ChapterPDF Available

Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation

Authors:
  • VPKAS ,Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Almora, Uttarakhand, INDIA
  • ICAR-Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS)

Abstract

Millets are staple food in the developing world, especially in the drylands of Africa and Asia. Most of the millets are indigenous to Africa and later domesticated to other parts of the world. Globally, millets are cultivated in 93 countries and only 7 countries have more than 1 M ha acreage of millets. In general, more than 97% of millets production and consumption is by developing nations. It has been estimated that from 1961 to 2018 around 25.71% area under millets cultivation has been declined across the continents. However, global millet productivity has increased by 36% from 1961 (575 kg/ha) to 2018 (900 kg/ha). The average data of the last 58 years indicated that millet production reduced in most parts of the world, except Africa. The highest increment was recorded in West Africa, almost double than the 1960s. In Asia, although the area under millet cultivation has declined production trend showed a gradual increase, which led to productivity enhancement. In the Indian scenario, millet production was at peak during the 1980s, thereafter decreased gradually due to sharp reduction under cultivated area. India is the largest producer of millets with 37.5% of the total global output followed by Sudan and Nigeria. In terms of trade, the highest global import and export value of millets (155.26 and 127.60 million US$, respectively) were recorded during the year 2011–2017. The continuous downfall in the global area under millets may be attributed due to the area shifting for other crops, changed food habits, assured irrigation facilities, and ensured returns from major commercial crops.
Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 2
Rajendra Prasad Meena, Dinesh Joshi, J. K. Bisht, and Lakshmi Kant
Abstract
Millets are staple food in the developing world, especially in the drylands of
Africa and Asia. Most of the millets are indigenous to Africa and later
domesticated to other parts of the world. Globally, millets are cultivated in
93 countries and only 7 countries have more than 1 M ha acreage of millets. In
general, more than 97% of millets production and consumption is by developing
nations. It has been estimated that from 1961 to 2018 around 25.71% area under
millets cultivation has been declined across the continents. However, global
millet productivity has increased by 36% from 1961 (575 kg/ha) to 2018
(900 kg/ha). The average data of the last 58 years indicated that millet production
reduced in most parts of the world, except Africa. The highest increment was
recorded in West Africa, almost double than the 1960s. In Asia, although the area
under millet cultivation has declined production trend showed a gradual increase,
which led to productivity enhancement. In the Indian scenario, millet production
was at peak during the 1980s, thereafter decreased gradually due to sharp
reduction under cultivated area. India is the largest producer of millets with
37.5% of the total global output followed by Sudan and Nigeria. In terms of
trade, the highest global import and export value of millets (155.26 and 127.60
million US$, respectively) were recorded during the year 20112017. The con-
tinuous downfall in the global area under millets may be attributed due to the area
shifting for other crops, changed food habits, assured irrigation facilities, and
ensured returns from major commercial crops.
R. P. Meena · D. Joshi (*) · J. K. Bisht · L. Kant
ICAR-Vivekananda Institute of Hill Agriculture, Almora, Uttarakhand, India
e-mail: Dinesh.Joshi@icar.gov.in
#The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte
Ltd. 2021
A. Kumar et al. (eds.), Millets and Millet Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-0676-2_2
33
Keywords
Millets · Developing nations · Global millet production and productivity · Millets
in India · Global millet trade · Food security
2.1 Introduction
The word millet is derived from the French word millewhich means that a handful
of millet contains thousands of seed grains (Taylor and Emmambux 2008). They are
broadly categorized into two major groups (1) major millets, viz., sorghum [Sor-
ghum bicolor (L.)] and pearl millet [Pannisetum glaucum (L.)]; (2) minor or small
millets, viz., nger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.], proso millet [Panicumm
iliaceum (L.)], foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.], kodo millet [Paspalum
scrobiculatum (L.)], barnyard millet (Echinochloa spp.), and little millet [Panicum
sumatrense Roth ex. Roem. and Schult.] (Table 2.1). Millets are the important staple
food of resource for poor farmers in hot and drier regions of the developing world
especially in Africa and Asia (McDonough et al. 2000). Globally millets (pearl millet
and minor millets) are cultivated in more than 93 countries. Among the millets,
sorghum is the most widely grown crop with 42.1 M ha area in 105 countries,
whereas production gures are available for pearl millet and other minor millets
from 93 countries (Obilana 2003; Fig. 2.1). About 97% of millets are produced and
consumed by developing countries especially in Africa and Asia. Globally, India is
the largest grower of millets with 26.6% of the world and 83% of Asias millet
cropping area. In India, millets have been an integral part of tribal food in the states
of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand
(Sood et al. 2019). However, in recent years owing to their tremendous nutraceutical
potential they are becoming popular in urban areas as well. According to an estimate,
there has been a decline of 25.7% in the global area under millets cultivation from
1961 to 2018 (Table 2.2; FAOSTAT 2018). Among the continents, the largest area
reduction was observed in Asia (148%), whereas the lowest was observed in Africa
(Table 2.2). This decline may be attributed to lack of concentrated crop improvement
efforts, shift towards high-value cash crops, lack of government policies, and low
farm protability. The continuous decline in global cultivated area under millets in
the last decades have given them the status of minor or underutilized grains.
Millets have agricultural superiority over other commercial crops attributed to
their ability to adapt under marginal and less input demanding cultivation. Addition-
ally, the C
4
photosynthetic pathway and ability to withstand environmental stress
make them a suitable choice for future agricultural systems. The nutritional superi-
ority over major cereals in terms of balanced micronutrient prole and bioactive
avonoids of diverse pharmaceutical uses makes them highly valuable crops (Sood
et al. 2019 missing). By virtue of immense health benets, there has been an increase
in global export and import of millets in the last decade and highest value (155.26
and 127.60 million US$, respectively) was recorded during the year 20112017
(Table 2.6; FAOSTAT 2018). Despite their immense agricultural value, global area
under millet cultivation and production in the last ve decades have declined or
34 R. P. Meena et al.
Table 2.1 Millets and their special characteristics
Millet Common name
Botanical
name
Special
characteristics Reference
Sorghum Great millet, Jowar,
Kar corn, Guinea corn,
Kaolin in China, and
Milo in Spain
Sorghum
bicolor
Tolerate moisture
stress and high
temperature better
than any other crops
Pearl
millet
Bajra, Cattail millet,
Black millet, German
millet
Pennisetum
glaucum
Grow in arid and
semi-arid region,
richest source of folic
acid
Finger
millet
Ragi, Wimbi, Mandua,
Nachni, Kapai, Nagli,
Marua
Eleusine
coracana
Wider adaptability,
rich source of calcium
Seetharam
(1998)
Proso
millet
Cheena, Common
millet, Broom millet
Panicumm
iliaceum
Short duration,
tolerant to heat and
drought
Sahib
(1997)
Foxtail
millet
Indian paspalum,
Kangni, Water couch,
Italian millet
Setaria italica Short duration,
tolerant to low soil
fertility and drought
Jijau
(1989)
Kodo
millet
Kodo, Ditch millet,
Creeping paspalum
Paspalum
scrobiculatum
Long duration, grown
well in shallow and
deep soil, rich in folic
acid
Hegde and
Gowda
(1989)
Barnyard
millet
Sawan, Jhingora,
Kudraivali, Oodalu
Echinochloa
frumentacea
Fastest growing,
voluminous fodder
Gupta
et al.
