Introduction

Barley is a resilient plant, tolerant of a range of conditions, which may have been cultivated since
15 000 BC (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021). Cultivated barley, Hordeum vulgare, is mainly grown for
animal feed, especially for pigs, for malting and brewing in the manufacture of beer, and
distilling in whisky manufacture. A small amount of barley is used for food. Pearled barley is
eaten in soups and stews in the UK and the Far and Middle East; barley is also used in bread (as
flour) and ground as porridge in some countries (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021). The barley head or
spike is made up of spikelets, which are attached to the rachis in an alternating pattern. The outer
layers of the barley kernel consist of a husk, completely covering the grain; the pericarp (to
which the husk is tightly joined in most species); the Testa or seed coat, and the aleurone. Barley
(Hordeum vulgare) is a very important grain in the world today and it ranks the fourth in both
quantities produced and in area of cultivation of cereal crops in the world. The annual world
harvest of barley in the late century was approximately 140 million tonnes from about 55 million
hectares. It is very versatile in every way and has been well adapted through its evolution. It is
the most adaptable of the cereals. Much of the world’s barley is produced outside of the regions
where cereals such as maize and rice can grow well. It extends into the arctic or subarctic. Some
species approach the subtropical Zone. Hordeum species are found in most areas with a
Mediterranean climate. The genus is also represented in zones with an oceanic as well as a
continental climate (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021). Barley is a cereal that belongs to the grass family
Poaceae. There are three types of barley:

i) Hordeum vulgare: a six-rowed type of barley that has a spike notched on

opposite sides with three spikelets on each notch. At each notch there is a flower or
floret that later develops into a kernel;

ii) Hordeum distichum: a two-rowed type of barley that has central florets
producing kernels and it has lateral florets that are sterile

iii) Hordeum irregular: the least cultivated, with fertile central florets and varying
proportions of fertile and sterile lateral florets (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021).

Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one of the cereals which tolerate rather well abiotic
stress conditions. Growers driven by the market demands tend to cultivate wheat even
in areas that are more suited for the barley; such areas can, however, easily be brought
again under barley. Although the area under barley and wheat can be interchanged, on
an overall basis, the area under barley cultivation is governed by a wide range of
other factors like demand from consumers or market price. Barley was the staple food
of people in many countries for ages, but it drew away from favor due to changes in
food preferences. Barley is now again returning to favor as it is considered the best
food for health by nutritionists (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021).
 1.Distribution And Production Of Barley:
1.1 Production of Barley
Barley is one of the leading grain crops produced in the world with growing worldwide
recognized as a source of food and many valuable nutritional components that enrich the human
diet. Barley grain is used primarily for malting and livestock feeding, and the straw is also an
important feedstuff when more desirable forages are not available. Most barley is grown for malt
due to the price premium (Gashaw Abebaw., 2021).
Country/Region Area harvested Grain yield Total production
(Million Ha) (tones/ha) (Million tonnes)
Australia 3.4 1.9 7.5
Canada 4.4 2.6 11.4
France 1.7 5.7 9.8
Germany 2.1 6.4 13.6
Russian federation 7.7 2.5 19.5
Spain 3.0 2.1 6.2
Turkey 3.6 1.9 6.6
Ukrain 3.9 2.6 10.2
United Kingdom 1.2 5.4 6.7
United States 1.7 3.1 5.4
World total 54.3 2.6 141.4

