Nitrogen fertilization rates to maximize winter malting barley yield while meeting protein requirements in Ohio

Due to the craft beer industry, there is an emerging need for winter malting barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) nitrogen (N) rate recommendations in Ohio. An experiment was conducted at seven site‐years to identify the optimum spring N application rate to maximize barley grain yield while maintaining protein requirements for malting. Yield increased quadratically with increasing N application rate, while grain protein increased linearly. Across site‐years, yield was maximized with a spring N rate of 113 kg N ha −1 . Applications >67 kg N ha −1 resulted in grain protein that exceeded the grain protein requirements; however, there was variability among site‐years. At low‐yielding site‐years (<3000 kg ha −1 ), protein exceeded the requirement with 0–22 kg N ha −1 . In high‐yielding site‐years (approximately 7000 kg ha −1 ), over 110 kg N ha −1 could be applied.