(2009)
Little
millet
Kutki, Samai, Samalu,
Hog millet
Panicum
sumatrense
Short duration,
withstand both
drought and
waterlogging
Doggett
(1989)
Browntop
millet
Korale in Kannada Brachiaria
ramosa
Rapidly maturing,
best suited for catch
crop
Sheahan
(2014)
Teff Teff, lovegrass, annual
bunch grass, Williams
love grass
Eragrostis tef Massive brous
rooting system,
drought tolerant,
ephemeral nature
Assefa
et al.
(2011)
Fonio Fonio, Acha, Hungry
rice
Digitaria
exilis (White
fonio)
Digitaria
iburua (White
fonio)
Smallest seeds among
millets, fast growing
and highly nutritious
NRC
(1996)
Jobs tears Adlag, Adlay millet Coix laeryma Grown in higher
areas, used in folk
medicine
Duke
(1983)
Guinea
millet
False signal grass,
Babala, Bajra/Bajira
Urochloa
deexa
Potential as grain
crop
2 Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 35
remained stagnated compared to major cereals. This is mainly because appreciable
genetic gain through modern plant breeding is yet to be realized in millets.
Furthermore, integration of sustainable and cost-effective crop management
practices is the key to project them as golden crops of the future. In the present
chapter, we summarize the global scenario of millets and their importance as a
healthy alternative food. We also provided an overview of major production
constraints associated with millets and suggested future prospects that can accelerate
millet production and productivity.
2.2 Cropping Area
At Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) website (FAOSTAT 2018) the area,
production, and productivity data for millets are available in two categories
(1) millets (small millets and pearl millet) and (2) sorghum. Therefore, we have
described the global scenario of millets (Table 2.2) and sorghum (Table 2.3) sepa-
rately in this chapter. In the Indian scenario, data is included for sorghum, pearl
millet, and nger millet only (INDIASTAT 2020; Table 2.4).
Out of the total 93 millet growing countries of the world (Fig. 2.1), only
7 countries (India, Niger, Sudan, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Chad) have
more than 1 M ha harvested area, whereas around 25 countries have more than
0.1 M ha harvested area. Together all contribute around 97% of the total world millet
harvested area (34.1 M ha). Among the top seven millet growing countries of the
world, India ranked rst with 15.29 M ha harvested area followed by Niger
(7.03 M ha), Sudan (3.75 M ha), Nigeria (2.7 M ha), Mali (2.15 M ha), Burkina
Fig. 2.1 Country wise production of millets (FAOSTAT 2018)
36 R. P. Meena et al.
Table 2.2 Global millets (except sorghum) area and production by region
a
(FAOSTAT 2018)
Area (lakh ha) Production (lakh tons)
1961
1963
1971
1973
1981
1983
1991
1993
2001
2003
2011
2013
2016
2018
1961
1963
1971
1973
1981
1983
1991
1993
2001
2003
2011
2013
2016
2018
Africa 118.390 133.227 108.751 168.994 197.694 191.280 207.067 69.424 74.512 77.617 109.664 142.483 113.391 140.569
Eastern Africa 16.364 17.758 12.333 13.412 14.382 15.096 15.032 11.566 13.585 12.052 12.065 12.939 16.004 17.570
Middle Africa 8.017 6.804 4.945 8.119 11.430 14.655 15.962 5.147 3.996 2.974 4.021 6.609 7.780 9.356
Northern Africa 4.799 10.489 11.727 12.567 25.402 21.870 30.351 3.077 3.651 3.578 3.342 6.609 7.136 16.698
Southern Africa 0.813 1.600 1.745 1.729 2.836 2.481 2.695 0.275 0.449 0.533 0.453 0.689 0.497 0.602
Western Africa 88.397 96.576 78.002 133.166 143.645 137.178 143.027 49.359 52.831 58.481 89.783 115.637 81.975 96.342
Americas 2.657 2.529 2.457 2.259 2.149 1.670 1.676 3.257 2.983 3.067 3.355 2.885 2.448 3.628
Northern America 0.971 0.977 0.859 1.599 1.996 1.593 1.644 1.157 1.267 1.165 2.314 2.610 2.318 3.578
Central America 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.005 0.008 0.002 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.005 0.008 0.003
Caribbean 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
South America 1.686 1.552 1.598 0.661 0.148 0.069 0.030 2.100 1.717 1.902 1.041 0.270 0.122 0.048
Asia 271.746 272.350 229.054 174.644 144.703 121.958 109.255 152.925 181.630 178.191 142.069 137.569 142.501 139.522
Central Asia 0.000 0.000 0.000 6.499 0.725 0.440 0.477 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.680 0.532 0.458 0.530
Eastern Asia 74.310 66.337 40.679 19.771 11.760 8.014 7.490 66.283 79.594 66.976 36.292 20.990 17.772 17.317
Southern Asia 193.676 202.853 184.903 147.468 128.739 109.925 97.864 83.835 99.717 108.229 101.515 113.598 121.086 118.503
South-Eastern Asia 1.452 1.540 1.754 1.955 2.329 2.231 2.415 0.468 0.390 1.512 1.316 1.659 2.198 2.474
Western Asia 2.308 1.621 1.718 1.118 1.151 1.348 1.009 2.339 1.929 1.474 0.680 0.790 0.987 0.698
Europe 40.893 26.865 28.023 22.453 8.182 6.278 4.029 23.776 26.753 21.400 16.277 9.043 8.363 6.237
Eastern Europe 40.631 26.765 27.989 22.440 8.097 6.128 3.881 23.444 26.582 21.319 16.248 8.793 7.870 5.688
Northern Europe 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Southern Europe 0.226 0.081 0.019 0.013 0.015 0.009 0.014 0.286 0.127 0.034 0.029 0.033 0.016 0.026
Western Europe 0.036 0.018 0.015 0.000 0.071 0.140 0.134 0.047 0.044 0.047 0.000 0.218 0.477 0.524
Oceania 0.294 0.334 0.327 0.295 0.357 0.353 0.351 0.322 0.363 0.317 0.262 0.288 0.358 0.359
Australia and
New Zealand
0.294 0.334 0.327 0.295 0.357 0.353 0.351 0.322 0.363 0.317 0.262 0.288 0.358 0.359
World 433.980 435.305 368.613 368.645 353.085 321.539 322.378 249.704 286.242 280.593 271.627 292.268 267.061 290.314
a
Each gure is an average of 3 years for the respective period, for example, 19611963
2 Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 37
Faso (1.39 M ha), and Chad (1.22 M ha). India being the largest grower of millets
contributes about 26.6% of the global harvested area (FAOSTAT 2018).
