Pearl millet
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Pearl millet | |
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Pearl millet hybrid for grain | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Clade: | Commelinids |
Order: | Poales |
Family: | Poaceae |
Subfamily: | Panicoideae |
Genus: | Cenchrus |
Species: | C. americanus
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Binomial name | |
Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone
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Synonyms[1] | |
List
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Pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus, commonly known as the synonym Pennisetum glaucum) is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for the crop is in the Sahel zone of West Africa.[2] Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern Mali between 2500 and 2000 BC.[3][4] 2023 was the International Year of Millets, declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021.[5]
Description
Pearl millet has
The height of the plant ranges from 0.5–4 metres (1 ft 8 in – 13 ft 1 in).[6]
Other languages
Also known as 'Bajra' in
Cultivation
Pearl millet is well adapted to growing areas characterized by drought, low soil fertility, low moisture, and high temperature. It performs well in soils with high salinity or low pH. Because of its tolerance to difficult growing conditions, it can be grown in areas where other cereal crops, such as maize or wheat, would not survive. Pearl millet is a summer annual crop well-suited for double cropping and rotations. The grain and forage are valuable as food and feed resources in Africa, Russia, India and China.
Today, pearl millet is grown on over 260,000 square kilometres (100,000 sq mi) of land worldwide. It accounts for about 50% of the total world production of millets.[7]
World production of millets has been stable during the 1980s. According to FAO, 39.4 million hectares (97 million acres) of millet were planted in 1987 with an average production of only 704 kilograms per hectare (628 lb/acre).[8]
Structure and physical properties
Pearl millet varieties from the world collection probably have more variation in physical characteristics than any other millet.
Composition
The composition of variety Changara of pearl millet can be affected by both environment and genetics. Pearl millet usually has higher protein and fat contents than sorghum or other millets because the kernel is a naked caryopsis.[citation needed]
Millet type | Protein | Fat | Ash | Total DF |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pearl millet | 12.8 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 7.1 |
Values are expressed on a dry matter basis.[citation needed]
Culinary use
Pearl millet is commonly used to make bhakri flatbread. It is also boiled to make a Tamil porridge called kamban choru or kamban koozh.
In Rajasthani cuisine bajre ki khatti rabdi is a traditional dish made with pearl millet flour and yogurt. It is usually made in summers to be served along with meals.
Flatbreads made of pearl millet flour, known as bajhar ji maani or bajre ki roti (बाजरे की रोटी) in Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana, bajrichi bhakri (बाजरीची भाकरी) in Maharashtra and bajra no rotlo (બાજરા નો રોટલો) in Gujarat, India, are served with various types of kadhi and bhaaji in meals. Bajhar ji maani prepared in Tharparkar, Sindh is served with various types of kadhi and bhaaji.
In Namibia, pearl millet flour is used to make
Around the world
India
India is the largest producer of pearl millet. India began growing pearl millet between 1500 and 1100 BCE.[10] It is currently unknown how it made its way to India,[10] but it likely arrived originally from across Africa, and via the Red Sea during Indus Valley Trade networks.[11][12] Rajasthan is the highest-producing state in India. The first hybrid of pearl millet developed in India in 1965 is called the HB1.
Sajje is the local name of the pearl millet in
Kambu is the Tamil name of pearl millet and is a common food across the
Pearl millet is called bajra in
Africa
The second largest producer of pearl millet and the first to start cultivation, Africa has been successful in bringing back this lost[citation needed] crop.
Sahel
Pearl millet is an important food across the
Namibia
In Namibia, pearl millet is locally known as "mahangu" and is grown mainly in the north of that country, where it is the staple food. In the dry, unpredictable climate of this area it grows better than alternatives such as maize. The regions in which this crop is produced are: Zambezi, Kavango East, Kavango West, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, and; in parts of the Otjozondjupa region, in the Tsumkwe area.[13][14]
Mahangu is usually made into a
Traditionally, the mahangu is pounded with heavy pieces of wood in a 'pounding area'. The floor of the pounding area is covered with a concrete-like coating made from the material of termite mounds. As a result, some sand and grit gets into the pounded mahangu, so products like oshifima are usually swallowed without chewing.[15][failed verification] After pounding, winnowing may be used to remove the chaff.