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is grown as a commercial crop in some one hundred countries
worldwide and is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. Barley assumes the fourth
position in total cereal production in the world after wheat, rice, and maize, each of which covers
nearly 30% of the world’s total cereal production. The Russian Federation, Canada, Germany,
Ukraine, and France are the major barley producers accounting for nearly half of the total world
production. The annual production reached over 144 million tons in 2014, and the top producers
in terms of production quantity are Russia, France, Germany, Australia, and Ukraine (Gashaw
Abebaw.,2021). Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is the major cereal in many dry areas of the world
and is vital for the livelihoods of many farmers. Barley is an annual cereal crop and grown in
environments ranging from the desert of the Middle East to the high elevation of Himalayas
(Mohammad shafi et al,.2011) It is the major food source in many North African countries. In
Pakistan, it is mainly grown for grain and straw for small ruminants during winter, with green
fodder sometimes used for winter grazing. Barley can replace wheat as the dominant crop due to
its tolerance to drought and salinity. Barley assumes fourth position in total cereal production in
the world after wheat, rice, and maize. Barley is more productive under adverse environments
than other cereals. Barley serves as a major animal fodder, base malt for beer and certain other
distilled beverages. (Mohammad shafi et al,.2011) Barley can withstand different environmental
stress factors such as flood, salinity, and water stress, and it is even more tolerant than wheat
under any unsuitable ecological conditions ( Abd Ullah et al.,2022) Barley has a haploid genome
size of ~5.3 Gb distributed over seven chromosomes. Due to its simple inbreeding diploid
genetics, barley is an excellent experimental model for other temperate cereals, such as wheat,
which have much bigger (17 Gb) and more complex polyploid genomes. Barley shows a good
level of adaptability to unfavourable environments like cold, drought, or poor soils, and is
considered more tolerant than wheat to adverse growing conditions (Patricia Giraldo et al.,2019)
Many reasons for the widespread cultivation of barley exist. Barley has excellent adaptability to
natural environments. Barley can tolerate a wide range of growth conditions, for instance, the
high altitudes of the Himalayan foothills. It also has a unique place in the beer manufacturing
industry. In addition, with the abundant accumulation of certain special nutrients with healthcare
functions, such as β-glucan, vitamin E, and γ-amino butyric acid, barley is an ideal cereal for
food and animal feed. In recent years, because of its many health benefits, including a reduction
in the risk of heart disease, lowering of blood cholesterol levels, increasing insulin responses in
diabetics, and preventing obesity and cancer, a preference for barley has been acquired by a
growing number of people (Xinxing Yang et al,.2022) We use barley as a model to demonstrate
how the development of genomic technologies gradually changed our views on the
circumstances of domestication of the Neolithic Near Eastern crop (Artem Pankin et al.,2017)
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is grown under varying agro climatic situations. It is an important
crop grown worldwide for food, feed and forage. In Turkey, it is cultivated on 3.6 million ha with
a production of 8 million tonnes and a mean of 2204 kg/ha (Zeki Mut et al.,2010) Barley (Hordeum
vulgare L.) is a widely cultivated cereal crop in many rainfed areas in the Mediterranean region
where drought is considered the main yield-limiting factor. Barley is characterized by its fast pre-
anthesis growth and its ability to form large number of tillers that cover soil surface and
subsequently reduce water evaporation. This trait explains why barley is highly successful in dry
areas. (Zakaria I. Al-Ajlouni et al,.2016) Furthermore, fast pre-anthesis growth enables barley to
store more assimilates in their stems since temperature is not hot and soil water is normally
available in adequate amounts for its growth and development (Zakaria I. Al-Ajlouni et al,.2016)
In the case of barley, landraces are common in marginal, low-input and droughtprone
environments in the Fertile Crescent and in other types of stressful environments In addition to
their adaption to harsh environmental conditions, they are popular among farmers for their high
feed quality of both grain and straw barley is cultivated in areas that receive an annual rainfall
between 150 and 300 mm. These areas face many challenges that are increasing because of
climate change, which already resulted in an increased frequency of dry years. Barley landraces
domesticated and evolved in the dry areas of the Fertile Crescent are expected to be adapted to
growth-limiting factors as this adaptation contributes to their yield stability Molecular markers
technology offers the possibility to increasing the efficiency and precision of selection in plant
breeding program, especially in QTL identification, which determines the location of genes on
chromosomes. Therefore, the identification of markers closely linked to important agronomic
traits will allow their utilization in marker-assisted selection and thus increase the efficiency of
selection in breeding programs The domestication of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) took place
prior to 10,000 B.C in the Near East region known as the “Fertile Crescent”, which extends from
the southern parts of Jordan to southeastern Turkey to western Iran (A. M. Al-Abdallat et
al.,2017)