Considering the 1961 year as a baseline, the average harvested area of millets
from different continents indicated that, Asia was the largest grower of millet
(27.1 M ha) followed by Africa (11.8 M ha), Europe (4 M ha), America
(2.6 M ha), and Oceania (0.02 M ha) (Table 2.2). However, the recent data of
20162018, revealed that Africa recorded the highest area (20.7 M ha) followed by
Asia (10.9 M ha), Europe (0.4 M ha), America (0.16 M ha), and Oceania
(0.03 M ha). In different regions of the African continent, West Africa recorded
the highest millet cropping area with 14.3 M ha followed by North Africa (3 M ha).
West Africa alone contributed around 44.3% of the world millet growing area
(Table 2.2; FAOSTAT 2018). Interestingly, among the seven countries with the
largest harvested area, four countries (Niger, Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso) are
from West Africa. In North West Africa, Sudan occupies the largest harvested area
under millets whereas Chad is the number one millet growing country in North
Central Africa. In the Asian scenario, more than 80% of Asias millets are grown in
India followed by China. In America, United States (0.16 M ha) followed by
Argentina are the largest grower of millets. Likewise, Ukraine, Poland, France,
and Belarus are the largest millet growing countries of Europe.
In spite of tremendous potential of millets, the cultivated area across the globe has
declined at the rate of 22.5 lakh ha area per decade. Worldwide the area has come
down by 25% in 20162018 compared to 19611963 levels (Fig. 2.2). In Asia,
around 148% reduction in millet cropping area were reported from 19611963 to
20162018 (Table 2.2; FAOSTAT 2018). The sharp reduction in millets cropping
area in Asia is mainly attributed to shrinking portfolio of food crops, heavy depen-
dence on starchy food such as rice, maize, and potato and lower farm protability.
Table 2.3 Global sorghum harvested area and production by continents (FAOSTAT 2018)
1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 2018
Sorghum harvested area (lakh ha)
Africa 132.14 151.31 138.92 200.57 234.90 265.75 297.11
Americas 58.00 104.95 104.35 72.70 73.28 58.31 53.01
Asia 267.60 237.64 206.21 148.85 118.38 89.08 64.32
Europe 1.32 1.72 2.62 2.49 1.93 2.57 2.36
Oceania 1.03 5.53 6.60 3.78 7.59 6.34 4.64
World 460.09 501.14 458.69 428.39 436.08 422.04 421.43
Sorghum production (lakh tons)
Africa 106.92 117.85 135.30 161.99 207.09 239.92 297.82
Americas 143.91 302.21 378.10 237.38 249.18 197.51 192.44
Asia 155.41 180.67 199.60 140.24 114.91 101.94 79.74
Europe 1.45 5.22 7.70 8.34 7.33 9.32 10.79
Oceania 1.63 13.01 12.07 7.52 19.39 19.39 12.62
World 409.32 618.95 732.79 555.47 597.90 568.08 593.42
38 R. P. Meena et al.
Table 2.4 Area, production, and productivity of millets in India (19512018)
a
(INDIASTAT 2020)
Finger millet Sorghum Pearl millet Total millets
Area
(M ha)
Production
(Mt)
Productivity
(kg/ha)
Area
(M ha)
Production
(Mt)
Productivity
(kg/ha)
Area
(M ha)
Production
(Mt)
Productivity
(kg/ha)
Area
(M ha)
Production
(Mt)
Productivity
(kg/ha)
1951
1960
2.33 1.70 725.4 17.09 7.65 446 10.66 3.21 300.00 30.08 12.56 300
1961
1970
2.49 1.86 746.8 18.30 9.29 506.9 11.58 4.00 345.00 32.37 15.14 345
1971
1980
2.51 2.41 956.3 16.36 9.75 596.6 11.97 5.35 444.40 30.84 17.51 444.4
1981
1990
2.43 2.57 1059.1 15.83 11.09 701.6 10.94 5.08 460.40 29.20 18.73 460.4
1991
2000
1.85 2.42 1319.5 11.76 9.80 831 10.32 7.33 64.60 23.92 19.55 657.3
2001
2010
1.48 2.07 1395 8.76 7.27 836.9 9.39 7.87 829.50 19.63 17.20 829.5
2011
2020
1.17 1.79 1591.375 6.07 5.07 883.375 8.05 9.02 1130.10 15.29 15.88 1130.1
a
Each gure is an average of 10 years for the respective period, for example, 19511960
2 Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 39
On the other hand, in Africa an increase in area under millets has been observed by
42% compared to 19611963 levels (Fig. 2.4a). Highest increase was observed in
Western Africa from 8.8 M ha in 19611963 to 14.3 M ha in 20162018 (Table 2.2).
Sorghum is cultivated in more than 105 countries with 37 countries having more
than 0.1 M ha area and 10 countries (Sudan, Nigeria, India, Niger, America, Burkina
Faso, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico, and Chad) has more than 1 M ha cultivated area.
Among the different continents, Africa holds the largest area with 70% of the world
sorghum cropping area followed by Asia and America. Sudan is the largest sorghum
grower in the world with ~7.1 M ha area followed by Nigeria (6.12 M ha) and India
(4.9 M ha). Over the last ve decades, sorghum cropped area around the world has
reduced at the rate of 15 lakh ha per decade. However, like small millets, the
sorghum area has increased signicantly (44%) from 1961 to 2018 in Africa
(Table 2.3). The steady increase in African countries is attributed to hostile weather
patterns in last decades, which has resulted in the replacement of more water
demanding crops like maize with small millets and sorghum.
2.3 Production
Developing countries produce and consume around 97% of the worlds millets and
only a small fraction comes from the rest of the world. The average data of millet
production of different continents from 1961 to 1963 indicated that Asia is the
largest producer of millets (13.2 Mt) followed by Africa (6.9 Mt), Europe
(2.3 Mt), America (0.32 Mt), and Oceania (0.03 Mt) (Table 2.2; Fig. 2.3a). In
Asia, millet production concentrates mainly in India, China, and Nepal. With
~37.5% of global output, India is the largest producer of millets followed by
Sudan and Nigeria. In India, millet production is concentrated mainly in dry and
arid regions where rainfall is low and erratic. The most widely produced millet is
pearl millet, which is mainly grown in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
Million tonnes
Milllion ha
World millets area (M ha)
Fig. 2.2 Global trends in cultivation of millets (FAOSTAT 2018). The gure illustrates trends in
area under cultivation and production from 1962 to 2018
40 R. P. Meena et al.
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana which accounts for 56% (9 Mt) of total
millets production in India (Table 2.4). Among the minor millets, nger millet is the
most widely produced millet in India with a production of 1.79 Mt from the total
cropped area of 1.17 M ha (Table 2.4). The main nger millet growing states are
Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh
contributing to more than 90% of national production. After nger millet, kodo
millet is the most widely grown minor millet in India.
