BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare) is probably the oldest grain domesticated by humanity about 11,000 YBP from wild Barley –Hordeum spontaneum. Its a very resilient crop growing in varied marginal environments and high altitude dry areas. Fertile Crescent (border of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and western Syria) is considered one of the Centers of Origin of Barley. However the presence of Hordeum spontaneum across north Africa and Tibet indicates its multi-centric origins. Domestication transformed the brittle rachis, tenacious glume and non-free threshing ability, yield as well as made the grain more roundish.

Barley probably was taken through the silk route to the Tibetan plateau, where it introgressed with wild forms in the Himalayas to generate frequently found naked forms of the grain. The 6 row wild form H. agriochriton developed from such hybridisation. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau covering most of Tibet Autonomous Region & Quinghai province in China as well as Ladakh and Lahaul-Spiti districts in Himachal Pradesh has been also proposed as an additional centre of origin and diversification. Here 2 & 6 rowed wild forms (H. spontaneum and H. agriochriton) have been sampled.

A German expedition to Indo-Tibet 1938-39, led by Ernst Schaffer , brought back to Germany 1600 varieties of barley. Schaffer was then appointed the head of a research station in Austria, where all the varieties were grown out and evaluated with the intention of breeding superior for German territories in Russia.

It is significant is that such staggering Barley diversity existed & was developed and maintained by farmers and was the staple of the people enabling them to inhabit the Roof of the World.

NAKED BARLEY or Hull-less Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. var. nudum Hook. f) is an ancient food grain grown in high altitude Himalayan tracts of Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. 
In normal hulled barley the outer parts of the barley flower (pales) are ‘glued’ to the grain as it develops. In naked barley the gene that controls the production of the ‘glue’ is mutated and so the pales are only loosely wrapped around the grain, so they fall off easily. The naked mutation, known as nud, is a recessive mutation and is not found in wild barley.

Genetic studies show that the mutation occurred on a single occasion around 8,000 years ago. The area of origin was probably modern Iran, but naked barley quickly spread throughout Europe, Asia and North Africa to become perhaps the most important cereal crop of the Neolithic and Bronze Age.  The amazing implication of this is that all naked barley in the world today is descended from a few grains, saved from the grinding stone and sown the next season by an unknown Iranian farmer 8,000 years ago.

The hull or husk of normal covered barley is indigestible for humans and must be removed by pearling. Naked barley doesn’t need this processing.

Barley grows in adverse conditions, needing only half as much water per tonne of grain as wheat. Naked barley has amazing ability of cold tolerance.

Grain contains 74-78 % of carbohydrates, 8-18 % of proteins and 2-3 % of lipids. It has higher content of vitamins (B complex, E, pantothenic acid, folic acid and biotin) and minerals (phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron and selenium). Naked barley is a good source of soluble fibre (3-6 % out of 15-24 % of total fibre).

Naked barley has by far the lowest glycemic index of any grain ever tested. Its GI is 25. Low glycemic is good for people with diabetes, because it has little effect on our blood glucose levels.
Barley is a rich source of complex carbohydrates-especially beta glucan soluble fibre, its health benefits include lowering blood cholesterol levels. Barley starch is broken down to release sugar into the blood over a long period, preventing high spikes in insulin, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. 
The flour can be used in bread, pastry, pasta, cakes and biscuits and breakfast cereals with little processing.  

​Ballia & Bahraich local Barley (Uttar Pradesh) is tolerant to saline-alkaline soils.