eleusine coracana (l.) gaertn.pdf

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61713 Eleusine coracana (L) Gaertn

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Eleusine coracana (L) Gaertn

Protologue

Fruct sem pl 1 8 (1788) sh ow m or e dat a ( 3) co mm en ts (0 )

Family

Poaceae (Gramineae)

sh ow m or e dat a ( 6) co mm en ts (0 )

Chromosome number

2n = 36


Synonyms

Eleusine indica (L) Gaertn subsp coracana (L) Lye (1999)

show more da ta (10) c omme nt s (0 )

Vernacular namesFinger millet Afr ican millet koracan (En) Eleusine coracan mil rouge (Fr) Luco capim colonial nachenim (Po) Mwimbi ulezi (Sw)


Origin and geographic distribution

Finger millet was domesticated in the East African highlands The oldest known archaeological remains were excavated at Axum Ethiopia and date back an estimated 5000

years These resemble types of highly evolved finger millet that are still grown in Ethiopia Cultivation of finger millet spread across the eastern and southern African savanna

during the expansion of iron working technology to eventually reach South Africa some 800 years ago In tropical Africa it is now grown from Ethiopia and Eritrea south to

Mozambique Zimbabwe and Namibia It is also recorded from Madagascar Finger millet is of little importance in West Africa but is recorded from a low-rainfall zone from

Senegal eastwards especially in Niger and northern Nigeria Finger millet reached India 2000ndash3000 years ago From India it spread across South-East Asia to China and

Ja pan In the United States it is grown on a small scale for bird-seed

show more data (20) comment s (0)

Uses

The principal use of finger millet in Africa is to provide malt for making local beer and other alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages In Ethiopia a distilled liquor known as lsquoarek

produced from finger millet Finger millet is also widely used as a food cereal especially during times of scarcity The most common use of finger millet flour is to prepare

porridge usually served with a side dish of vegetables meat or fish Freshly ground slightly wet flour is made into lsquocakesrsquo which are wrapped in maize husks or banana leave

and roasted Raw lsquocakesrsquo can be stored for several days when needed water is added to form a refreshing thin gruel Flour is also pounded with bananas and the mixture is

made into flat cakes that are fried in oil or baked in a dry pan

Finger millet straw is used as forage for cattle sheep and goats It produces excellent hay and in India it is cultivated as a fodder grass In Uganda the by-products of finger

millet beer production are fed to chickens pigs and other animals Finger millet is used medicinally eg the seed as a prophylaxis for dysentery In southern Africa the juice o

mixture of finger millet leaves and leaves of Plumbago zeylanica L are taken as an internal remedy for leprosy Finger millet straw is used for thatching and plaiting and in

China for papermaking In Sudan the leaves are made into string


Production and international trade

In trade and production statistics finger millet is usually combined with other millets such as pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum (L) RBr) foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L)

PBeauv) and proso millet ( Panicum miliaceum L) The estimated world area of finger millet is about 3 million ha yielding about 25 million t of grain annually India is the

largest producer The total area planted annually in Africa is fairly constant and slightly less than 1 million ha Major producers in Africa are Ethiopia Uganda Malawi and

Zimbabwe In Africa finger millet grain is produced for local consumption Surpluses are sold in local markets International trade even among neighbouring countries in Africnegligible


Properties

Whole grain of finger millet contains per 100 g edible portion water 109 g energy 1377 kJ (329 kcal) protein 74 g fat 13 g carbohydrate 777 g fibre 43 g Ca 397 mg

190 mg Fe 171 mg β-carotene traces thiamin 018 mg riboflavin 011 mg and niacin 08 mg (Leung Busson amp Jardin 1968) The essential amino-acid composition per 1

g food is tryptophan 107 mg lysine 213 mg methionine 229 mg phenylalanine 383 mg threonine 310 mg valine 487 mg leucine 701 mg and isoleucine 324 mg (FAO 197

