Abstract
Hulless barley (also known as naked barley) has generated interest from specialty food markets. Specialty grains, such as hulless barley, can support local farm viability by diversifying crop rotations and revenue streams. Unlike malting barley, hulless barley is free threshing. This means the hull easily separates from the grain kernel during harvest and cleaning, producing whole grain barley for human consumption. This eliminates the pearling processing necessary to produce culinary barley for food markets. Because it is a whole grain, hulless barley has higher flavor and nutritional value than pearled barley, which goes through an abrasion process to remove the hull and bran. In 2021, the University of Vermont Extension’s Northwest Crops and Soils Program continued the third year of a field trial of sixteen heirloom hulless barley varieties with seed provided by Sylvia Davatz of Solstice Seeds (Hartland, VT). Seven additional hulless varieties under development in various breeding programs were provided by Cornell University for evaluation in the 2021 trial.
Keywords
Vermont, University of Vermont, UVM Extension, Northwest Crops & Soils
Publication Date
6-2022
Recommended Citation
Darby, Heather and Emick, Hillary, "Hulless Barley Variety Trial" (2022). Northwest Crops & Soils Program. 461.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/nwcsp/461