Africa contributes to a major share in global millets production because millets
are an important staple food in larger part of the continent. The major millet-
producing African countries are Nigeria, Sudan, Mali, Guinea, and Ghana. In
America, the United States is the major North American millet producing country
whereas in South America it is dominated by Argentina. Millets production in
Europe is concentrated in the drier regions of Eastern Europe and shares 90% of
the regions total. Likewise, in Oceania, Australia and New Zealand are the major
producers of millets. During the last 58 years from 1961, millets production
enhanced in Africa especially in West African countries but declined in most parts
of the world (Fig. 2.2). The most recent production data (20162018) revealed that
Africa recorded the highest millet production (14 Mt) after overtaking Asia
(13.9 Mt) followed by Europe (0.62 Mt), America (0.36 Mt), and Oceania
(0.03 Mt). The production increase in Africa was due to area expansion into drier
lands due to climatic vagaries which ultimately resulted in area reduction under more
water demanding crops like maize. In Asia, millets production peaked during 1980s
thereafter decrease gradually due to the reduction of cultivated areas in India and
China (Tables 2.4 and 2.5). Interestingly, millet production in Oceania remains
almost constant from 1961 to 2018.*Each gure is an average of 3-years for the
respective period, for example, 1961-1963
Global production of sorghum during 2018 was 59.3 million tons (Table 2.3).
The United States (9.27 Mt) is the worlds largest producer of sorghum followed by
Nigeria (6.8 Mt), Sudan (4.95 Mt), Ethiopia (4.93 Mt), India (4.8 Mt), Mexico
(4.53 Mt), and China (2.19 Mt). These seven countries represent 57% of global
sorghum production. In Africa, sorghum production is concentrated mainly in
38.13%
1.10%
54.48%
6.18% 0.12%
Africa America Asia Europe Oceania
Europe
Asia
Africa
Oceania
America
38.5%
38.6%
18.6%
1.3%
3.0%
Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania
Africa
OceaniaEurope
America
Asia
(a) (b)
Fig. 2.3 Production share of millets by region (FAOSTAT 2018). (a) Production share of Pearl
millet and small millets (Average 1961 to 2018). (b) Production share of sorghum (Average 1994 to
2018)
2 Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 41
Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Niger. With 23% of total
output, Nigeria is the largest producer of sorghum in Africa. In America, United
States, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina are the major sorghum-producing countries. In
Asia, India and China are the major producers with 88.5% of the regions total
(FAOSTAT 2018). Likewise, France, Italy, Russian Federation, Albania, Italy,
Romania, Spain, and Ukraine are the major sorghum-producing countries of Europe.
World sorghum grain production achieved its peak during 1981 with ~73.2 Mt of
grains, nearly 44.4% higher than the production levels recorded in 1960s (Table 2.3;
Fig. 2.3b). During the 1980s2018 global sorghum production was declined by 19%
and the cropping area also declined during the same period by 8.1%. From the year
1961, production increased mainly in the African continent but decreased in other
parts of the globe. Highest negative growth was recorded in Asia, which is mainly
attributed to a sharp decline in the cultivated area in India and China. The sharp
Table 2.5 Global millets (except sorghum) productivity by region
a
(FAOSTAT 2018)
Millet grain productivity (kg/ha)
1961
1963
1971
1973
1981
1983
1991
1993
2001
2003
2011
2013
2016
2018
Africa 586 559 714 649 720 597 677
Eastern Africa 707 766 987 904 900 1061 1170
Middle Africa 642 586 605 494 580 522 586
Northern Africa 641 360 301 262 260 319 525
Southern Africa 339 281 305 265 249 201 221
Western Africa 558 547 750 674 804 602 673
Americas 1223 1176 1247 1486 1269 1361 2166
Northern America 1192 1297 1356 1448 1214 1326 2177
Central America 0 0 0 1030 909 1000 5595
Caribbean 0 000000
South America 1236 1087 1184 1595 1838 1763 1576
Asia 562 666 777 811 938 1171 1276
Central Asia 0 0 0 523 760 1025 1104
Eastern Asia 889 1195 1644 1846 1786 2219 2308
Southern Asia 433 489 584 686 864 1104 1210
South-eastern Asia 322 254 801 673 712 985 1025
Western Asia 1013 1180 858 601 682 732 689
Europe 583 982 761 765 1079 1301 1517
Eastern Europe 578 979 759 764 1057 1249 1424
Northern Europe 0 000000
Southern Europe 1257 1551 1792 2252 2212 1727 1869
Western Europe 1293 2372 3129 0 3050 3400 3909
Oceania 1087 1067 975 855 814 1015 1022
Australia and
New Zealand
1087 1067 975 855 814 1015 1022
World 575 656 761 736 823 832 900
a
Each gure is an average of 3-years for the respective period, for example, 19611963
42 R. P. Meena et al.
decline is evident by the fact that in 1950s, India harvested 7.65 Mt of sorghum from
the total cropped area of 17 M ha. Currently, the area and production are reduced to
6 M ha and 6 Mt respectively (Table 2.4).
In general, production gures of all the millets from 1961 to 2018 revealed that
global production slightly increased from 249 lakh tons to 290 lakh tons despite a
sharp reduction in total cropping area. Loss of area might have been compensated by
increasing production per unit area through adopting high-yielding varieties and
good management practices. The major increment was recorded in Africa due to
expansion in the cropping area (Fig. 2.4b).
2.4 Productivity
Millet productivity has increased by 36% in the last seven decades (Fig. 2.4c).
Comparative account of productivity across the continents from 19611963 to
20162018 revealed that highest increment was observed in Europe
(5831517 kg/ha; 62%) followed by Asia (5621276 kg/ha; 56%), America
(12232166 kg/ha; 44%), and Africa (586677 kg/ha; 13%).
