Spring barley Prairie, according to its description and characteristics, is resistant to heat and prolonged drought, and is characterized by high yields. The variety was developed by Ukrainian scientists at the National Center for Seed Science in Odessa. In the early 90s of the last century, a new variety of cereal crop was included in the state registers of the Russian Federation with zoning in different climatic zones.
Characteristics and description of Prairie barley
The main purpose of the spring Prairie barley variety is to prepare forage for feeding farm animals.Due to the excellent quality of ripening grain and high protein content, up to 15%, Prairie is used in the food and brewing industries.
- The herbaceous plant is tall, reaching up to 1 m during the growing season.
- The rhizomes are very developed and powerful, which increases the variety's resistance to prolonged droughts.
- The straw is thin, flexible, elastic; by the time the fruit ripens, it bends at the base of the ear and acquires a golden hue.
- The plant is not prone to lodging and grain drop.
- The ear is protected on both sides by guard hairs, up to 8 cm long, with pronounced coloring at the tips.
- Ripe grains are large, elongated, bright golden in color.
- The seed is covered with a thin protective film, which is guaranteed to protect the seeds from an excess of tanning components, which give barley a bitter taste.
- Seed ripening occurs in the middle ear.
- The average weight of 1000 seeds ranges from 45 to 52g.
- Full ripening of the grain occurs 2.5-3 months after planting.
Important! The Prairie variety is characterized by resistance to weather and climatic anomalies and easily tolerates both recurrent frosts and drought.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
To get an abundant and high-quality grain harvest, you need to become familiar with the advantages and possible disadvantages of the grain variety.
Advantages of growing Prairie barley:
- excellent yield indicators: from 1 hectare, with proper agricultural technology, up to 60 centners of grain are obtained;
- universal purpose of the crop;
- unpretentiousness to soil composition and weather conditions;
- high resistance to helminthosporium.
Among the disadvantages of the variety, there is poor resistance to root rot and rust.
Diseases and pests
Spring Prairie barley requires additional prevention and protection from damage by diseases and pests.
If the rules of agricultural technology are violated and unfavorable weather conditions occur, the cereal is affected by the following diseases:
- brown, yellow and stem rust;
- yellow spot;
- septoria and septoria spot;
- powdery and downy mildew;
- fusarium head blight and fusarium spot;
- rhynchosporiasis.
To combat lesions, biological means of protection and preparations based on fungicides are used. Also, pests do not ignore the grain. The grain harvest will suffer greatly from the attacks of the bug, bread flies, thrips, grain flies, flea beetles and grain cutworms. To avoid crop loss, grain crops are treated with insecticide-based preparations.
Important! Treatment of plantings with chemicals is stopped a month before the grain ripens.
Collection and storage
Harvest dates may vary depending on the growing region. On an industrial scale, barley is harvested by mechanization. If the cereal crop is grown on a personal plot or in a subsidiary plot, mowing the cereal can be done manually.
The harvested grain is sent for processing and storage to an elevator or a specialized granary.
