Both barley and wheat originated in the Middle East and have been around for about 10,000 years. Both are grasses, a family of crops that also includes rice, sugar cane, and corn. Each grain consists of three layers: the outer bran layer, the endosperm layer, and the nutrient-dense inner core.
The archaeological record suggests that wheat was first cultivated in the regions of the Fertile Crescent around 9600 BCE. Botanically, the wheat kernel is a type of fruit called a caryopsis. Wheat is grown on more land area than any other food crop (220.4 million hectares or 545 million acres, 2014).
Where was barley originated from?
The wild ancestor of barley can be found throughout northeast Africa and Western Asia (through to tibet). The first evidence of wild barley dates back to 8500 B. From the southern end of the Sea of Galilee, but it certainly existed long before this time.
When and How to Plant Barley, and spring barley. This is sown between December and late April. This is sown between September and October, depending on how long your growing season is. Depending on how much barley you want to grow and if you will be hand sowing or using machinery, there are a few options for planting barley.
Also, where does the name barley come from?
The lineage of the name Barley begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the county of Hertfordshire, where they took their name from the parish of Barley. Barley is also a village in the borough of Pendle, in Lancashire which dates back to 1266.
One source stated that in the Fertile Crescent, barley is considered one of the classic eight founder crops .
Another frequently asked inquiry is “What is barley?”.
One source claimed Barley ( Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare ) was one of the first and earliest crops domesticated by humans.
When was barley domesticated?
Remains of barley ( Hordeum vulgare) grains found at archaeological sites in the Fertile Crescent indicate that about 10,000 years ago the crop was domesticated there from its wild relative Hordeum spontaneum.
Wild barley has a brittle spike; upon maturity, the spikelets separate, facilitating seed dispersal. Domesticated barley has nonshattering spikes, making it much easier to harvest the mature ears. The nonshattering condition is caused by a mutation in one of two tightly linked genes known as Bt 1 and Bt 2; many cultivars possess both mutations.