Irrigated spring hull-less food barley response to nitrogen fertilization

Authors: Rogers, Christopher; SPACKMAN, JARED - University Of Idaho; Tarkalson, David; Hu, Gongshe; MARSHALL, JULIET - University Of Idaho; ADEYEMI, OLANREWAJU - Utah State University; Evans, Christopher

Submitted to: Soil Science Society of America Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/7/2025
Publication Date: 2/27/2025
Citation: Rogers, C.W., Spackman, J.A., Tarkalson, D.D., Hu, G., Marshall, J.M., Adeyemi, O., Evans, C.P. 2025. Irrigated spring hull-less food barley response to nitrogen fertilization. Soil Science Society of America Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.70029.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.70029

Interpretive Summary: Demand for barley for human consumption has increased in past decades largely as consumers are seeking increased health benefits from their diets. Hull-less barley plays a particularly important role in this resurgence as they remove the need to process barley through pearling and modern cultivars have increased grain fiber content. To our knowledge, no work has established fertilizer-nitrogen (N) recommendations for hull-less food barley under high-yielding irrigated conditions common in the semi-arid western United States. This research presents 11 site-years of fertilizer-N trial data (collected from 2019 to 2023 for the hull-less food barley cultivars “Goldenhart” and “Julie”). N-supply is reported and is the sum of applied fertilizer-N and inorganic soil N to 60-cm. Site-by-site analysis resulted in a mean yield maximizing N-Supply of 187 kg N ha-1. Results indicate recommendations of a static-N range from 187 to 216 kg ha-1 N-Supply are suitable for irrigated hull-less barley production.

Technical Abstract: Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is the primary grain used for malting and brewing and to a slightly lesser degree animal feed. This differs from historical usage where barley was a major calorie source in human diets of antiquity. Demand for barley for human consumption has increased in past decades largely as consumers are seeking increased health benefits from their diets. Hull-less barley plays a particularly important role in this resurgence as they remove the need to process barley through pearling and modern cultivars have increased grain fiber content. To our knowledge, no work has been done to establish fertilizer-nitrogen (N) recommendations for hull-less food barley under high-yielding irrigated conditions common in the semi-arid western United States. This research presents 11 site-years of replicated N response trial data (~5 fertilizer-N rates) collected from 2019 to 2023 for the hull-less food barley cultivars “Goldenhart” and “Julie” in southern Idaho. N-supply is reported and is the sum of applied fertilizer-N and inorganic soil N to 60-cm. Site-by-site analysis resulted in a mean yield maximizing N-Supply of 187 kg N ha-1. When all data was included in a single linear plateau model, a critical N-Supply of 216 kg N ha-1 was determined at 86% relative grain yield (RGY). Protein increased slightly with increasing N-Supply, but no relationships was found for plumps or test weights. Results indicate recommendations of a static-N range from 187 to 216 kg ha-1 N-Supply are suitable for irrigated hull-less barley production.