Quality of Barley Grain from Testing Sites of the Czech Republic, harvest 2009

Samples of three varieties of spring barley from 23 testing stations and two winter barley varieties from 14 testing stations were analyzed according to the standard CSN 461100-5. The favorable course of weather in 2009 positively affected content of nitrogenous substances (11.8 % and 11.7 %) and starch (63.8 % and 63.8 %) in spring and winter barley caryopses. The occurrence of sprouted grains was minimal and the amount of the damaged grains was low. Grain harvested in 2009 was bigger and its size was homogenous. Portion of sieving fractions above 2.5 mm was on average 87.5 % in spring barley and 94.0 % in winter barley. Year 2009 was a favorable year in terms of quality. Content of admixtures was adequate and it was formed mainly by the admixtures partly usable in malting (grains without husks and grains with black tips and grains with an awn).