New
opportunities exist for barley
Straw
can control blue-green algae
By
TY BEAVER
H&N Staff
Writer
The disappearance of malting contracts may have stifled
demand for barley in the Klamath Basin, but other markets could help
soften the blow.
With uses ranging from forage to algae control, barley can still be a
valuable crop for Basin farmers, said
Patrick Hayes, professor of barley genetics at Oregon State University.
As far as human consumption, barley is linked with preventing coronary
heart disease by the Food and Drug Administration. The designation and
other properties of the crop make it popular with the health food
industry, Hayes said.
Not all food companies want the entire plant. Some may just want one of
the vitamins or the fiber. Companies that take barley and other cereal
grains and break them into their individual components and
sell them to food processors are developing and looking for crops to
render, Hayes said.
Humans aren’t the only ones who may benefit from barley crops.
Research at OSU into winter barley may provide a forage for livestock in
the region.
One of the more interesting uses of barley is as an algae control
substance.
Reports from several states and agencies reported that barley straw is
effective in controlling blue-green algae, specifically Aphanizomenon
flos-aquae (AFA), which is present in
Upper Klamath Lake.
Hayes said that the loss of “brown water” from decaying wetland
matter may be the reason AFA has become a problem in lakes. Barley straw
that is allowed to decay in the lake water appears to fill the role once
performed by the wetlands, he said.
OSU is testing the phenomenon in Corvallis and plans to establish test
columns in the lake next year, Hayes said. If it is successful,
researchers will begin to identify barley fields close to the lake to
supply the needed straw.