Some industrial grain processing facilities now exist, such as those operated by Namib Mills. Efforts are also being made to develop smaller scale processing using food extrusion and other methods. In a food extruder, the mahangu is milled into a paste before being forced through metal die. Products made this way include breakfast cereals, including puffed grains and porridge, pasta shapes, and "rice".[16] Pearl millet is also a vital feedstock for cattle, goats and chickens which can also be explored as an enterprise.[13]
Research and development
Recently more productive varieties of pearl millet have been introduced, enabling farmers to increase production considerably.[17]
To combat the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in Africa and Asia, a study of serving iron-
Around 1000 pearl millet genotypes (including 31 wild genotypes) have been sequenced, identifying the genetic diversity of this staple crop and aiding breeding to select for particular characteristics. A reference genotype of pearl millet (Tift 23D2B1-P1-P5) has been fully sequenced, which holds around 38,579 genes. Some of these genes are for wax biosynthesis, which is known to be involved in tolerance to abiotic stresses in pearl millet.[19][20] The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics is evaluating crop wild relatives and will introgress abiotic tolerant traits into cultivated genotypes and make them available for pearl millet improvement.[21]
A 2015 study provided a
Pests
Insect pests include
Africa
The larvae of several insect species, primarily belonging to the orders
- Coniesta ignefusalis (pearl millet stem-borer; Lepidoptera, Crambidae) attacks pearl millet, and also sorghum and maize, especially in the Sahel. It is the main pearl millet pest in Senegal.
- Heliocheilus albipunctella (pearl millet head-miner; Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) attacks pearl millet. The larvae bore in a spiral path, destroying florets or grain.
- Geromyia penniseti (millet grain midge): The larvae eat the developing grain and form white pupal cases attached to the tips of spikelets. Reported losses in Senegal are as high as 90 percent.
- Pachnoda interrupta (millet beetle)
- Meloidae) attack pearl millet. They are major millet pests in Mali.
- Rhinyptia infuscata (Scarabaeidae, Rutelinae, Anomalini) is a nocturnal beetle, recorded as a locally important pest on millet flowers in Niger. Farmers in Niger often fight the species using fires set at night. It is also reported as sorghum pest in Senegal, and as a pest on maize, where the larvae attack the roots.
- Eldana saccharina) are the primary pests of the pearl millet in Ivory Coast.[citation needed]
- Contarinia sorghicola), and African rice gall midge (Orseolia oryzivora).
- Dysdercus volkeri (cotton-stainer; Hemiptera, Pyrrhocoridae) attacks flowers.
Grasshoppers that frequently attack millets in the
In northern Ghana, Poophilus costalis (spittle bug) is reported as a millet pest, as well as Dysdercus volkeri, Heliocheilus albipunctella, Coniesta ignefusalis, and caterpillars of Amsacta moloneyi and Helicoverpa armigera.[30]
In northern Nigeria, heavy infestations of Hycleus species, including Hycleus terminatus (syn. Mylabris afzelli), Hycleus fimbriatus (syn. Mylabris fimbriatus), Hycleus hermanniae (syn. Coryna hermanniae), and Hycleus chevrolati (syn. Coryna chevrolati), have affected early plantings of pearl millet crops.[31]
Other regions
In South India, pests include the shoot fly Atherigona approximata.[32]
In North America, regular pests include the chinch bug Blissus leucopterus.[33]
Gallery
References
- ^ "Cenchrus americanus (L.) Morrone". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- PMID 30880862.
- ISSN 0305-4403.
- ISBN 3-927688-20-7.
- ^ "International Year of Millets 2023". United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. 2022.
- ^ "Sorghum and millet in human nutrition". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 1995. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
- ^ "Millet". Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. Archived from the original on 2007-07-11.
- ISSN 0071-7118.
- ^ McDonough, C.; Rooney, L. (1989-01-01). "Structural Characteristics of Pennisetum Americanum (Pearl Millet) Using Scanning Electron and Fluorescence Microscopy". Food Structure. 8 (1).
- ^ a b Singh, Purushottam (1996). "The origin and dispersal of millet cultivation in India" (PDF). Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ISSN 1994-2672.
- PMID 30880862.
- ^ a b "Welcome to the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB)". NAB. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
- ^ "Mahangu | Agronomic Services". Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB). Retrieved 2023-05-16.
- ^ "Venture Publications - Namibia Holiday & Travel". Archived from the original on 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2006-05-19.
- ^ "Enhancing food security in Namibia through value-added products". Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. March 2003. Archived from the original on 6 December 2005. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-309-04990-0. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ Munyaradzi, Makoni (29 August 2013). "Biofortified pearl millet 'can combat iron deficiency'". SciDev Net. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- .
- S2CID 4608024.
- (CSSA).
- ISSN 1310-2818.
- ISSN 1380-3743. National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement at Huazhong Agricultural University.
- OCLC 967265246.
- ^ S. Krall, O. Youm, and S. A. Kogo. Panicle insect pest damage and yield loss in pearl millet.
- ISBN 0-85954-349-8.
- ISBN 0-85954-331-5.
- ^ a b Heath, Jeffrey (2009). "Guide to insects, arthropods, and molluscs of northern Dogon country".
- .
- .
- ISSN 0140-1963.
- ^ Natarajan US, Raja V, Selvaraj S, Anavardham L (1973). "Extent of damage caused by shoot fly (Atherigona approximate) on bajra hybrid". Madras Agric. J. 60: 584–585.
- .
Further reading
- Lost Crops of Africa: Volume I: Grains, Chapters 4-6 - released by the National Research Councilin 1996