Barley is the important annual crop in hilly and mountains areas of Nepal. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is known to be originated from China, Nepal and Europe. It is grown in different cropping patterns in khet and Bari land of Nepal. It is a staple food of the people in hilly area of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. It can be classified as:

Kingdom: Plantae

Class: Angiosperms

Order: Poales

Family: Poaceae

Subfamily: Pooideae

Genus: Hordeum

Species: H. vulgare

common name: Jau

Aberg and Wiebe (1946) classified all the cultivated barley varieties into three distinct species based on the number of rows of grains and their arrangement.

a) Hordeum vulgare – Six row barley

b) H. distichon – Two row barley

c) H. irregulare – Two row barley

Nutritional value:

Barley contains many important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It is also a good source of beta glucan, a fiber which help to lower cholesterol and blood sugar.

Hulled barley contains about 17.3g fiber, 12.5g protein, 2.3g fat, calories and Vitamin B in major amount.

Importance:

There are various health benefits of barley. It reduces hunger and help to loose weight. It prevents the formation of gallstones, helping our gallbladder function normally. It reduces the risk of heart disease and protect against Diabetes. It provides skin care and boots our immune system.

It has also been mentioned in Hindu religious books and it is still used as an essential item in many ritual occasion and religious worship.

Barley is commonly used in breads, soups, stews, and health products, though it is primarily grown as animal fodder and as a source of malt for alcoholic beverages, especially beer. Barley straw is preferred as a livestock feed, and its value is equal to that of the grain in areas where livestock feed is limiting (Riley et a1, 1989). Barley grain is most commonly prepared as roti (bread) or Champa (porridge), but is also important as a cash crop, traditionally traded for salt from Tibet.

Production in Nepal:

It is ranked as fifth important cereals crop in Nepal in terms of cultivated area and total production. Barley occupies total area of 25817 hectare and total production of 23224 metric ton with average productivity of 900 kg/ha in Nepal (CBS, 2008). The maximum area of the crop lies in the mid-western development region. Barley is grown from the terai, up to an elevation of 4000 m in Nepal, but is a staple food crop mainly in the hills and mountains in the west of the country

The tendency of barley growing area and its production were intermittent within five years which could be due to replacement of barley area by wheat because of the availability of drought resistant wheat varieties. The area of barley has been decreasing by 1.3 % as compared to last year (HCRP, 2008).

The varieties of barley released are:

1. Solu uwa recommended in high hill 1.9ton/ha yield potential

2. Ketch recommended in terai, inner terai 2.5ton/ha yield potential

3. CI – 10448 recommended in terai, inner terai 2.6ton/ha yield potential

4. HBL-56 recommended in terai, inner terai 3.0 ton/ha yield potential

5. Bonus recommended in Kathmandu valley 3.6ton/ha yield potential

Barley is cultivated in different khet and bari land of Nepal under rainfed or irrigated condition.

Soil requirement:

It is a salt tolerant crop and required moderately saline and alkaline soil. Soil PH between 6 to 8 and well drained moderately rich loamy soil is favorable.

Temperature:

In barley 10 – 15°C is required at early growth stage and 25 to 30°C during maturity. Higher temperature is known to induce abnormalities and tillering is affected by day and night temperature regimes.

Rainfall:

It is pre dominantly a rainfed crop and not require much watering.

Light:

It is a long day plant. Most traditional varieties are photosensitive but modern varieties are photoperiod insensitive characteristics.

Cropping pattern:

The crop can be grown successfully after the harvest of paddy, maize, cotton, moong rice etc. The common crop rotations with barley are:

1. Rice – barley

2. Maize – barley

3. Moong – barley

4. Cotton – barley

5. Groundnut – barley

6. Cowpea – barley

Field preparation:

In barley cultivation, field is prepared with 2-3 times ploughing followed by planking. As barley insensitive to nitrogen and water hence, field should be well leveled. In dry areas ploughing and harrowing should be done at evening and planking should be done early in the morning.

Seed selection and treatment:

Farmer have to use quality seed for better production. Under irrigated condition 80 to 85 kg/ha seed is required. Under rainfed condition 100kg/ha is required depending upon soil moisture availability.

The seed should be treated with Agrosan GN or Cerasan @ 2g/kg of seed before sowing. Vitavex or Bavistin @ 2-3 g/kg seed can also be used for an effective control of loose smut.

Sowing depth and spacing:

5cm depth is maintained under normal sowing condition.

Under irrigated condition 22 cm row spacing should be maintained.

Method of sowing:

Barley seed are sown either by broadcasting or by seed drill machine. In irrigated condition, seed may be sown by Kera method.

Sowing time:

The normal sowing time is extends from middle of October to November depending upon soil type, soil moisture status and elevation.

In rainfed area sowing should be done in 3rd to 4th week of October and in irrigated area sowing should be done in 1st and 2nd week of November.

Nutrient management:

Nutrient management plays an important role in barley production. In irrigated condition 10ton/ha organic manures could be applied a month before sowing. Organic manure supply essential nutrient and improve the physical condition of soil.

Under irrigated condition 60:30:10 kg NPK should be apply.

Under rainfed condition 30:20:10 kg NPK should be apply.

In case of late sowing the recommended dose of fertilizer is 40:30:10 kg NPK per hectare.

Weed management:

Barley is a fast-growing crop and generally weed may not be able to compete if proper weed management practice is done. Weed are usually a problem only in irrigated areas. If necessary, weed control measures can be taken up:

1. For broad leaves weed: 2,4-D sodium salt (80%) or 2,4-D amine salt (72%) at 0.5 kg or 700-800 ltr of water/ha at 35-40 days after the sowing of the crops.

2. For narrow leaves weed: Avadex BW @2.5litre/ha in 600 – 700 liters of water on a well-prepared seed bed before sowing.

Important disease that affects barley crop are:

Yellow rust

stripe rust

loose and covered smut

powdery mildew

molya disease of barley

spot blotch

Leaf blight

Insects that affect barley are:

Aphids

Termites

Wire worm

White ant

Gujhia weevil.

Harvesting and storage of barley:

Barley crop get ready for harvest by the end of march to first of April. Barley should be harvested immediately after is ripens to avoid breaking of spikes due to dryness. The easiest way of harvesting is to pull the ear head and collect in a basket. It is usually harvested at the moisture content 16-22%.

After harvesting threshing, drying, cleaning and proper storage is done to avoid fungal infection and the incidence of mites. Uses of polythene sacks are common in storage. For storage moisture should be below 12%.

Conclusion:

Barley (Jau) is the important cereal crop in the mountain region of Nepal. Identification of superior variety and better crop management practices is the most important task in development programme. Nepalese barley landrace, Soluwa, exhibited very high yield in our field experiment. But lodging was found to be a serious problem. Without addressing lodging problem, it seems challenging to realize the true benefit of cultivating Soluwa in inner Terai region.

To increase barley production in Nepal we should focused on irrigation, the use of fertilizers and insecticides, the introduction of new implements and new seeds of high-yield varieties, and the provision of credit.

Bibisha Timalsina

semester : 2nd

Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences