Barley - Tambar 500

Barley is a type of cereal grass in the genus Hordeum and was one of the first cultivated grains. One way to classify Barley is by rows of grain on the grain head. Wild barley typically has 2 rows of grains heads while most cultivated barley has 6 rows. Four row heads are also possible. Like wheat, barley also can have several awn (beard) configurations from awnless to fully awned. Other means of classification involve hull (hulled or hulless), purpose (feed or malting), height, and seed color.

Tambar 500 was developed by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES) and released in 1991. It was bred from Tambar 402, a previous TAES barley release in 1981. Tambar 500 is a six rowed, rough awn, hulled, medium to late maturing winter feed barley. It is adapted for production in the southern great plains.