Barley

Barley is an important rabi crop. For human consumption, it is largely consumed by the poor classes either as flour for chapatimaking, 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. In Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, mixed flour of barley, gram and wheat is used for making `missi roti'. However, almost 60 per cent of the total barley produced in India are consumed as cattle feed. Barley is also used in the manufacture of malt and , aryuvedic medicine, cocoa-malt drinks and baby foods. With the coming up of many new breweries, after the liberalised licensing policy, the share of barley in the production of malt for manufacture of is expected to rise.