Barley : culture, uses, and varieties. Page: 17
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Barley: Culture, Uses, and Varieties
TIME OF HARVESTING
The time of harvesting barley depends on the use of the crop, the
variety, the climate, and the method used.
For seed, brewing, or feed, the crop should be mature. The maturity
should not be judged by the earliest spikes. If possible the
latest spikes should be mature, as this will insure that no part of the
crop will be shrunken from having been harvested too soon. If the
stand is thin or uneven this may not be possible, as the earlier spikes
of many varieties would begin to shatter. By maturity is meant the
point where material ceases to be added to the kernel and not that
the grain has become bin dry. There are several popular tests which
indicate this period. The kernel at this time can be dented with the
thumb-nail and retains the dent for some time. The milky juice
largely disappears from the furrow. The hull begins to wrinkle on
the ripest grain, showing the shrinkage of the kernel beneath. After
this point is reached, ripening is merely the loss of moisture and
can take place in the shock as well as if the crop is left uncut.
Nurse crops of barley are often cut somewhat earlier than grain
crops, but this is for the purpose of favoring the development of the
grass seeded with the barley and does not enter largely into the
general problem of barley harvest.
As a hay crop barley is harvested still earlier. It is not cut while
in bloom, however, as is customary with many of the grasses. The
grain is allowed to develop almost to its maximum. The grain content
of barley hay constitutes a considerable part of its feed value.
Barley is highly prized as a hay crop in the West, despite the coarse
awns which frequently cause sore mouths in horses and cattle.
Sometimes the hooded varieties are grown for hay in order to eliminate
this objectionable factor. Much of the hay, however, is incidental;
that is, the barley is sown for grain. If the season is favorable,
it is harvested for grain; if unfavorable, it is harvested for hay.
The time to harvest sometimes depends on the variety. Some
varieties shatter badly when ripe, while others do not. Hooded and
awnless sorts shatter most easily. The Coast type (Bay Brewing,
California Feed, etc.) shatters much less than the other types. The
types which shatter must be harvested promptly. The best of the
Coast type can be left until the full maturity of the latest culms and
suffers but moderate losses for some time after complete dryness.
The climatic conditions at the time of harvesting have some influence
on the stage at which barley is cut. In a section subject to storms
the harvest must be accomplished within a very few days. If the
straw is too green it will not dry properly in a humid climate,
and there may be mold damage. If harvest is delayed too long, much
grain might be lost through the occurrence of a storm, as all barleys
in humid climates shatter rather easily. In the arid region green
barley dries readily, and storms are not so common as to cause
shattering in the overmature crop. The varieties in the arid regions
outside the Great Plains do not shatter readily.
METHODS OF HARVESTING
There are but three common methods of harvesting barley-by
the use of the binder, the header, or the combined harvester. The17
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Harlan, Harry V. (Harry Vaughn), 1882-1944. Barley : culture, uses, and varieties., book, October 1925; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc6191/m1/19/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.