Introduction
Next to wheat, barley is the most important rabi cereal with respect to area and production in Himachal Pradesh. Barley is the crop of marginal lands and those areas where late maturity of wheat does not permit the feasibility of double cropping. That is why it is a main crop in higher elevations under rainfed conditions and in high-hill dry temperate zone. Also, barley has several uses for the hill people, i.e. for food, feed, fodder and local beverages.
Hulless barley is grown in Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur districts and Pangi and Bharmour areas of Chamba district, whereas in other districts hulled barley is mostly cultivated.
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