Whole grain is used in grinding resulting in a high fibre content of the flour making it hard to digest For food white-coloured grain is preferred The more bitter dark-coloure

grain is preferred for beer-making In malting finger millet grain has a higher enzyme activity than all other major cereals except barley making it very suitable for brewing Fi

millet straw has an in-vitro digestibility of 40ndash60


Description

Robust free-tillering tufted annual grass up to 170 cm tall stem slender erect or geniculately ascending glabrous and smooth sometimes branching rooting at lower nodes

root system shallow branched fibrous Leaves alternate distichous simple and entire leaf sheath flattened overlapping split along the entire length ligule 1ndash2 mm longfimbriate blade linear to linear-lanceolate up to 75 cm times 2 cm usually folded scabrous above Inflorescence a terminal digitate panicle often with one or a few branches

(lsquothumbsrsquo) below the main cluster of 4ndash19 branches (lsquofingersrsquo) branches slender to robust linear to oblong up to 24 cm long reflexed when slender or straight to incurved a

the tip when robust sometimes with secondary branches each branch with 60ndash80 spikelets Spikelets ovoid-ellipsoid up to 10 mm times 4 mm mostly arranged in two rows al

one side of the rachis (3ndash)6ndash9(ndash12)-flowered lower glume 1ndash4 mm long with a 3-veined keel upper glume 2ndash5 mm long with a (3ndash)5ndash7-veined keel florets bisexual but

terminal ones sometimes sterile or male arranged in 2 opposite rows lemma narrowly ovate 2ndash5 mm long palea slightly shorter than lemma stamens 3 ovary superior with

free styles ending in plumose stigmas Fruit a grain with free soft fruit wall (utricle) 4ndash7 per spikelet more or less globose up to 2 mm in diameter white red brown or blac





per carp rema nng s nc ur ng eve opmen an a ma ur y appear ng as a papery s ruc ure surroun ng e see


Other botanical information

Eleusine comprises about 10 species distributed in the tropical and subtropical parts of Africa Asia and South America The probable wild ancestor of finger millet is Eleusi

africana Kenn-OrsquoByrne (wild finger millet) commonly considered as a subspecies of Eleusine coracana (subsp africana (Kenn-OrsquoByrne) Hilu amp de Wet) because it is

tetraploid (2n = 36) and crosses with finger millet produce fertile hybrids It is an aggressive colonizer and forms large continuous populations in disturbed habitats from wher

is still harvested as a wild cereal in times of scarcity It is a noxious weed of agriculture in Africa and invades fields of finger millet where although predominantly self-fertilized

occasionally crosses with the cereal to form extensively variable weedy hybrid swarms

Primitive finger millet cultivars resemble wild finger millet in inflorescence morphology but lack the ability of natural seed dispersal They are characterized by inflorescences w

spreading branches that are straight or slightly incurved at the tip when mature These cultivars are widespread in Africa and are also grown in southern and eastern India

A second group of highland African and Indian cultivars is also characterized by spreading inflorescence branches Cultivars from East Africa typically have inflorescence

branches that are up to 24 cm long while others from East Africa and from southern India have 10ndash18 cm long inflorescence branches Cultivars from Africa commonly havemore slender inflorescences than those from India allowing the branches to become reflexed at maturity Individuals in fields of these cultivars sometimes have their spikelets

arranged in clusters along the rachis

A morphologically distinct group of cultivars is widely grown from Ethiopia to Zambia These cultivars are characterized by spreading inflorescence branches with large narro

lanceolate spikelets that are arranged in two even rows along one side of the rachis Morphologically related finger millets are grown in the mountains of eastern India but in

these cultivars the large spikelets are irregularly arranged and essentially surround the rachis

The most advanced cultivars have highly proliferated inflorescence branches that are clumped together to form a fist-like structure These cultivars are grown across the range

finger millet cultivation in Africa and the Indian sub-continent The most commonly grown finger millet cultivars in Africa and India have much smaller inflorescences with more

less spreading branches that may become somewhat incurved or reflexed at maturity


