Yuanmai is a type of naked barley: characteristics and its value for cultivation and use

Yuanmai is the common name for naked barley, a crop belonging to the genus Hordeum in the grass family (Poaceae). Its most obvious characteristic is that when mature, the grain separates from the inner and outer husks (palea and lemma), so threshing immediately yields clean, smooth grains. It is called different names in different places: in the Tibet and Qinghai areas it is mostly known as qingke (highland barley), while in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, in Jiangsu, Shanghai and elsewhere, it is customarily called yuanmai. Locally it was once grouped together with wheat and barley under the collective name "three mails" (san mai), and it is a traditional summer-harvested small-grain cereal crop.

Yuanmai has strong tolerance to cold, drought and poor, thin soils, and it is not demanding about soil; it can grow normally even on saline-alkali land and barren land. Its growth period is generally shorter than that of wheat and it matures earlier, which makes it convenient for arranging the following crop, so it is fairly widely planted in areas where heat conditions are tight or soil conditions are poor.

When planting yuanmai, attention should be paid to pre-sowing preparation. Carefully selected seed and treatment by chemical seed dressing or seed soaking can reduce the occurrence of diseases such as stripe disease and smut. In fertilization, base fertilizer should be the main application, with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium rationally combined, and topdressing during the growing period according to the condition of the plants. In the rainy areas of the south, attention should be paid to clearing ditches and regulating soil moisture, draining water in time to prevent waterlogging damage, while also monitoring and controlling pests and diseases such as aphids and powdery mildew.

Yuanmai grains can be boiled into porridge, ground into flour for making wheat-based foods, or processed into foods such as oatmeal, and in plateau areas it is an important raw material for making tsampa. It is also a commonly used forage crop; its stems and leaves can be used as roughage, and its grains contain relatively large amounts of dietary fiber and beta-glucan substances, so its nutritional value has attracted attention. It is a small-grain cereal crop with both food and feed value.