Differing Susceptibilities of Barley Samples to Abrasion

Abrasion trials on different varieties of barley from the 1971 harvest show that susceptibility to abrasion at the distal (non-embryo) end of the grain is not correlated with malting quality as judged by conventional criteria. In general, barleys of small corn size (less than 29 g per 1000 corn weight) are difficult to abrade because their pointed distal ends are covered by relatively greater quantities of husk material than are barleys of larger size. Effective abrasion is related to scarification of the pericarp layer at the distal end of the grain rather than to general loss of husk material.