However, Oceania has recorded a negative growth rate in millet productivity
(10871022 kg/ha; minus 6%) (Fig. 2.4a; Table 2.5). In Africa, after the 1960s, yield
level increased gradually and reached a peak in the 1980s, before declining in the
1990s. Thereafter, productivity (720 kg/ha) in 20012003 reached the highest level
which was 18.6% higher compared to the 1960s (Table 2.5). After that again
negative growth rate in productivity was observed. However, in Eastern Africa
yield level increased continuously from 19611963 to 20162018 by 40% which
is almost comparable to America. Among different regions of Asia, South-Eastern
Asia recorded the highest millet productivity by 69% from 19611963 (322 kg/ha)
to 20162018 (1025 kg/ha). However, in 20162018, the highest productivity
(2308 kg/ha) was recorded in Eastern Asia followed by Southern Asia. Among
different countries, Mexico has recorded the highest millets productivity (15.7 t/ha)
followed by Uzbekistan (6.76 t/ha), Austria (4.4 t/ha), and Switzerland (4 t/ha)
(FAOSTAT 2018). In the Indian scenario, millets productivity has increased by
more than 73% in the last seven decades. In the last decade, average millet produc-
tivity of 1130 kg/ha was recorded in the country (Table 2.4). Among different millets
nger millet has the highest productivity (1591 kg/ha) followed by pearl millet
(1130 kg/ha) and sorghum (883 kg/ha) (Table 2.4). Improvement in productivity
may be attributed to the development of input responsive millet cultivars, higher
input use efciency, and adoption of better crop and resource management practices.
Over the years, yield enhancement in sorghum has been observed in different
sorghum-growing countries. This is attributed to the development of input respon-
sive varieties and hybrids and better agronomic management practices. In India, its
productivity varies among regions due to variability in soil type, rainfall, and
seasons. In India, sorghum is grown twice a year, during the rainy season and post
rainy season. Rainy season crop gives higher grain yield than post rainy season crop
(Rakshit and Wang 2016). Globally, Oman has reported highest sorghum grain yield
2 Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 43
118.39
2.66
271.75
2.31 40.89 0.29
433.98
207.07
1.68
109.25
1.01 4.03
0.35
322.38
0.00
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
500.00
Africa Americas Asia Western Asia Europe Oceania World
Harvested area (lakh ha)
(A)
19611963 20162018
69.42
3.26
152.92
2.34 23.78 0.32
249.70
140.57
3.63
139.52
0.70 6.24 0.36
290.31
0.00
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
Africa Americas Asia Western
Asia
Europe Oceania World
ProducƟon (lakh tonnes)
(B)
19611963 20162018
586
1223
562
1013
583
1087
575
677
2166
1276
689
1517
1022
900
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Africa Americas Asia Western Asia Europe Oceania World
Yield (kg/ha)
(C)
19611963 20162018
Fig. 2.4 Changes in harvested area (a), production (b), and productivity (c) of millets in different
continents over the last 58 years (FAOSTAT 2018)
44 R. P. Meena et al.
(28.1 t/ha) followed by Jordan (22.1 t/ha) and Algeria (13.3 t/ha) (FAOSTAT 2018).
In Asia, China has recorded highest grain yield of sorghum (4.5 t/ha).
2.5 International Trade
Most of the millets grains are consumed, where they are produced as 97% of millets
are cultivated by developing nations especially by resource poor and marginal
farmers. However, its import and export increased gradually from 1960s to 2017
by 25.4% and 25.9%, respectively. In the last decade, the import and export of
millets grain were 374.5 and 376.4 thousand tons, respectively (Table 2.6). The
sharp rise in import was observed during the 1970s; it was mainly attributed to high
import of millets in Europe. Global import and export value of millets also increased
and highest value (155.26 and 127.60 million US$, respectively) were recorded
during 20112017 (Table 2.6). Average data of 20102017 revealed that Asia is the
largest importer of millet grains; it alone shares more than 65% of global import.
Similarly, America is the largest exporter of millet; it alone shares more than 83% of
global millet export. Among different countries, India, the United States, Argentina,
and China together contribute more than 33% of millets export (FAOSTAT 2018).
India contributes a major role in pearl millet export and the United States in proso
millet. Similarly, China is the largest exporter of foxtail millet.
Globally, sorghum trade is mainly dependent on the demand for animal feed and
price differences between sorghum and maize (Hariprasanna and Rakshit 2016).
Highest expansion was observed between 1960s and 1980s especially after the
mid-1960s (Table 2.6). Import and export declined from the 1990s onward,
remained at 7.7 and 7.6 Mt, respectively, and then started to increase further. The
highest global value of sorghum import (2290.29 million US$) and export (1926.80
million US$) were recorded during 20102017 (Table 2.6). In global sorghum
export, around 90% share comes from Argentina, Australia, China, and the United
States (Hariprasanna and Rakshit 2016). China has set a record of largest exporter
and importer of sorghum during the mid-1980s (FAOSTAT 2018). India started
exporting large amount grains mostly after 2002 and before that export was
inconsistent.
2.6 Production Constraints
Millet farming is mainly concentrated in developing nations where average produc-
tivity is still below the world average (Sood et al. 2020). In most of these countries,
markets for millet grains are not well established resulting in poor economic returns
to the farmers. Furthermore, millets seed supply in most of the developing countries
is dependent on informal seed chain. This results in nonavailability of improved
seeds and large-scale cultivation of less productive and heterogeneous landraces or
local cultivars (Rakshit and Wang 2016). However, in developed nations and some
developing nations such as India and China, farmers have better socioeconomic
2 Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 45
Table 2.6 Importer and exporters of millets and sorghum by continents
a
(FAOSTAT 2018)
Major millet importer continents (000 tons) World import
value (million
US$)
Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania World
1961
1970
105.30 1.20 37.53 135.24 0.00 279.28 20.58
1971
1980
162.81 4.01 68.10 172.57 0.18 407.67 67.84
1981
1990
38.43 10.65 46.53 136.40 1.00 233.01 56.61
1991
2000
15.25 18.66 106.23 146.61 0.96 287.71 69.45
2001
2010
60.88 20.54 122.13 124.37 1.31 329.23 99.49
2011
2017
46.73 27.50 177.23 121.07 2.03 374.56 155.26
Millet export quantity (000 tons) World export
value (million
US$)
Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania World
1961
1970
99.52 143.71 21.69 2.61 11.06 278.58 15.72
1971
1980
46.75 129.27 34.59 14.35 23.49 248.46 32.15
1981
1990
18.75 125.87 10.85 27.07 20.23 202.76 39.06
1991
2000
54.52 86.55 50.23 62.80 16.09 270.19 55.72
2001
2010
24.35 45.60 129.46 103.87 7.22 310.49 84.73
2011
2017
21.35 67.41 112.67 172.70 2.28 376.42 127.60
Major sorghum importer continents (000 tons) World import
value (million
US$)
Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania World
1961
1970
75.63 72.56 2496.11 1949.32 0.00 4593.62 272.00
1971
1980
129.42 1207.76 5565.52 2354.67 1.49 9258.85 1104.97
1981
1990
318.73 3024.48 5325.60 2240.61 13.23 10,922.65 1424.16
1991
2000
373.43 3607.20 3129.20 607.32 52.43 7769.57 1002.23
2001
2010
744.47 3326.81 1686.60 1132.47 68.26 6958.61 1270.37
2011
2017
846.32 1587.97 5473.41 392.69 53.45 8353.83 2290.29
(continued)
