Algae, not pollen.
i was told barley bales would prevent algae from blooming was i misinformed ?
No, you weren't misinformed, you were lied to. Any time a business can buy something for 2 cents and sell it for $20 there's bound to be a bit of "creative marketing". But they couldn't run the con without the help of hundreds of marks claiming it works.
The decomposing barley would be adding nutrients which would make the green water greener. The barley wouldn't cause the algae bloom, it would just make it a bit worst and possibly last longer.
There is no scientific proof showing barley kills string (hair) algae or green water algae. There are studies showing it has no effect on any algae under any conditions. There was a single study in the UK done about 20 years ago that showed barley
might slow the growth of string algae in lab conditions. The study also did a small field study that was really bad, and even the field study came back as some people saying
they thought maybe there was
less growth.
Several universities in the US then did studies to try and duplicate the UK findings and
every one of those studies could not find any effect on string algae.
After the US studies were published the author of the UK study published a paper with a theory on how barley could kill algae (all kinds). That theory was rotting barley broke down and produced peroxide which is true. Most rotting things produce peroxide and even living things produce peroxide. In one of his earlier studies he saw that peroxide would kill algae at high levels. So therefore he concluded barley must kill algae. No one, including the theory's author, has tested his theory because it's so incredibly dumb.
But of course you can find 100's of "reputable" retailers saying barley will kill your algae and quoting the UK study and the follow up theory as fact. They get away with it because they're ripping off a small number of people for a small amount of money. Plus they have the backing of 100's of customers saying it works. Most algae blooms clear in 6-8 weeks with or without barley. The difference is people who've added barley swear it was the barley that cleared the pond.
These same retailers will gladly sell dozens of other products which will clear your pond. It's called "reeling in the mark".
If you think you've been scammed contact the retailer and complain. Most retailers are smart enough to return your money. They have huge mark up on straw and so returning the money to maybe 0.001% who complain is no big deal. They want you happy and quiet.
