6-Rowed Barley

These cultivars of barley are classified 6-rowed. A 6-rowed barley is typically high in protein making it good for animal (and people!) feed. When malted and used for producing beer, 6-rowed barley can cause haziness.

So what's in a row?

Barley heads are known as spikes. Each spike consists of a series of spikelets along a central stem known as a rachis. A kernel of barley develops inside a floret which is inside a spikelet. Spikelets are attached in sets of three to a node in an alternating pattern on the central rachis. Every floret in six-rowed barley develops into a kernel to create six rows of kernels. In two-rowed barley, only the florets of each central spikelet develop into kernels, leading to the formation of just two rows of kernels per spike.