46 R. P. Meena et al.
conditions, well-developed marketing system, better accessibility to inputs including
improved varieties. Together these factors have a positive impact on the millet
production scenario in these countries resulting in higher productivity compared to
Africa. Many minor millets are not adapted to modern agroecosystems and mecha-
nization. This is mainly because of some inherent problems like high seed shattering
and unsynchronized maturity. Besides these basic traits, grain size is also an
important yield component as the very small seeds of small millets are causing
difculties for mechanical planting and harvest and ultimately for their commercial-
ization. Seeds of minor millets are subjected to dehulling before human consump-
tion. The traditional methods of dehulling followed in developing countries are labor
intensive and time-consuming (Sood et al. 2015). The drudgery involved in manual
processing is an important factor in reduced consumption and commercialization of
small millets at a large scale.
Climatic factors such as rainfall pattern and distribution, edaphic factors such as
soil type, soil fertility, agronomic management, and moreover socioeconomic status
of farming communities are equally important for better performance of millet
production system (Sood et al. 2019). Incidence of diseases, insect-pests, parasitic
nematodes, birds, parasitic plants, and weeds are the most important biotic
constraints associated with millets. The important diseases of millets are downy
mildew (sorghum and pearl millet), blast (nger millet), grain mold (sorghum), smut
(foxtail millet, barnyard millet, teff, and sorghum), rust (sorghum, teff, and foxtail
millet), ergot (pearl millet and sorghum) and charcoal rot (sorghum) (Strange and
Scott 2005; Das 2013). Weed infestation is also considered as a major constraint in
the global millet production as more than 29% reduction in millet grain yield is
associated with weed infestation only (Burkill 1985). The poor initial vigor of small
millets promotes excessive growth of weeds resulting in more competition for
Table 2.6 (continued)
Sorghum export quantity (000 tons) World export
value (million
US$)
Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania World
1961
1970
175 4681 48 109 27 5040 237.80
1971
1980
291 8329 169 409 697 9896 1008.33
1981
1990
252 9372 510 205 763 11,102 1293.72
1991
2000
202 6714 210 256 307 7690 877.56
2001
2010
61 5738 126 255 425 6604 987.81
2011
2017
140 6848 133 316 822 8260 1926.80
a
Each gure is a 10 years average for the respective period, for example, 19611970, except 2011
2017
2 Global Scenario of Millets Cultivation 47
sunlight, nutrient, space, and water in early growth stage, which ultimately reduce
crop productivity (Lall and Yadav 1982). Striga, a semi-root parasitic weed is one of
the major constraints for millet production in Africa causing huge yield losses in
millets. Yield reduction due to striga is higher in sorghum and pearl millet than other
crops (Ejeta 2007). Bird damage is also considered as a major biotic threat for millet
growers, yield reduction may reach 100% in isolated crop elds (Sood et al. 2015).
The manual weed management in the absence of robust preemergence weedicide
coupled with manual bird scaring increases cost of quality seed production in minor
millets.
Abiotic constraints of millet production are mainly associated with environmental
and soil factors such as moisture stress, nutrient stress, salinity, alkalinity, acidity,
and heat stress. Among all, moisture stress is considered the most important con-
straint for millet production, as millets are mostly grown by resource poor farmers in
drylands. Drought may occur at any physiological growth stage of millets. In African
countries, drought is considered as one of the most important stress for millet
production (Matanyaire 1996; Gebretsadik et al. 2014). In India, millets (sorghum
and nger millet) are cultivated in two seasons, in the rainy and post rainy season.
The low productivity of post rainy season sorghum is mainly associated with
terminal drought stress (Patil 2007). As millets are grown on marginal land having
low soil fertility and low organic carbon, salinity, and alkalinity that leads to low
productivity of millets. Soil salinity and poor drainage severely affect the crop
during the seedling emergence stage (Macharia et al. 1994). Changing food habits
and consumer preferences have led to the shifting of land for the cultivation of other
high-value cereal grains thereby lowering the production of millets. For instance, in
India, the millet cropping area is reduced to 2.3 M ha during 20112012 compared to
8 M ha during the late 1940s, this reduction was mainly associated with shifting of
millet cultivated area to other cereals grains (Seetharam 2015).
2.7 Conclusion
By virtue of their unique nutritional prole, tremendous health benets and C
4
photosynthetic pathway, millets are well-suited crops to diversify cropping systems
for climate resilient agriculture. Since ages, millets are being grown by resource-
poor farmers of drylands and tribal communities inhabiting less productive and
fragile ecosystems. However, the growing awareness about their potential health
benets and industrial uses resulted in the renaissance of millets. Shrinking of global
millet cropping area is the main concern associated with millet production. Lack of
improved cultivars, agricultural inputs, and policy support are major limiting factors
associated with lower productivity of millets and shrinking area. Well-planned and
long-term public sector investment for multidisciplinary research activities, jointly
by major growing countries are required for projecting millets as golden crops of the
future. For instance, in India, the government is setting in place an Initiative for
Nutritional Security through Intensive Millet Promotion (INSIMP). Recognizing
their immense nutraceutical potential and climate resilient nature, the government
48 R. P. Meena et al.
of India has launched a national nutraceutical mission. The national nutraceutical
mission is an arching national strategy, which has prioritized eight millets (sorghum,
pearl millet, nger millet, barnyard millet, foxtail millet, proso millet, kodo millet,
and little millet) and two pseudocereals (amaranth and buckwheat) and termed them
as nutri-cereals. The government of India declared the year 2018 as the national year
of millets to boost up the indigenous production of millets. The UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome has declared the year 2023 as the interna-
tional year of millets, upon the request from the Indian government. Similar national
and international multidisciplinary public sector initiatives are required by other
major millet growing countries for their promotion and enhanced consumption.
Furthermore, linking small millets to the industry through value addition will fetch
higher returns to marginal farmers of Asia and Africa. On the whole, policy support
in conjunction with concentrated crop improvement efforts and public awareness on
nutritive values will help in regaining the lost cultivated area under millets.
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... As this highlight, foxtail millet is an essential crop for China as a supplier and for people all over the world who use the product in traditional diets. However, according to Meena et al. [14] , the current global production status shows that, out of all the millets, foxtail millet ranked fourth in 2020. Though its production has fallen behind other millets like pearl millet and sorghum, it remains important in arid and semi-arid areas. ...
