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:
- Common millet
- Fox tail millet
- Kodo millet
- Pearl millet
- 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 |
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.
Fruit: Caryopsis
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 Number | Name of Variety | Year of Release | Growing Season | Growth duration (day) | Average Yield (ton/ha) |
| 1 | BARI Cheena-1 (Tushar) | 1990 | Rabi | 115 | 2.5-3.0 |
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 |
Botanical Description of Kaon
Habit: Annual herb, grass
Root: Fibrous root system
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.
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 Number | Name of Variety | Year of Release | Growing Season | Growth duration (day) | Average Yield (ton/ha) |
| 1 | Titash | 1989 | Rabi/kharif | 90-95 | 2.5-3.0 |
| 2 | BARI Kaon-2 | 2001 | Rabi/kharif | 120-125 | 2.75-3.0 |
| 3 | BARI Kaon-3 | 2001 | Rabi/kharif | 120-125 | 2.5-3.0 |
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.
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
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.
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.