Barley as Potential Crop for Low Input Sustainable Agriculture

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an Important coarse cereal crop of India, being grown in Rati (winter) season in Northern and North Eastern plains, Barley occupies nearly 0.62 m. ha area producing nearly 1.22 m tonnes grain, with a per hectare productivity of 19.58 q. Area under the crop is concentrated in the states of U.P., Rajasthan, Haryana, M.P. adn Bihar in plains adn Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Jammu and Kashmir in the hills. Since long it has been considered, as poor man's crops because of its low Input requirement and better adaptability harsh environment, like drought, salinity and alkalinity and marginal lands. Barley is the main staple food crop in the tribal areas of the plains as well as hills. In hills it is also utilized in preparaton of the local beverages like sattu and chhang etc., which of course are common in the plains also. In the modem time it is also preferred as medicinal food in urinary as well as cardiac problems. Though major prodction is utilized as cattle feed and cereal food, recent increase in industrial demand of barley as raw material resulted in its consideration as industrial crop. The changed scenario on barley Is being addressed by the barley researchers by development of high yielding varieties with superior malting qualities as well as for restrictive environments i.e., rainfed, saline/sodic soils, brackish water and diara lands. In order to address the shortage of green fodder during winters in dry areas, development of varieties for feed and fodder purposes has also been taken up. To maintain its status of low input crop, incorporation of genetic resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses and development of suitable crop production technologies has become the priorities. These efforts have led to the development of a range of new cultivars for different purposes, producton conditions and production technologies. The input management for the crops to get the economically sustainable production has become the biggest challenge in the present situation for the major crops like wheat. In case of barley the input requirement Is almost half (In terms of the nitrogen and water). With this input levels it has expressed very high yield potentials under the coordinated experiments as well as Frontline Demonstrations under taken by the barley network centres in recent years. This has indicated potential of barley as low Input crop for sustainable agricultrure and now input crop for sustainable agriculture and now It is the question of its proper exploitation at various levels.