Patrick Hayes, crop breeder
Patrick Hayes, PhD, has spent his career working with barley, a tasty and nutritious whole-grain crop. In fact, he starts his day with a bowl of barley flakes, which can lower cholesterol and aid in digestion.
Most current varieties of barley have a hull that sticks to the seed. The technical term for this is an “adhering hull.” It’s almost as hard as the casing on some nuts. That means that in order to make edible barley, food processors have to grind off that hull. This makes “pearled barley.” That pearled barley does not have a whole grain designation.
Hayes’ team recently bred a new variety of barley that does not have an adhering hull, and that means it qualifies as a whole grain.
Modern varieties of barley have ancient roots. Barley was domesticated about 10,000 years ago, and those first barleys had adhering hulls. Then, 8,000 years ago, enterprising agriculturalists spotted naturally-growing barleys that did not have hulls! They selected those hull-less types for use as food. One of the places where that hull-less barley really took off was the Himalayan region.
Fast forward to the 20th century in North American and Hayes’ lab: There was a variety that was doing well in Oregon’s conditions, but it had a hull. Colleagues in Virginia had a variety that had no hull. Breeders often refer to this as “naked barley” as it has no covering.
Hayes’ team wanted a naked barley that also grew well in Oregon. So they asked their colleagues in Virginia to send some of their naked barley seed types, and embarked on research to find the best cross-bred variety of naked barley. The goal of that cross-breeding was to ultimately develop a variety that would have the best attributes of both—that is, that it would have good yield, survive the winter, be resistant to diseases, and be hull-less.
After the cross-pollination, breeders grew the progeny through several generations. They test the potential new varieties in different locations and in different years. They look for that perfect combination of traits. Once they find those traits in a single plant, it becomes the basis for a new variety.
Researchers test for a lot of different traits, including flavor. Several new barleys have been tested for their baking ability and for making other tasty and nutritious whole-grain products. They even make malts, and beer from that malt. (Hayes says it’s really a delicious beer.)
In Oregon, they hold a Barley Day and in 2018, the team’s new variety was featured. The crew named the new variety of barley, “Buck.” Hull-less barley is often referred to as “naked” by crop breeders–so that gives us Buck, the naked barley.
Once crop breeders knew that Buck was a good variety of barley, they registered it with the USDA. They keep seeds at Oregon State University and in the USDA seed banks. That ensures that all of the hard work that went into developing this healthy, tasty, and productive variety can be shared around the world.
Crop breeders do their part to ensure food sustainability. They help feed the world and keep it happy.
Watch Hayes in action. Then learn more about Buck barley.
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