Cereals

                                                                  CEREALS
                     Cereals are those group of plants that are grown specially for their carbohydrate rich grains.Cereals comprises many crops such as rice,wheat,maize,barley,oat,sugarcane,etc.
                                         
                                                                  RICE(Oryza sativa)

A rice field with golden grain

Among the field crops rice gains the first position in Bangladesh.It is our main staple food which is rich in carbohydrate serving as main source of energy.it is grown year round-aus,aman,boro.rice is grown in almost 80 percent of our total cultivable land & still now supporting our overwhelming population. Rice is believed to be originated in India. Rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.

WHEAT (Triticum aestivum)

A golden wheat field

Wheat is the another most important cereal crop of  Bangladesh.It is an introduced crop.It is a crop of rabi season & cultivated mainly in northern region.Wheat has kept its contribution in bakery products as raw materials.Wheat is the most important cereal crop in the world.Bread, pasta, bagels, crackers, cakes, and muffins just begin to describe the list of foods made with this grain.
Wheat, in its natural unrefined state, features a host of important nutrients. Therefore, to receive benefit from the wholesomeness of wheat it is important to choose wheat products made from whole wheat flour rather than those that are refined and stripped of their natural goodness.

Wheat spikelets

	MAIZE(Zea mays)
	A maize plant with its inflorescence Maize or corn is a cereal crop that is grown widely throughout the world in a range of agroecological environments. More maize is produced annually than any other grain. About 50 species exist and consist of different colors, textures and grain shapes and sizes. White, yellow and red are the most common types. The white and yellow varieties are preferred by most people depending on the region. Like many other regions, it is consumed as a vegetable although it is a grain crop. The grains are rich in vitamins A, C and E, carbohydrates, and essential minerals, and contain 9% protein. They are also rich in dietary fiber and calories which are a good source of energy. All parts of the crop can be used for food and non-food products. In industrialized countries, maize is largely used as livestock feed and as a raw material for industrial products. Maize accounts for 30−50% of low-income household expenditures in Eastern and Southern Africa. A heavy reliance on maize in the diet, however, can lead to malnutrition and vitamin deficiency diseases such as night blindness and kwashiorkor.