Growth and development

Finger millet seeds lack dormancy However they will not germinate in soil that lacks sufficient moisture to support seedling growth Seedlings are sensitive to drought but

mature plants go dormant during short periods of drought and produce new tillers when conditions become favourable again Plants tiller strongly and root from lower nodes

provide excellent protection against soil erosion Time from planting to flowering is 50ndash120 days the complete crop cycle is 3ndash6 months Flowering on individual inflorescenc

lasts for 8ndash10 days and proceeds from top to bottom on branches Finger millet is predominantly self-pollinated with about 1 out-crossing Heavy rain at flowering reduces

seed set Finger millet follows the C4 photosynthetic pathway


Ecology

Finger millet grows best at an average temperature around 23degC In eastern and southern Africa finger millet is grown from sea-level up to about 2500 m altitude most

commonly at 1000ndash2000 m It is mostly grown in areas with 750ndash1200 mm of rainfall during the growing season The minimum rainfall for finger millet is 300ndash500 mm but

below 750 mm sorghum and pearl millet are more commonly grown because of their superior drought tolerance Finger millet is a short-day plant with a critical daylength mo

close to 12 hours

Finger millet grows on a range of soils but prefers fertile well-drained sandy to sandy-loam soils with reasonable water-holding capacity It prefers a pH of 5ndash7 but tolerate

very alkaline (pH 11) soils It does not tolerate waterlogging


Propagation and planting

Finger millet is propagated from seed The weight of 1000 seeds is 2ndash3 g Fields are prepared by hoe or animal-drawn plough To control weeds fields may be ploughed atonset of rains weeds are allowed to germinate and the fields are ploughed a second time or even as many as six times before the cereal crop is planted Harrowing before

planting also helps to reduce weeds Seeds are broadcast or planted in rows behind the plough Seed rates up to 35 kgha may be used when the crop is broadcast in row

planting seed rates are only 3ndash10 kgha In row planting seeds are sown 2ndash3 cm deep in rows 20ndash35 cm apart As soon as convenient seedlings are thinned to 5ndash12 cm ap

within the row In India seeds are sometimes germinated in nurseries and the seedlings planted in the field when they are 3ndash4 weeks old Although labour intensive this practi

provides fresh cereal grain well before direct-sown finger millet matures Alternatively finger millet may be sown or planted 1ndash2 weeks before the expected onset of rain

Finger millet is often intercropped with other cereals pulses or vegetables In Ethiopia sole cropping of finger millet is common In Africa finger millet is grown most commonl

smallholders


Management

Weeds are a major problem in finger millet the first two weeks after germination being critical Several rounds of manual weeding are common requiring much labour When

finger millet is planted in rows animal-drawn weeders are often used Finger millet responds well to fertilizer Recommended rates of application are 40ndash60 kg N 26ndash40 kg

and 30ndash50 kg K per ha Smallholders however can rarely afford chemical fertilizers Finger millet also responds well to the addition of organic manure or ash In parts of Af

finger millet is grown in a shifting-agriculture system eg in the lsquochitemenersquo system in Zambia In Kenya and Tanzania it is often grown as the first crop after clearing the land

when weed pressure is low and soil fertility relatively high Finger millet is commonly grown in rotation with other annual crops preferably pulses In Uganda it is grown after tobacco or cotton


Diseases and pests

Finger millet is relatively free of diseases and pests The most serious disease is head blast caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea (synonym Pyricularia grisea) It attac

finger millet across its range of cultivation All aerial parts are affected from seedling to maturity Serious reduction in yield occurs when inflorescences are infected during grai

development Control methods include crop rotation and the use of tolerant or resistant cultivars Bipolaris nodulosa (synonym Helminthosporium nodulosum) causes a d

brown leaf blight and foot and root rot whereas Helminthosporium leucostylum causes leaf shredding seedling blight and head blight

