Le millet Setaria italica, une plante à découvrir (étude bibliographique)

Abstract

Foxtail millet Setaria italica is an autogamous plant of Panicoïdés tribe, which seems to be one of the first cultivated cereal in Europe and Asia. Although China seems to be the oldest birthplace of foxtail millet, recent studies would point out that this part of the world is not its only center of origin (with Harlan's meaning). Indeed, foxtail millet would not only have been domesticated in Europe and China, but also in India, Japan and South of Russia, at different times and independantly. Migrations and introgressions would have occured afterwards ; and so have been created the current geographical groups. The extension of foxtail millet is due to its agronomical (autogamy, hardiness...) and nutritional advantages (high protein and fatty acid contents...). Actually, foxtail millet is, among other uses, a cereal of high nutritive value. Foxtail millet is still widely cultivated in Asia for human food, but it has nearly disappeared in Europe except for bird food because of maize introduction and because of a lack in genetic improvment. Nevertheless, in the current context of overproduction and diversification, a wide and unused variability and a high nutritive value make of foxtail millet an interesting culture for the futur.