Vol. 12, Issue 5 (2023)

Author(s):
Shalini Pandey and Neelma Kunwar

Abstract:
Barley is the fourth most important cereal crop in the world after rice, wheat and maize and has the highest dietary fibre content. Barley plant is a Rabi cereal crop from the grass family Poaceae. Barley crop is mostly found in cooler and semi-arid part of the world. Barley is a widely adaptable crop. It is currently popular in temperate areas where it is grown as a summer crop and tropical areas where it is sown as a winter crops 987y. Its germination time is one to three days. Barley grows under cool conditions but is not particularly winter hardy. It is believed that barley was originated in the Middle East. During the ancient time it was mainly grown for human consumption but nowadays barley production is also used for animal feed, malt products and human food. β-glucan, a polysaccharide and soluble dietary fibre, has great potential as a nutraceutical ingredient. For human consumption, it is largely consumed by the poor classes either as flour for chapati making, pure or mixed with wheat or gram flour, or as parched grains to make sattu. In Bihar and West Bengal, the poor as a staple food consume dehusked barley.