This handbook provides a basis for checking the range of quality factors that can be judged by on-the-spot examination. When barley is being received at the silo or the malt-house, it is impractical and unnecessary to use the range of precise laboratory methods devised for quality testing, although these can be used to decide about border-line samples or to resolve disputes. Instead, an approximate indication of many quality factors can be obtained by visual examination to determine: (a) the variety, to make sure that the load is binned with other barley of a compatible quality type; (b) the extent of damage to grains, as an indication of how satisfactory the grain will be for the particular use for which it is offered; (c) the degree of contamination with foreign seeds, to determine the purity of the barley, the expense involved in cleaning it and its suitability for use as human or animal food depending on the toxicity of the contaminants. In addition to these three aspects of quality, there are other factors such as test weight and protein content that can be measured on receival of grain, but they are beyond the scope of this book.

Barley is one of the world's most important crops with uses ranging from food and feed production, malting and brewing to its use as a model organism in molecular research. The demand and uses of barley continue to grow and there is a need for an up-to-date comprehensive reference that looks at all aspects of the barley crop from taxonomy and morphology through to end use. Barley will fill this increasing void. Barley will stand as a must have reference for anyone researching, growing, or utilizing this important crop.

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Genetic diversity is one of the main resources sustaining human life. Food security largely depends on the availability and utilization of this diversity, which is of strategic importance for countries and companies. Conservation and utilization of biodiversity is thus currently an urgent area of global debate and concern. Barley is a major crop in the world used for food, feed and malt, and with a wide religious and ethnic importance. The crop was domesticated in Neolithic time in SW Asia and spread rapidly under cultivation to new areas. Nowadays it is one of the most widespread and widely adapted crops grown under contrasting edaphic conditions. Adaptations to new environments, different agricultural practices and selection for different uses have further added to the complex diversity pattern. Is it at all possible to give a complete picture of the diversity in a crop or wild species? Are we, by adding new technologies, only revealing parts of the diversity? Do different sets of data show similar or conflicting pictures of genetic diversity? Will the large genome size reduce the role of barley as a model organism in these current sequencing days? Or, are there still major reasons to continue to work with this beautiful crop? The aim of this book is to cover the complex issue of diversification in time and space in a single crop: barley. Leading scientists from various fields describe the entire variation pattern in different sets of characters and an attempt is made for a synthesis to a holistic picture. The book proposes ways to use the achievements of diversity studies in future research and breeding programmes.