Millets

Millets: Minor Cereal Crops Their Taxonomy and Morphology

M A Baset Mia

Millet is a collective term referring to a number of small seeded annual grain crops from different genera in the Poaceae (Gramineae) family. Following crops are refereed as millets:

  1. Common millet
  2. Fox tail millet
  3. Kodo millet
  4. Pearl millet
  5. Finger millet 

Common millet

English names: Brown-corn Millet, Common Millet, Hog Millet

Local names: Cheena

Taxonomic Position (according to Cronquist, 1988)

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Subclass: Commelinidae
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Panicum
Species: P. miliaceum
IMG_0614

Figure Field View of Common Millet

 

Botanical Description of Common Millet

Habit: Annual herb, grass

Root: Fibrous root system

Stem: Culm, internodes cylindrical, hollow, and glabrous

Leaf: Divided into leaf sheath and leaf blade. The blades are linear lanceolate.

Inflorescence: A panicle of spikelet.

Flower: Spikelets mostly towards the end of branches

Corolla: Petal absent

Androecium: anther 1.7 to 2.1 mm long.

Gynoecium: ovary superior.

millet

Fruit: Caryopsis

kaj-svensson-view-of-hulled-millet-panicum-miliaceum-grains

Figure Millet Grain

Chromosome number: 2n=36, 54, 72

Economic Importance: Cultivated for the grain used as food for cage-bird and also made into a kind of beer.

Table Common millet varieties developed by BARI, Joydebpur, Bangladesh

Serial NumberName of VarietyYear of ReleaseGrowing SeasonGrowth duration

(day)

Average Yield

(ton/ha)

1BARI Cheena-1 (Tushar)1990Rabi1152.5-3.0

 

Common name: Fox tail millet

Scientific Name: Setaria italica  (L.) Beauv.

English names: Dwarf Setaria, Fox-tail Millet, Italian Millet, Liberty Millet, Bristle Grass.

Local names: Kaon, Kangui, Kora, Kanti dana, Shyamdhat

 

Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1988)

Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Liliopsida
Subclass:Commelinidae
Order:Poales
Family:Poaceae
Genus:Setaria
Species:S. italica

Millet

Botanical Description of Kaon

Habit: Annual herb, grass

Root: Fibrous root system

Kaon

Figure Kaon Plant

Stem: Culm, tufted, erect, node and internodes usually glabrous

Leaf: Divided into leaf sheath and leaf blade. The blades are linear acuminate narrow towards the base.

Inflorescence: A pseudo spike of many flower contracted racemes.

Flower: Spikelets elliptic to obovate glabrous, lower florets sterile, upper florets hermaphrodite. Upper lemmas are boat shaped. Lower lemmas broadly elliptic to obovate.

Androecium: Stamen 3, anther 1.0 to 1.3 mm.

Gynoecium: ovary superior, stigma bi-lobed.

New-arrival-Special-sales-ornamental-fruit-seeds-Setaria-italica-millet-crops-rich-protein

Economic Importance: Cultivated for the grain and forage. Grain is used as food for cage-bird and also made into a kind of beer. It is grown chiefly for hay in the USA . The plant is useful for burning sensation, fractures and rheumatism.

Table Kaon varieties developed by BARI, Joydebpur, Bangladesh

Serial NumberName of VarietyYear of ReleaseGrowing SeasonGrowth duration

(day)

Average Yield

(ton/ha)

1Titash1989Rabi/kharif90-952.5-3.0
2BARI Kaon-22001Rabi/kharif120-1252.75-3.0
3BARI Kaon-32001Rabi/kharif120-1252.5-3.0

Kodo millet

Scientific name: Paspalum scrobiculatum L.

Local name: Goicha, Kodoa Dhan

Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1988)

Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Liliopsida
Subclass:Commelinidae
Order:Poales
Family:Poaceae
Genus:Paspalum
Species:P. scrobiculatum

Botanical Description of Kodo Millet

Habit: Annual or perennial grass

Root: Fibrous root system, rooting at the lower node

Stem: Culms, tufted, erect, and sometime prostrate

Leaf: Simple, alternate, sessile, composed of leaf sheath and leaf blade. Leaf blades linear, lanceolate or linear.

Inflorescence: Composed of 2 racemes, digitate or borne on an axis up to 8 cm long.

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Fruit: Caryopsis

Chromosome number: 2n=40

Pearl millet

Scientific name: Setaria glauca (L) P. Beauv.

Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1988)

Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Liliopsida
Subclass:Commelinidae
Order:Poales
Family:Poaceae
Genus:Paspalum
Species:scrobiculatum

Botanical Description of Pearl Millet

Habit: Annual herb

Root: The root system is extremely profuse

Stem: The stem is slender, 1-3 cm diameter at the base, solid and with prominent nodes which may be glabrous or hairy

Pearl millet

Leaf:   Leaf-sheaths are open above overlapping at the base and usually glabrous. The leaf-blade is linear to linear –lanceolate up to 1.5 m x 5-8 cm.

Inflorescence: The inflorescence is a terminal, cylindrical, compact and stiff spike-like panicle, 5-150 cm long.

Seed: Seeds are white, yellow, blue- white, pale, grey or brown, occasionally purple in color

Finger millet

Scientific name: Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertin

Local name: Marud, Marua

Taxonomic Position According to Cronquist (1988)

Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Subclass: Commelinidae
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Eleusine
Species: E. coracana

Botanical Description of Finger Millet

Habit: Annual herb with ascending to erect

Stem: Culm erect and ascending

Leaf: leaf blade linearThe stem is compressed 60-120 cm tall

Root: The root system is fibrous and remarkably strong

Leaf: The leaf-sheath is flattened; blade is linear, often folded, with a strong midrib, glabrous or with few hairs

Inflorescence: The inflorescence is a whorl of two to eight, digitate, straight or slightly curved.

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Androecium: Stamen 3, anthers 1-1.5mm long.

Gynoecium: Placentation basal

Fruit: Caryopsis

Chromosome number: 2n=36

Economic Importance

Grain is important staple food in some areas of East and Central Africa and also in India. It is also used for malting and brewing. One type of porridge or alcoholic beverage is made from its grain.

 

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