Autumn-winter cereals are sown between the beginning of October and the end of November, depending on the cultivation and weather conditions. In Italy they are mainly represented by common wheat, durum wheat and barley.
If the main intended use for common wheat is baking and for durum wheat the pasta industry, the uses for barley are more diversified and include animal and human nutrition. In this latter case, the varieties of two-row barley (sometimes sown in spring) are normally destined for the production of beer malt, while six-row barley is mainly used for the production of flour, pearl barley and soluble barley.
The ISTAT Report on the cultivation of cereals in Italy, dated April 26, 2022, stated that: “In 2022, no major changes are expected for the areas invested in common wheat (+0.5%) and durum wheat (-1.4%), while the land invested in the cultivation of barley is increasing (+8.6%)”. The percentages must refer to the areas sown in 2021, equal to about 500,000 ha for common wheat, 1,300,000 ha for durum wheat and 350,000 ha for barley.
However, it should be emphasized that on the date that this article was published, it was plausible to believe that the ISTAT forecasts could undergo some changes due to the complicated international political and economic scenario, with an increase of areas destined for autumn-winter cereals.