Healthy Benefit of barley

Barley is a major cereal grain, commonly found in bread, beverages, and various cuisines of
every culture. Whole grains are important sources of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals that are
not found in refined or "enriched" grains. Refining grains removes the bran, germ, and most of
their fiber and nutrients. Barley has many economic uses today. Barley is produced primarily as
animal feed. For example, over half of the barley grown in the United States is used for livestock
feed. Barley as feed has the same nutritive value as corn. Barley is high in carbohydrates, with
moderate amounts of protein, calcium, and phosphorus. It also has small amounts of B vitamins.
The entire barley kernel is used as feed after it has been steamrolled or gone through a grinding
process. By-products from the brewing process and malt sprouts are also used in livestock feed.
It is found that two-rowed barley is most often used for animal feed because it produces higher
weight and superior kernel production. Barley is also used in the production of beer and some
wines. About 25% of the cultivated barley in the United States is used for malting, with about
80% being used in beer production, 14% used in distilled alcohol production, and 6% used for
malt syrup, malted milk, and breakfast foods. A small amount of the produced barley is used for
human food in the form of pearl barley or the form of flour for porridge. Sometimes barley is
grown as a hay crop in some areas. Only the smooth varieties or awnless varieties are used in hay
production. Winter barley also can be used for hay if pasteurized before the stems start to
elongate. The amount of barley used for ethanol has been increased significantly in the last
decade, especially in some EU countries (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021).
Barley has been used to formulate various “healthy” food products such as pasta and bread the
major component of barley kernel is starch that may amount to over 70% of the dry weight
Therefore, it may be expected that the quality of barley-based food/feed products can be much
affected by the starch properties. Starch is also a byproduct of the barley fractionation process for
β-glucan production Understanding the starch properties provide a basis for value-added
processed products containing barley. Recently produced novel starches from genetic mutants
such as the “amylose-only” genotype provide various possible applications for the food and other
industries (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021). Barley is a good source of both soluble and insoluble dietary
fibers and in particular, the beta-glucan. The beta-glucan content of cereals ranges from 1% in
wheat grains, 3-7% in oats, and 5-11% in barley. Betaglucan is principally found in the aleurone
layer and endosperm in barley. Compared to insoluble fiber such as cellulose, beta-glucan is
more flexible, soluble, and viscous. It confers many health benefits including reducing the risk of
heart disease, lowering blood cholesterol levels, increasing insulin response in diabetics, and
preventing obesity and cancer. There is an increasing interest in using beta-glucan from barley as
a functional food ingredient. Barley's fiber can prevent several different conditions. For example,
when barley's fiber binds to and removes cholesterol-containing bile, this can be very beneficial
for people struggling with heart disease since it forces the body to make more bile by breaking
down cholesterol, thus lowering cholesterol levels. According to the Archives of Internal
Medicine confirms that eating high fiber foods, such as barley, helps prevent heart disease.
People eating the dietary fiber, 21 grams per day, had 12% less coronary heart disease (CHD)
and 11% less cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to those eating the least, 5 grams daily.
Those eating the most water-soluble dietary fiber fared even better with a 15% reduction in risk
of CHD and a 10% risk reduction in CVD. The fiber in barley also helps to prevent blood sugar
levels from rising too high in people with diabetes (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021).
Whole barley grain is mostly used for feeding animals. For food purposes, barley is mainly used
as a de-hulled grain or high fiber content product. Food produced from barley is a good source
for many nutrients such as protein, fiber, minerals, and B-vitamins. The fiber content of barley is
high and rich in β-glucan that is mainly soluble. Fiberrich cereals such as barley are beneficial
for balancing the human diet in a manner that is of no relevance for animals. Low-digestible
carbohydrates, especially β-glucan and resistant starch have a positive impact on lowering post-
prandial blood glucose levels. Further, β-glucan has been reported to reduce blood cholesterol
levels. Barley products are thought to be good for diabetics, obese and overweight people, and
for those who have a high blood cholesterol level (Gashaw Abebaw.,2021).
References
1. Abebaw, G. (2021). “Review on structure, functional and nutritional composition of barley
(Hordeum vulgare)”. J Nutr Food Process.

2. Shafi, M., Bakht, J. E. H. A. N., Jalal, F. A. Z. A. L., Khan, M. A., & Khattak, S. G. (2011). “Effect of
nitrogen application on yield and yield components of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)”. Pak. J.
Bot, 43(3), 1471-1475.

3. Ullah, A.; Sadaf, S.; Ullah, S.; Alshaya, H.; Okla, M.K.; Alwasel, Y.A.; Tariq, A. “Using Halothermal Time
Model to Describe Barley (Hordeumvulgare L.) Seed Germination Response to Water Potential and
Temperature”. Life (2022), 12, 209. https://doi.org/10.3390/life12020209

4. Giraldo, P.; Benavente, E.; Manzano-Agugliaro, F.; Gimenez, E. “Worldwide Research Trends on Wheat and
Barley: A Bibliometric Comparative Analysis”. Agronomy (2019), 9, 352.
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9070352

5. Yang, X., Chen, J., Ma, Y., Huang, M., Qiu, T., Bian, H., ... & Wang, J. (2022). “Function,
mechanism, and application of plant melatonin: An update with a focus on the cereal crop, barley
(Hordeum vulgare L.)”. Antioxidants, 11(4), 634

6. Pankin, A., & von Korff, M. (2017). “Co-evolution of methods and thoughts in cereal
domestication studies: a tale of barley (Hordeum vulgare)” Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 36,
15-21.

7. Mut, Z., Gülümser, A., & Sirat, A. (2010). Comparison of stability statistics for yield in barley
(Hordeum vulgare L.). African Journal of Biotechnology, 9(11), 1610-1618.

8. Al-Ajlouni, Z. I., Al-Abdallat, A. M., Al-Ghzawi, A. L. A., Ayad, J. Y., Abu Elenein, J. M., Al-Quraan,
N. A., & Baenziger, P. S. (2016). “Impact of pre-anthesis water deficit on yield and yield
components in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) plants grown under controlled
conditions.” Agronomy, 6(2), 33.

9. Al-Abdallat, A. M., Karadsheh, A., Hadadd, N. I., Akash, M. W., Ceccarelli, S., Baum, M., ... & Abu
Elenein, J. M. (2017). Assessment of genetic diversity and yield performance in Jordanian barley
(Hordeum vulgare L.) landraces grown under Rainfed conditions. BMC Plant biology, 17, 1-13.

10. Abebaw, G. (2021). “Review on structure, functional and nutritional composition of barley
(Hordeum vulgare)”. J Nutr Food Process.
11.