Barley

MIRALLES DJ; CHENU K; ABELEDO LG; SERRAGO R; ALVAREZ PRADO S; SAVIN R

Crop Physiology. Case Histories for Major Crops

Academic Press

Año: 2021; p. 164 - 195

1 Introduction 1.1 Global trends in harvested area and yield Barley is the fourth most cultivated cereal in the world. Of the 680 Mha cultivated with cereals, about 47 Mha or 7% correspond to barley (FAOSTAT, 2019). About 70%–85% of barley is used for animal feed, 15%–20% for malting, and around 5% is retained for seed (Fischbeck, 2001). In diverse regions of the world, barley is predominantly grown as feed grain where other crops such as maize cannot be cultivated because of short growing season, cool spring, rainfall deficiency, and high atmospheric evaporative demand. In these areas, especially in developed countries, barley straw is used for feeding and animal bedding.