Barley
These cultivars belong to the botanical group Hordeum vulgare, more commonly known as barley.
Barley is the fourth most important cereal in the United States, mostly for livestock feed and then brewing. We grow both hulled and hull-less varieties. Assuming my dehulling experiments are productive, ultimately, I will focus on varieties that perform the best in my fields. Long term, I'd like to try my hand at malting for home brewed beer.
For growing information, please see our presentations that discuss growing grains on a small, homestead scale.
Wikipedia reports leaf rust, also known as brown rust, is an significant barley fungal disease caused by Puccinia hordei. Most of the US commercial varieties are susceptible. There is a discussion of which genes provide resistance here. I will note in the description observed rust activity in my very non-commercial barley collection. Further, stem and other leaf rusts are discussed here.
Barley flour can be mixed with wheat flour. 10 to 25% is recommended. Here is a vigorous discussion of two row vs six row for brewing. My take-away, for homebrewing, I'll use what grows well.