Insect pests include shoot fly ( Atherigona soccata) stem borers caterpillars grasshoppers and locusts the phytophagous ladybird ( Epilachna similis) sporadically causes

serious damage Quelea birds are pests in some areas Major weeds of finger millet in tropical Africa include wild finger millet Eleusine indica (L) Gaertn and Brachiaria

deflexa (Schumach) Robyns These species are difficult to distinguish from finger millet in early stages of development and almost impossible to weed out successfully The

broad-leafed weed Guizotia scabra (Vis) Chiov is a problem in Ethiopia but is commonly weeded out by hand The root parasite Striga hermonthica (Delile) Benth occ

across the range of finger millet cultivation in Africa but rarely seems to cause serious problems Stored finger millet is insect-resistant due to the grains being too small for

weevils to squeeze inside and can be stored for several years without serious damage sh ow m or e dat a ( 0) co mm en ts (0 )

Harvesting

In Africa finger millet fields are often harvested in several rounds to prevent loss of grain through shattering because of uneven ripening Harvesting usually starts when grain o

earliest genotypes contains about 10 moisture Inflorescences are individually cut and allowed to dry






Yield

The average finger millet grain yield under local practices of agriculture in tropical Africa is 025ndash15 tha With improved cultivars optimal weed control and use of fertilizers

yields of up to 5 tha are obtained under experimental conditions Straw yields range from 1ndash25 tha for rainfed crops to 9 tha for irrigated crops


Handling after harvest

Finger millet grain is stored after threshing or in inflorescences that are threshed as needed Threshing is usually by beating the inflorescences with a stick Grain is ground on a

grinding stone or in a mill A little water may be added during the grinding process to keep the grains together and to avois fragmentation of the bran The coarse bran is

winnowed off and may be used in making beer Straw is commonly grazed by cattle In East Africa grain to be used in brewing is typically soaked in water and left for 2ndash3 d

to germinate after which the germinated seeds are ground mixed with fried fermented maize sorghum or finger millet flour and placed in water to further ferment for 2ndash5 da


Genetic resources and breeding

Major finger millet germplasm collections are being maintained and evaluated by ICRISAT Asia Center (Patancheru India) with selected duplicate specimens at ICRISAT

Southern and Eastern Africa (Bulawayo Zimbabwe and Nairobi Kenya) and SADC (Bulawayo Zimbabwe) Germplasm collections include about 2800 accessions from

Africa and about 2100 from Asia Major African collections are from Uganda Zimbabwe Kenya Malawi and Zambia and most Asian collections are from India and Nepa

large collection (about 2000 accessions mainly from Kenya) is maintained at the National Genebank of Kenya Muguga Another extensive collection numbering 1300

accessions from Ethiopia is maintained by the Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (IBC) formerly known as Plant Genetic Resources Center of Ethiopia (PGRCE) in Ad

Ababa Ethiopia Germplasm from the rest of tropical Africa and tropical Asia needs to be collected


Breeding

Finger millet breeders need to identify resistance to head blast and to incorporate such resistance into cultivars with acceptable yield Screening for resistance is making progr

Progress is also being made to reduce susceptibility to lodging and shorten the growing cycle and to increase tolerance to moisture stress and yield under traditional farming

systems Hand emasculation and pollination of finger millet florets are tedious and hamper rapid progress through trait recombination A male sterile line has been developed i

Zimbabwe Improved cultivars released in Africa include lsquoTadessersquo lsquoPadetrsquo and lsquoBoneyarsquo in Ethiopia lsquoP-283rsquo lsquoP-224rsquo lsquo P-221rsquo and lsquoSerere-1rsquo in Kenya lsquoEngenyrsquo lsquoSere

1rsquo lsquoGulu-Ersquo and lsquoP-224rsquo in Uganda lsquoSteadfastrsquo and lsquoM-144rsquo in Zambia and lsquoFMV-1rsquo and lsquoFMV-2rsquo in ZimbabweFinger millet has limited levels of polymorphism for DNA-based markers within the cultivated and wild species A genetic map based on restriction fragment length

polymorphism (RFLP) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers is being constructed using crosses between finger millet and wild finger millet


