Difference between wheat and barley

Barley and wheat are both common crops in our lives and are generally grown in the northeast region of my country. Because it is a plant that can grow in arid climates, the northern region is more suitable for its living conditions. Both wheat and barley can produce wheat flour. The wheat flour produced can be processed to make the flour we eat, so what is the difference between wheat and barley?

1. Appearance

Barley: The two ends are pointed and slender. The awn of barley is very long, almost the same length as an ear of wheat.

Wheat: The ends are rounder, shorter and smoother. The awns of wheat are relatively short.

2. Growth environment, soil, and season

Wheat is a long-day crop (8 to 12 hours of light per day), if sunlight conditions are insufficient. It cannot pass the light stage and cannot ear and bear fruit.

Barley varieties are suitable for temperate zones, subarctic regions, and subtropical regions. The growing season is at least 90 days, which is relatively short among cereal crops.

3. Distribution

Barley is distributed in temperate zones, subarctic regions, and subtropical areas.

The soil layer in the area where wheat is distributed should be thick, with good structure and deep tillage layer, which is conducive to water and fertilizer storage and promotes root development. Otherwise it will be difficult to achieve high yield.

4. Function

Wheat is rich in starch, protein, fat, minerals, calcium, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin A.

Barley is rich in nutrients, containing 13.1 grams of water, 10.2 grams of protein, 1.4 grams of fat, 63.4 grams of carbohydrates, 9.9 grams of dietary fiber, 66 milligrams of calcium, 381 milligrams of phosphorus, and 6.4 milligrams of iron per 100 grams.

1. Barley value:

Used as feed for human consumption or to make maltose. Beer is mainly made from barley malt, and more than 10% of the total output is used to make beer. Barley malt is also used to make distilled beverages.

2. Wheat value:

In addition to human consumption, only a small amount is used to produce starch, alcohol, gluten, etc., and the by-products after processing are all high-quality feed for livestock.