Which change in crop vocabulary is associated with Later Vedic texts?

Barley is prominent in early Vedic material, while later texts refer more clearly to rice and a wider agricultural vocabulary. Claims that rice, barley and wheat are all uniquely “described in the Yajurveda” oversimplify terms distributed across several Vedic texts and recensions. The source tradition places the person, work and event in a defined historical setting. More frequent references to rice alongside barley and other grains fits that evidence because it matches the specific chronology, agency and function contained in the question. A comparison with the alternatives is useful: Complete disappearance of barley, Exclusive dependence on imported wheat and Absence of agricultural vocabulary are genuine historical terms or names, but each belongs to a different office, patron, text, region or sequence. Reading the question as a relationship among person, period, place and institutional purpose prevents that mistake. The supporting source also helps separate later textbook shorthand from the more precise historical formulation. The compact memory link is therefore More frequent references to rice alongside barley and other grains together with the factual context above, not the isolated option letter.