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Foxtail millet, a climate-resilient and nutrient-rich cereal, emerges as a promising solution for sustainable agriculture and food security. Its ability to thrive in arid and semi-arid regions with minimal water input makes it a valuable resource in the face of climate change. This article provides a comprehensive overview of foxtail millet, exploring its nutritional profile, agronomic advantages, and potential to contribute to global food security. The review also analyzes the challenges associated with its cultivation and proposes strategies to promote its wider adoption. The grain's nutritional profile, particularly its high content of protein, fiber, iron, and calcium, offers significant health benefits. By promoting the cultivation and consumption of foxtail millet, we can enhance food security, improve public health, and mitigate the impacts of climate change on agriculture.
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This book aims to bring the focus on biological viewpoint and alternatives for producing the baked goods, as the confectionary is a major market segment comprising of the sugar and baked products. The bakery products include major segments including cereals, bread, chocolates, cookies, and other confectionary items. This book provides the data regarding the market of baked goods, as it is forecasted to increase at growth rate of 5.8% (CAGR) and it’s expected to reach around its growth around (7%) by 2025 (Fortune insights 2022). The book also classifies amongst the major consumers worldwide, Asia pacific contributes around 43%, western Europe contributes around 22% while Africa continent represents as smallest group of consumers for baked confectionary consumers. The book provides information regarding health concerns as baked goods are liked by population of all ages. As per the data mentioned above the bakery goods are consumed heavily without clear insights about its health concerns. Majority of baked goods are made up of all-purpose flour having serious risk concerns/impact on health and higher consumption of bakery goods can increase sugar, cholesterol level and can also cause further problem in liver or heart functions. Although, gluten free, multigrain baked confectionaries are now a day’s available in the market but the still the better understanding of the bio-based products is need of current time. The biological viewpoint especially for the bakery goods can serve as initial point for better handling baked goods in context of upbringing of healthy society. The book targets students and researchers interested in interdisciplinary research and devising novel biological applications with special focus on bakery products.
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Millets are generally referred to as “nutrient poor” or “underutilized” crops; but recently, they have received much consideration due to the nutritional value they contain and their potential to make cereal products more nutritious. The present review article throws light on the importance of millets as a rich source of essential nutrients and their application in making bakery products nutrient-dense. It focuses on distinctive varieties of millets, their nutritional content, and their It focuses on distinctive varieties of millets, their nutritional content, and preparatioin of their appropriate remix in bakery preparations. Moreover, a short note on critical issues and prospects linked with millets use in bakery production will also be discussed, outlining possible approaches to address the same. Overall, millets seem to be a promising crop for developing a more nutritional bakery line and fostering healthier consumption habits.
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Small millets, commonly as designated due to their small seed size, are regarded as climate resilient nutri-cereals, with superior carbon use efficient C4 system which aid in mitigating climate change-associated uncertainties. They are superior to principal food staples interms of high nutrition, low water requirement, resistance to biotic and abiotic stress and demand fewer inputs and amenable for cultivation under harsh soil/climate conditions. Small millets are also considered as health saviors with low glycemic index and are preferred as predominant alternative in the diet of common public with or without diabetics. Despite being the superior sources of climate resilience and nutrition, genetic enhancement and utility of small millets are hindered by dearth of well-characterized germplasm resources. Recent advancements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform opened up several OMICs platform in these crops also to some extent and hold greater promise for identification of pathway-candidate genes, development of molecular markers and precise mapping of QTLs for climate resilience/nutrition. Utilizing the NGS platform, foxtail millet, finger millet, proso millet and barnyard millet sequences were made available. The integration of omics tools, presents an exceptional opportunity to explore differentially expressed genes, proteins, and metabolites under diverse climatic conditions in small millets to develop climate smart cultivars. Recent advances in phenomics involving crop imaging systems paves a faster way for identification and utilization of climate resilience traits for crop improvement. We review the recent advancements in genetic resources, genomic resources and omics tools and their application in elucidation of tolerance to various abiotic stresses as climate resilient traits in small millets with the perspectives on developing climate smart ‘futuristic crops’ for marginal agriculture.
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Main conclusion Diverse gene pool, advanced plant phenomics and genomics methods enhanced genetic gain and understanding of important agronomic, adaptation and nutritional traits in finger millet. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) is an important minor millet for food and nutritional security in semi-arid regions of the world. The crop has wide adaptability and can be grown right from high hills in Himalayan region to coastal plains. It provides food grain as well as palatable straw for cattle, and is fairly climate resilient. The crop has large gene pool with distinct features of both Indian and African germplasm types. Interspecific hybridization between Indian and African germplasm has resulted in greater yield enhancement and disease resistance. The crop has shown numerous advantages over major cereals in terms of stress adaptation, nutritional quality and health benefits. It has indispensable repository of novel genes for the benefits of mankind. Although rapid strides have been made in allele mining in model crops and major cereals, the progress in finger millet genomics is lacking. Comparative genomics have paved the way for the marker-assisted selection, where resistance gene homologues of rice for blast and sequence variants for nutritional traits from other cereals have been invariably used. Transcriptomics studies have provided preliminary understanding of the nutritional variation, drought and salinity tolerance. However, the genetics of many important traits in finger millet is poorly understood and need systematic efforts from biologists across disciplines. Recently, deciphered finger millet genome will enable identification of candidate genes for agronomically and nutritionally important traits. Further, improvement in genome assembly and application of genomic selection as well as genome editing in near future will provide plethora of information and opportunity to understand the genetics of complex traits.
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Sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L. Moench) is a globally important food security crop, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments. Sorghum productivity is low in subsistence farming systems due to biotic, abiotic and socio-economic constraints. The objective of this study was to determine farmers’ sorghum production opportunities, threats, indigenous knowledge and perceptions with a focus on breeding priorities Striga infestations and the farmers’ coping mechanisms in different agro-ecologies in Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling method was employed to interview 315 households selected from nine districts of three administrative zones within two provinces. Participatory rural appraisal tools including a structured questionnaire, pair-wise ranking, focus group discussion, and observations through a transect walk were used to collect data. The results showed that the majority of the participant farmers, (86%) were involved in sorghum production. In all study areas sorghum landraces were preferred by >85% of respondents rather than improved released varieties. Farmers listed and prioritized several sorghum production constraints based on importance and severity. The constraints varied among the study areas due to the diversity of agro-ecologies and cropping systems. Results from the pair-wise ranking showed that farmers’ have variable preferences for sorghum varieties. At the north Shewa and north Wello zones drought resistance was the most farmers-preferred trait, followed by Striga resistance. In the Metekel zone Striga resistance was the number one farmer-preferred trait, followed by grain quality. The prioritised traits will form the basis for farmer-oriented sorghum breeding.