Prospects

The area under finger millet cultivation varies from year to year in both Africa and Asia The trend however shows stability or increases in most countries where finger millet

staple cereal A major constraint in finger millet production is the high labour requirement especially for weeding harvesting and milling However its excellent storage qualit

and the fact that in Africa it is preferred over other cereals in the production of local beer assure finger millet a place in agriculture


Major references

bull Anand Kumar K amp Renard C 2001 Finger millet In Raemaekers RH (Editor) Crop production in tropical Africa DGIC (Directorate General for International Co-

operation) Ministry of Foreign Affairs External Trade and International Co-operation Brussels Belgium pp 9ndash16

bull Bisht MS amp Mukai Y 2002 Genome organization and polyploid evolution in the genus Eleusine (Poaceae) Plant Systematics and Evolution 233(3ndash4) 243ndash258

bull Burkill HM 1994 The useful plants of West Tropical Africa 2nd Edition Volume 2 Families EndashI Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Richmond United Kingdom 636 ppbull de Wet JMJ 1995 Finger millet In Smartt J amp Simmonds NW (Editors) Evolution of crop plants 2nd Edition Longman Scientific amp Technical Harlow United

Kingdom pp 137ndash140

bull de Wet JMJ 2000 Millets In Kiple KF amp Ornelas KC (Editors) The Cambridge world history of food Cambridge University Press Cambridge United Kingdo

pp 113ndash121

bull de Wet JMJ Prasada Rao KE Brink DE amp Mengesha MH 1984 Systematics and evolution of Eleusine coracana (Gramineae) American Journal of Botany 71(

550ndash557

bull Hilu KW amp Johnson JL 1997 Systematics of Eleusine Gaertn (Poaceae Chloridoideae) chloroplast DNA and total evidence Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garde

84 841ndash847

bull Hilu KW de Wet JMJ amp Harlan JR 1979 Archaeobotanical studies of Eleusine coracana ssp coracana (finger millet) American Journal of Botany 66(3) 330ndash333

bull Jansen PCM amp Ong HC 1996 Eleusine coracana (L) Gaertner cv group Finger Millet In Grubben GJH amp Partohardjono S (Editors) Plant Resources of Sout

East Asia No 10 Cereals Backhuys Publishers Leiden Netherlands pp 90ndash95

bull Prasada Rao KE amp de Wet JMJ 1997 Small millets In Fuccillo D Sears L amp Stapleton P (Editors) Biodiversity in trust conservation and use of plant genetic

resources in CGIAR Centres Cambridge University Press Cambridge United Kingdom pp 259ndash272


Other references

bull Acland JD 1971 East African crops an introduction to the production of field and plantation crops in Kenya Tanzania and Uganda FAO Rome ItalyLongman Lond

United Kingdom 252 pp

bull Clayton WD Phillips SM amp Renvoize SA 1974 Gramineae (part 2) In Polhill RM (Editor) Flora of Tropical East Africa Crown Agents for Oversea Governme

and Administrations London United Kingdom 273 pp

bull Cope T 1999 Gramineae (Arundineae Eragrostideae Leptureae and Cynodonteae) In Pope GV (Editor) Flora Zambesiaca Volume 10 part 2 Royal Botanic

Gardens Kew Richmond United Kingdom 261 pp

bull Davie O amp Gordon-Gray K 1977 Tropical African cultigens from Shangweni excavations Natal Journal of Archaeological Sciences 4 153ndash162

bull Dida MM Gale MD amp Devos KM 2001 Exploitation of grass comparative maps in the analysis of finger millet In Tefera H Belay G amp Sorrells M (Editors)

Narrowing the rift research and development in tef Proceedings of the international workshop on tef genetics and improvement Debre Zeit Ethiopia 16ndash19 October 2000

EARO Addis Ababa Ethiopia pp 267ndash274

bull Doggett H 1998 Small millets - a selective overview In Seetharam A Riley KW amp Harinarayana G (Editors) Small millets in global agriculture Proceedings of the

international small millets workshop Bangalore India October 29 ndash November 2 1986 Aspect Publishing London United Kingdom pp 3ndash17

bull FAO 1970 Amino-acid content of foods and biological data on proteins FAO Nutrition Studies No 24 Rome Italy 285 pp

bull Harlan JR de Wet JMJ amp Stemler ABL 1976 Plant domestication and indigenous African agriculture In Harlan JR de Wet JMJ amp Stemler ABL (Editors)

