English (en) | Change Language

Millets are some of the oldest of cultivated crops. The term millet is applied to various grass crops whose seeds are harvested for food or feed. The five millet species of commercial importance are proso, foxtail, barnyard, browntop and pearl. In China, records of culture for foxtail and proso millet extend back to 2000 to 1000 BC Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) probably originated in southern Asia and is the oldest of the cultivated millets. It is also known as Italian or German Millet. Its culture slowly spread westward towards Europe.

--  Alternative Field Crops Manual



  1. Finger millet is a short, annual grass to 1 m in height, grown for its small grains that are usually ground into flour for porridge. More drought tolerant than maize or sorghum, finger millet is also higher in protein, fat and minerals than those crops.
  2. Foxtail millet is an annual grass crop, up to 1.5 m in height, and one of the most water efficient (250-300 mm per crop), short term (60-70 days), warm weather crops which can be used as a “catch” crop, planted after another crop has failed. The grain can be cooked whole or ground into flour....
  3. Pearl millet is an annual, tillering grass, growing to 4 m in height, and more drought tolerant than maize. The seed head is compact, cylindrical and up to 30 cm long. The grains are ground into flour for preparation of porridge, flat breads and fermented products. Pearl millet is widely grown...
  4. Proso millet is an erect, tillering, annual grass, growing to 1 m in height, that is grown for the small seeds used for human consumption and livestock food. Proso millet was one of the earliest cultivated grains in the world. It is fairly drought tolerant and has a short growing season.
  5. 2018-11-20 Grain sorghum(Sorghum bicolor)and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum)are both globally important warm-season,annual cereal grain crops.Small-scale farmers who grow these grains can belimited by access to fertilizers and human labor. Agricultural low input systems use few commercial inputs,...
  6. Pearl millet,Pennisetum glaucum, is an annual grass in the family Poaceae which is grown widely in Africa and India for its grain which can be used to make flour and other foodstuffs. Pearl millet is a very robust grass which tillers widely and grows in tufts. It has slender stems which are...
  7. View a how-to video for using natural enemies against the devastating millet head miner. Factsheet
  8. 1996-01-19 The parasiticweed Striga hermonthica is a major problem in African millet fields. International Agricultural Development (Jan/Feb 1994) reports that dense intercropping of cowpea in millet stands can reduce Striga emergence.
  9. Pearl millet is one of the most drought resistant grains in commercial production. It is able to grow in areas that experience frequent periods of dry weather during either the vegetative or reproductive phases. Pearl millet appears to be more tolerant of sandy and acidic soils than other summer...
  10. 2015-09-20 This book is designed as a simple introduction to the more common food plants of Bangladesh. It is hoped people will take greater pride and interest in these plants and become confident and informed about how to grow and use them. Many of the local food plants that occur in every country are very...
  11. Edible Portion: Shoots, Seeds, Cereal, Vegetable A millet grass. It is an annual grass. It is robust and forms many tillers or young shoots from the base. It grows 40-120 cm tall.The stems are somewhat flattened. The leaves are narrow. The flower heads are made up of 2-7 finger like spikes. These...
  12. Indu Bhargavi K, Syeda Farah S, Asna Urooj,International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition ISSN: 2455-4898; Impact Factor: RJIF 5.14 Received: 06-05-2020; Accepted: 20-05-2020; Published: 05-06-2020 www.foodsciencejournal.com Volume 5; Issue 3; 2020; Page No. 69-74 Malnutrition in India is a...
  13. Chauhan E. S, Sarita. Effects of Processing (Germination and Popping) on the Nutritional and Anti-Nutritional Properties of Finger Millet (Eleusine Coracana). Curr Res Nutr Food Sci 2018;6(2). doi :http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CRNFSJ.6.2.30 This study is aimed to analyze nutrient and anti-nutrient...
  14. Gowda NAN, Siliveru K, Prasad PVV, Bhatt Y, Netravati BP, Gurikar C. Modern Processing of Indian Millets: A Perspective on Changes in Nutritional Properties. Foods. 2022 Feb 9;11(4):499. doi: 10.3390/foods11040499. PMID: 35205975; PMCID: PMC8871339. Globally, billions of people are experiencing...
  15. 2023-01-20 FAO. 2023. Millets recipe book - International Year of Millets 2023. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8019en Dietary patterns hold profound implications for our health and well-being and that of our planet. In this context, the exploration of nutritious grains becomes not only a culinary adventure...
  16. Rateesh Krishnan, Usha Dharmaraj, Nagappa G. Malleshi, Influence of decortication, popping and malting on bioaccessibility of calcium, iron and zinc in finger millet, LWT - Food Science and Technology, Volume 48, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 169-174, ISSN 0023-6438,...

More Related Resources

Books

Find books about Millet