or decrease in number of productive tillers produced by infected plants, reduced grain size and weight. Sometimes heads will fail to emerge. The disease is mainly transmitted by aphids.

Control: Use resistant or tolerant varieties if available. BYDV can be controlled by getting rid of the aphids using suitable insecticides such as Jackpot 50 EC, Aster Extreme 20 SL. Early planting also allows the crop to develop early enough to avoid attack of the insects.

Spot Blotch

The spores of this fungal disease are windborne. Infections appear as dark, chocolate-colored or distinct brown blotches which later develop into irregular dead patches on the leaves. Heavily infected leaves will eventually dry up.

Control: Practice crop rotation for at least 2 years between barley and a non-susceptible cereal crops or legumes. Rotation will help to reduce the amount of infested residue as well as the level of soil-borne inoculum. If weather conditions are favourable and spot blotch symptoms are readily present at flag leaf emergence, a fungicide application may be considered. Tilt (propiconazole) and Amistar Xtra foliar fungicides among other fungicides in the market can be used for control this disease.

Net Blotch

Unlike the spot-blotch, chocolate-colored and net-like blotches appear on leaves, sheath and glumes of the crop. Heavily infected plants will eventually dry up causing considerable yield and quality loss.

Control: The fungus survives on crop residues and on seed. Seed treatment, and crop rotation as well as timely application of foliar fungicides give good disease control. Bury crop residue and destroy volunteers. Apply a foliar spray such as Tilt 250 EC, Bumper 418 EC (propiconazole) and Amistar Xtra.

Scald

The fungal disease attacks mostly during cold and wet seasons. Large leaf areas with water soaked lesions that rapidly turn brown are observed at the 5^th or 6^th leaf stage. The disease can cause losses of up to 50% or more in yield and quality loss.

Control: Minimize crop residue on soil surface or re-crop land. Plant early to avoid major build-up of disease that hits later-sown crops and late maturing varieties. Apply a foliar fungicide e.g. Tilt 250E, Amistar Xtra, Bumper 418 EC. Baytan 30 applied as a seed treatment will provide suppression of the seed-borne phase of scald.

Rust Diseases (Stem rust, leaf rust, and yellow rust)

Leaf rust appears as small, round, orange pustules on leaves and leaf sheaths. As the plant matures, the pustules turn dark grey. Yellow rust develops as elongated, yellow-orange pustules in rows of varying lengths. This gives the appearance of narrow yellow stripes mainly on the leaves and on the grain heads. These later become dark brown pustules, which produce the overwinter spores. 

Control: Use resistant cultivars. Seed early and use early maturing varieties that complete most of their development before being infected especially by stem rust and leaf rust. Do not plant susceptible barley cultivars near wheat fields that may be infected with the rust diseases. Apply a foliar fungicide e.g. Amistar Xtra, Folicur 250 EC, Silvacur 375 EC, Orius 25 EW.