Origins of African plant domestication Mouton Publishers The Hague Netherlands pp 3ndash19

bull Hilu KW amp de Wet JMJ 1976 Domestication of Eleusine coracana Economic Botany 30 199ndash208

bull Hilu KW amp de Wet JMJ 1976 Racial evolution in Eleusine coracana ssp coracana (finger millet) American Journal of Botany 63(10) 1311ndash1318

bull Hussaini SH Goodman MM amp Timothy DH 1977 Multivariate analysis and the geographic distribution of the world collection of finger millet Crop Science 17 257

263

bull Kennedy-OrsquoByrne J 1957 Notes on African grasses 29 A new species of Eleusine from Tropical and South Africa Kew Bulletin 11 65ndash72





bull Leung W-TW Busson F amp Jardin C 1968 Food composition table for use in Africa FAO Rome Italy 306 pp

bull McDonough CM Rooney LW amp Serna-Saldivar SO 2000 The millets In Kulp K amp Ponte JG (Editors) Handbook of cereal science and technology 2nd Edit

Marcel Dekker New York United States pp 177ndash201

bull Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development 2002 Field crops technical handbook 2nd Edition Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Nairobi Kenya 219

bull National Research Council 1996 Lost crops of Africa Volume 1 grains National Academy Press Washington DC United States 383 pp

bull Phillips SM 1972 A survey of the genus Eleusine in Africa Kew Bulletin 27(2) 251ndash270

bull Phillips S 1995 Poaceae (Gramineae) In Hedberg I amp Edwards S (Editors) Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea Volume 7 Poaceae (Gramineae) The National Herbariu

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia and Department of Systematic Botany Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden 420 pp

bull Riley KW Gupta SC Seetharam A amp Mushonga JN (Editors) 1993 Advances in small millets Oxford amp IBH Publishing New Delhi India 557 pp

bull Weber SA 1991 Plants and Harappan subsistence an example of stability and change from Rojdi Wetview Press Boulder Colorado United States 200 pp


Afriref references


Sources of illustration




Author(s)

bull JMJ de Wet

Department of Crop Sciences Urbana-Champaign Turner Hall 1102 South Goodwin Avenue Urbana IL 61801 United States

Editors

bull M Brink PROTA Network Office Europe Wageningen University PO Box 341 6700 AH Wageningen Netherlands

bull G Belay

Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization Debre Zeit Center PO Box 32 Debre Zeit Ethiopia

Associate editors

bull JMJ de Wet


bull OT Edje

Faculty of Agriculture University of Swaziland PO Luyengo Luyengo Swaziland

bull E Westphal

Ritzema Bosweg 13 6706 BB Wageningen Netherlands

General editors

bull RHMJ Lemmens

PROTA Network Office Europe Wageningen University PO Box 341 6700 AH Wageningen Netherlands

bull LPA Oyen


Photo editor

bull A de Ruijter


Correct citation of this article

de Wet JMJ 2006 Eleusine coracana (L) Gaertn [Internet] Record from PROTA4U Brink M amp Belay G (Editors) PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa

Ressources veacutegeacutetales de lrsquoAfrique tropicale) Wageningen Netherlands lthttpwwwprota4uorgsearchasp gt Accessed 17 June 2013

Additional references

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per carp rema nng s nc ur ng eve opmen an a ma ur y appear ng as a papery s ruc ure surroun ng e see