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With 2 figures and 5 tables Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is an important food staple cereal crop in Ethiopia. Despite its importance in the Ethiopian agriculture, there are constraints that need to be addressed through scientific research. The major constraints are low yield of landrace cultivars under widespread cultivation, susceptibility to lodging and a lack of knowledge concerning the genetic control of agronomic traits. Conventional tef breeding efforts started in the late 1950s, and since then a total of 24 varieties have been developed and released. Yield gain from tef breeding has been linear with an average annual increase of 0.8%. Tef genomics has provided much molecular genetic information on important agronomic traits. More than 1500 PCR-based molecular markers have been developed and several genetic linkage maps based on intra- and inter-specific crosses have been constructed. Results from quantitative trait loci studies have provided information necessary for marker-assisted selection. Lodging is the number one cause of yield loss in tef. Recently, molecular breeding techniques and biotechnologies are being employed to understand the genetic control of lodging.
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Barnyard millet is a small seeded cereal grown in India, China, and Japan as a substitute for rice in dry areas. It has the fastest growing character among all millets and is generally cultivated in hill slopes and undulating fields of hilly, tribal, or backward areas, where few options exist for crop diversification. Two main species, Echinochloa esculenta (Japanese Barnyard millet) and Echinochloa frumentacea (Indian Barnyard millet), are cultivated and grown as cereals. It has a wide adaptation capacity and grow up to a height of 2000 m during summer season. Globally, more than 8000 accessions of barnyard millet have been assembled and conserved. Least research attention due to small area of the crop is a major reason for nondevelopment of improved breeding methodologies in the crop. Several high-yielding cultivars have been released till date with wider adaptation and adaptability in India. But production gap exists between yields realized at farmers’ fields because of prevalence of local cultivation practices. In recent years, barnyard millet has received attention, mainly because of its high nutritive value and climate resilience.
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This book provides insights into the current state of sorghum genomics. It particularly focuses on the tools and strategies employed in genome sequencing and analysis, public and private genomic resources and how all this information is leading to direct outcomes for plant breeders. The advent of affordable whole genome sequencing in combination with existing cereal functional genomics data has enabled the leveraging of the significant novel diversity available in sorghum, the genome of which was fully sequenced in 2009, providing an unmatched resource for the genetic improvement of sorghum and other grass species. Cultivated grain sorghum is a food and feed cereal crop adapted to hot and dry climates, and is a staple for 500 million of the world’s poorest people. Globally, sorghum is also an important source of animal feed and forage, an emerging biofuel crop and model for C4 grasses, particularly genetically complex sugarcane.
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Sorghum acts as a dietary staple for millions of people living in about 30 countries in the subtropical and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia. It is a source of food and fodder, mostly in the traditional, smallholder farming sector. It also finds a place in the high-input commercial farming sector as a feed crop, and is fast emerging as a biofuel crop. More than 80 % of the global sorghum area is characterized by low yield levels contributing to slightly above half of total grain output whereas the rest comes from the developed world with high yield levels. Though sorghum cultivation is reported from more than 100 countries, only eight countries have over 1 million ha area under sorghum, which together contribute more than 60 % of world sorghum production. In Africa, although only a few countries contribute a major share of area, sorghum is widely distributed and is a major staple food grain in large parts of the continent. In spite of its economic importance, sorghum cropped area around the world has declined over the last four decades at a rate of over 0.15 million ha per year. However, in some countries including Brazil, Ethiopia, Sudan, Australia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso it is expanding, mainly because of new land brought under sorghum cultivation or diversion of a portion of area planted to other crops such as maize and wheat. Global sorghum production peaked during the mid-1980s, and thereafter it declined by about 13–15 %, but not steadily. In almost all the sorghum growing regions except Africa yield levels have been enhanced over the years as a result of improved cultivars, higher input use, better resources, and crop management. Most of the sorghum is consumed in the countries where it is produced and world trade is mainly linked to demand for livestock products, which is governed by the feed requirements and prices in developed countries. Consumption of sorghum for food purposes is declining because of a change in food habits and consumer preference brought about by economic status, whereas use for animal feed and other industrial purposes is increasing. Under a changing climate regime sorghum would assume renewed importance as a food and industrial crop, and therefore concerted focus is necessary on such marginalized crops to ensure food and nutritional security in a sustainable manner in the years to come.
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Witchweeds (Striga species) decimate agriculture in much of Africa and parts of Asia, attacking the major cereal grains and legumes, and halving the already very low yields of subsistence farmers. Several years of research have provided promising technologies, based on the fundamental biology of the Parasite-Host associations, for dealing with this scourge. However, there is an apparent realization that these technologies will fail because highly successful weeds such as Striga evolve resistance to all types of controls unless proven methods are integrated with each other for a more sustainable solution. Integration is often an anathema to basic scientists who typically deal with single variables and solutions. However, key leaders in the development of the new Knowledge-Based control strategies, already in the field and under development, recently joined forces to develop strategies and projects in order to integrate the technologies in a symposium in Ethiopia in November 2006. The encouraging results are described in this Peer-Reviewed book, authored by leaders in the field who have been supplying the basic biology, genetics, biochemistry, and molecular information that have offered insights and generated technologies in how to deal with Striga. © 2007 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.
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In India 6 small millets, viz finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.], foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.], kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.), little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roere. and Schult.), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) and barnyard millet [Echinochloa frumentacea (Roxb.) Link], are cultivated as grain and feed crops. Though during the last 50 years the area under small millet decreased by 4 million ha, there was no reduction in their overall production. The finger millet, a major contributor to the sustenance of production level, accounts for about 50% area and 65% production under small millets. The productivity of small millets other than finger millet remained stagnant around 450 kg/ha in the last 5 decades. The small millets have been the least priority crops in respect of their promotion and development. In this article an attempt was made to review the progress of research in these millets during the last 5 decades.
Article
The two species under genus Echinochloa, E. frumentacea (Indian barnyard millet) and E. esculenta (Japanese barnyard millet), are cultivated for food and fodder by hilly and tribal communities in Asia particularly in India, China and Japan. The crop has wide adaptability and occupies a special place in marginal rainfed areas because of its short life cycle. Although the area under the crop has come down drastically in last 50 years, the crop ability to survive under harsh conditions makes it a better choice during famine years. In the Indian Himalayan region, the crop was traditionally used as a substitute for rice. It has been identified as a suitable choice for climate-resilient agriculture. High nutrient content and antioxidant effects make it to be considered as a functional food crop. Recently, the demand of the crop has increased due to its highly nutritious grains. Thus, it has the potential to provide both food and nutritional security particularly in hills where nutritional deficiencies are in abundance. Despite enormous potential, the crop has not gained the popularity among masses and is still considered as poor man's food. This work therefore is an attempt to compile the meagre information available on crop history, evolution, crop breeding and present status to make the crop competitive and revamp its cultivation.