A rapid technique to predict malting quality in barley prior to harvest

Summary Samples of grain from three spring barley cultivars of differing malting quality were collected at regular intervals during four weeks prior to harvest. The samples were dried, then assessed for relative grain hardness using the “Milling Energy” test. Ranking order of the cultivars for this character, which relates strongly to malting quality, was unaltered throughout. In a further experiment, it was demonstrated that selection for milling energy could be successfully practised on oven-dried grain collected six weeks after ear emergence.