Other botanical information

Eleusine comprises about 10 species distributed in the tropical and subtropical parts of Africa Asia and South America The probable wild ancestor of finger millet is Eleusi

africana Kenn-OrsquoByrne (wild finger millet) commonly considered as a subspecies of Eleusine coracana (subsp africana (Kenn-OrsquoByrne) Hilu amp de Wet) because it is

tetraploid (2n = 36) and crosses with finger millet produce fertile hybrids It is an aggressive colonizer and forms large continuous populations in disturbed habitats from wher

is still harvested as a wild cereal in times of scarcity It is a noxious weed of agriculture in Africa and invades fields of finger millet where although predominantly self-fertilized

occasionally crosses with the cereal to form extensively variable weedy hybrid swarms

Primitive finger millet cultivars resemble wild finger millet in inflorescence morphology but lack the ability of natural seed dispersal They are characterized by inflorescences w

spreading branches that are straight or slightly incurved at the tip when mature These cultivars are widespread in Africa and are also grown in southern and eastern India

A second group of highland African and Indian cultivars is also characterized by spreading inflorescence branches Cultivars from East Africa typically have inflorescence

branches that are up to 24 cm long while others from East Africa and from southern India have 10ndash18 cm long inflorescence branches Cultivars from Africa commonly havemore slender inflorescences than those from India allowing the branches to become reflexed at maturity Individuals in fields of these cultivars sometimes have their spikelets

arranged in clusters along the rachis

A morphologically distinct group of cultivars is widely grown from Ethiopia to Zambia These cultivars are characterized by spreading inflorescence branches with large narro

lanceolate spikelets that are arranged in two even rows along one side of the rachis Morphologically related finger millets are grown in the mountains of eastern India but in

these cultivars the large spikelets are irregularly arranged and essentially surround the rachis

The most advanced cultivars have highly proliferated inflorescence branches that are clumped together to form a fist-like structure These cultivars are grown across the range

finger millet cultivation in Africa and the Indian sub-continent The most commonly grown finger millet cultivars in Africa and India have much smaller inflorescences with more

less spreading branches that may become somewhat incurved or reflexed at maturity


Growth and development

Finger millet seeds lack dormancy However they will not germinate in soil that lacks sufficient moisture to support seedling growth Seedlings are sensitive to drought but

mature plants go dormant during short periods of drought and produce new tillers when conditions become favourable again Plants tiller strongly and root from lower nodes

provide excellent protection against soil erosion Time from planting to flowering is 50ndash120 days the complete crop cycle is 3ndash6 months Flowering on individual inflorescenc

lasts for 8ndash10 days and proceeds from top to bottom on branches Finger millet is predominantly self-pollinated with about 1 out-crossing Heavy rain at flowering reduces

seed set Finger millet follows the C4 photosynthetic pathway


Ecology

Finger millet grows best at an average temperature around 23degC In eastern and southern Africa finger millet is grown from sea-level up to about 2500 m altitude most

commonly at 1000ndash2000 m It is mostly grown in areas with 750ndash1200 mm of rainfall during the growing season The minimum rainfall for finger millet is 300ndash500 mm but

below 750 mm sorghum and pearl millet are more commonly grown because of their superior drought tolerance Finger millet is a short-day plant with a critical daylength mo

close to 12 hours

Finger millet grows on a range of soils but prefers fertile well-drained sandy to sandy-loam soils with reasonable water-holding capacity It prefers a pH of 5ndash7 but tolerate

very alkaline (pH 11) soils It does not tolerate waterlogging


Propagation and planting

Finger millet is propagated from seed The weight of 1000 seeds is 2ndash3 g Fields are prepared by hoe or animal-drawn plough To control weeds fields may be ploughed atonset of rains weeds are allowed to germinate and the fields are ploughed a second time or even as many as six times before the cereal crop is planted Harrowing before

planting also helps to reduce weeds Seeds are broadcast or planted in rows behind the plough Seed rates up to 35 kgha may be used when the crop is broadcast in row

planting seed rates are only 3ndash10 kgha In row planting seeds are sown 2ndash3 cm deep in rows 20ndash35 cm apart As soon as convenient seedlings are thinned to 5ndash12 cm ap

within the row In India seeds are sometimes germinated in nurseries and the seedlings planted in the field when they are 3ndash4 weeks old Although labour intensive this practi

provides fresh cereal grain well before direct-sown finger millet matures Alternatively finger millet may be sown or planted 1ndash2 weeks before the expected onset of rain

