Barley
Hordeum vulgare
Cool season annual cereal grain
Uses
- Biomass/organic matter source (Dry Matter: 3,000-10,000 lbs/ac/yr)
- Erosion control
- Weed suppression
- Nurse crop or companion crop
- Nutrient recycler
Plant Highlights
- EXCELLENT for providing erosion control, for providing lasting residue
- VERY GOOD for taking up & storing excess N, for increasing organic matter and improving soil structure, for suppressing weeds, for animal grazing (production, nutritional quality & palatability), for quick growth and establishment
Cultural Traits
- Very good heat tolerance
- Very good drought tolerance
- Good shade tolerance
- Fair flood tolerance
- Very good tolerance to low fertility
- pH range 5.0-8.3 (NRCS), prefers 6.0-8.5 (SAN)
Planting
Planting depth: 3/4 - 2 inches
Seeding Method
- Drilled: Seed at 50-100 lb./A (1-2 bu/A)
- Broadcast: Seed at 80-125 lb./A (1.6-2.5 bu/A)
Seed Cost: .05-.20 $/lb
Seed Availability: Readily available
Cultivars
Work by Evensen, Osgood, and El-Swaify suggests that the 'Wysor' cultivar is suitable for a cover crop in Hawai`i.
Mixes
with annual legumes or grasses, perennial ryegrass
Soil Improvements
- Good for loosening subsoil
- Good at releasing P and K
- Very good at loosening topsoil
Pest Control
- Root knot nematode susceptible (NRCS)
- Fair for disease suppression
- Very good allelopathic properties
- Very good weed suppression
- Good for attracting beneficial insects
Management Attributes
- Good trafficability
- Rapid establishment and growth ideal for short windows
Notes
- Barley can be easily killed with grass herbicides or by disking or mowing at mid to late bloom stage, prior to setting seed.
- Barley cover crops have been shown to increase populations of centipedes, predator mites, beneficial spiders, and other important predators.
- Barley can be a host for nematode species Meloidogyne javanica.
Uses in the Pacific Region
No information is available in this database on this topic.
Uses in Hawai`i
The Hawai`i Natural Resources Conservation Service Technical Guide includes Barley. Their specification describes Barley as follows:
- Minimum broadcast seeding rates of 70 lbs. pure live seed/acre;
- pH range from 5.0-8.3;
- Approximate growing time 90 days;
- Approximate dry matter yield 1 ton/acre;
- Approximate N content 18 lbs./T dry matter;
- Add 20 lbs. of nitrogen/ton dry matter at plow down;
- Optimum planting period year round at elevations over 1500 ft.
- Optimum planting period fall/winter at elevations below 1500 ft.
Evensen, Osgood and El-Swaify conducted five years of research with small grains as cover crops on sugarcane plantations for erosion and weed control. Variety trials for 51 cultivars of oat, barley, wheat, ryegrass and rye grain on Hawai`i, Molokai, and Lanai were compared. Of the barley trials, 'Wysor' was the most promising (in terms of vigorous growth, rapid soil cover, weed suppression, low plant height, and lack of flowering). This information has applications for pineapple, coffee and tropical fruit tree orchards.
For More Information
UC Davis On-line Cover Crop Index
References
Evensen, C.I., Osgood, R.V., & El-Swaify, S.A. Small grain cover crops in Hawaii for erosion and weed control. A poster paper presented at the conference on "Cover Crops, Soil Quality and Ecosystems", March 12-14,1997.
1998. Managing Cover Crops Profitably, 2nd ed. Sustainable Agriculture Network, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, USA. pp. 212.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Hawai`i Field Office Technical Guide, Section IV, Code 340 "Cover and Green Manure Crop" May 1992. Pacific Islands Area Field Office Technical Guide (eFOTG) - East Area
Text last updated on 9/23/02