The Hebrew adjective aphil (H648) refers to grain or crops that are late, unripe, or not yet grown. It describes the flax and barley that were destroyed by the plague of hail in Egypt (Exodus 9:32), while the wheat and emmer were not yet grown and thus were spared.
The mention of aphil grain in the Exodus plagues demonstrates God's precise and measured judgment. The plagues were not random destruction but targeted demonstrations of power that distinguished between what was ready for harvest and what was not. This speaks to God's sovereign knowledge and control over the details of creation and history.