Key Technical Points and Cultivation Management Methods for Beer Barley Planting
Beer barley is a special type of barley used for brewing beer. Beer is nutritious and is known as "liquid bread", and there is great market demand for it. There are many barley varieties used for brewing both in China and abroad, mainly including Zaoshu No. 3, Aizao No. 3, Humai No. 4, Zhoumai No. 1, Zhepi No. 1, Yan 75-21, Manker, Ante, the Sisi system, and others...
Actively developing beer barley production is of great significance for meeting the needs of the beer industry's development and accelerating the pace of farmers becoming prosperous. To achieve high and stable yields of beer barley, four appropriate measures should be carried out:1. Appropriate selection of improved varieties
Beer barley is a special type of barley used for brewing beer. When planting, seeds should be selected that have high yield, strong disease resistance, strong stress resistance, thin husk, a light yellow color, glossiness, and no diseased or spotted grains. Seeds with no musty or off odors should also be selected. In addition, two-rowed barley or multi-rowed barley with a high germination rate, strong germination vigor, uniform grains, and moderate protein content should be chosen.
2. Appropriate sparse sowing
Practice has shown that the method of relying on increasing the sowing rate and enlarging the population structure to obtain yield is unscientific. Appropriate sparse sowing not only saves seed quantity but also improves tillering ability. However, it should be noted that when sowing sparsely, the seed germination rate must be maintained above 90%. For plots with early sowing, more fertilizer, and higher soil fertility, a sowing rate of 8 kg per mu is appropriate; for plots with late sowing and lower soil fertility and fertilization levels, the sowing rate should be about 10 kg per mu. Try to achieve intensive cultivation and uniform sowing. The most suitable sowing period for beer barley is around Frost's Descent. Therefore, arrangements should be properly made according to the preceding crop.
3. Appropriate control of nitrogen and increase of phosphorus
Beer barley requires moderate grain protein content and high thousand-grain weight. For early-maturing No. 3 barley with a yield of more than 400 kg per mu, the total fertilizer application throughout the growth period is 20 kg of pure nitrogen. For a yield of 250-300 kg per mu, 10-15 kg of pure nitrogen is needed. Therefore, the application of organic fertilizer and phosphorus and potassium fertilizer should be increased and used as base fertilizer. Quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer should be used up before the three-leaf stage, and spring fertilizer must be applied early, with little or no application according to seedling conditions. This is to avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer, which can cause delayed maturity and lodging.
4. Harvesting at the appropriate time
Beer barley has strict requirements for the harvest period. When the stems, leaves, and sheaths are found to have lost green color and turned yellow, the ears appear light yellow, the grains have normal water loss, and the grains feel hard yet slightly soft when pressed by hand, harvesting at the dough stage is best. The grains harvested at this time have moderate protein content and can improve beer quality. Because beer is made from beer barley as the raw material and is brewed through processes such as malting and saccharification, when harvesting beer barley, one should seize sunny days to harvest, thresh promptly, sun-dry, and winnow clean. Never pile and store it before it is dry, so as to avoid heating inside the stack, "steaming" the seed embryo, reducing the germination rate, and affecting color and quality.