Finger millet is often intercropped with other cereals pulses or vegetables In Ethiopia sole cropping of finger millet is common In Africa finger millet is grown most commonl

smallholders


Management

Weeds are a major problem in finger millet the first two weeks after germination being critical Several rounds of manual weeding are common requiring much labour When

finger millet is planted in rows animal-drawn weeders are often used Finger millet responds well to fertilizer Recommended rates of application are 40ndash60 kg N 26ndash40 kg

and 30ndash50 kg K per ha Smallholders however can rarely afford chemical fertilizers Finger millet also responds well to the addition of organic manure or ash In parts of Af

finger millet is grown in a shifting-agriculture system eg in the lsquochitemenersquo system in Zambia In Kenya and Tanzania it is often grown as the first crop after clearing the land

when weed pressure is low and soil fertility relatively high Finger millet is commonly grown in rotation with other annual crops preferably pulses In Uganda it is grown after tobacco or cotton


Diseases and pests

Finger millet is relatively free of diseases and pests The most serious disease is head blast caused by the fungus Magnaporthe grisea (synonym Pyricularia grisea) It attac

finger millet across its range of cultivation All aerial parts are affected from seedling to maturity Serious reduction in yield occurs when inflorescences are infected during grai

development Control methods include crop rotation and the use of tolerant or resistant cultivars Bipolaris nodulosa (synonym Helminthosporium nodulosum) causes a d

brown leaf blight and foot and root rot whereas Helminthosporium leucostylum causes leaf shredding seedling blight and head blight

Insect pests include shoot fly ( Atherigona soccata) stem borers caterpillars grasshoppers and locusts the phytophagous ladybird ( Epilachna similis) sporadically causes

serious damage Quelea birds are pests in some areas Major weeds of finger millet in tropical Africa include wild finger millet Eleusine indica (L) Gaertn and Brachiaria

deflexa (Schumach) Robyns These species are difficult to distinguish from finger millet in early stages of development and almost impossible to weed out successfully The

broad-leafed weed Guizotia scabra (Vis) Chiov is a problem in Ethiopia but is commonly weeded out by hand The root parasite Striga hermonthica (Delile) Benth occ

across the range of finger millet cultivation in Africa but rarely seems to cause serious problems Stored finger millet is insect-resistant due to the grains being too small for

weevils to squeeze inside and can be stored for several years without serious damage sh ow m or e dat a ( 0) co mm en ts (0 )

Harvesting

In Africa finger millet fields are often harvested in several rounds to prevent loss of grain through shattering because of uneven ripening Harvesting usually starts when grain o

earliest genotypes contains about 10 moisture Inflorescences are individually cut and allowed to dry






Yield


















Breeding








Prospects





Major references







pp 113ndash121


550ndash557


84 841ndash847







Other references



















263

















Afriref references






Author(s)

bull JMJ de Wet


Editors


bull G Belay


Associate editors

bull JMJ de Wet


bull OT Edje


bull E Westphal


General editors

bull RHMJ Lemmens


bull LPA Oyen


Photo editor

bull A de Ruijter






Study abstract



Citation in books




















Yield


















Breeding








Prospects





Major references







pp 113ndash121


550ndash557


84 841ndash847







Other references



















263

















Afriref references






Author(s)

bull JMJ de Wet


Editors


bull G Belay


Associate editors

bull JMJ de Wet


bull OT Edje


bull E Westphal


General editors

bull RHMJ Lemmens


bull LPA Oyen


Photo editor

bull A de Ruijter






Study abstract



Citation in books































Afriref references






Author(s)

bull JMJ de Wet


Editors


bull G Belay


Associate editors

bull JMJ de Wet


bull OT Edje


bull E Westphal


General editors

bull RHMJ Lemmens


bull LPA Oyen


Photo editor

bull A de Ruijter






Study abstract



Citation in books
















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