Traditional Millet Research Articles

Trinadhanya as a new era super-food: Revival of interest in traditional millet for their nutritional and therapeutic benefits

There has been a remarkable revival of interest in traditional millets, collectively known as “Trinadhanya” in Ayurveda, due to their nutritional and medicinal properties and, have established themselves as a new era superfood. The present article enlightens Indian traditional millets, showcasing their diverse nutritional profiles comprising carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Further, the diverse range of phytochemical constituents present in millets has also been focused. Besides the nutritional value, the article also elucidates the biological efficacy of traditional millets, unveiling their positive impacts on various health conditions, such as glycemic control, cardiovascular diseases, and healthy gut microflora. The study also elaborates the millet-based recipes, showcasing their versatility in culinary applications. Furthermore, the article contextualizes the resurgence of traditional millets within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG-3) to combat malnutrition, ensure healthy lives, and promote well-being for all with indigenous crops.

Revealing the biochemical profile and antioxidant activity of kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.)

Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.) is a traditional millet crop extensively cultivated in Asia, particularly India and Africa. The crop is grown in adverse environmental conditions and resilient to biotic and abiotic stresses, and the grains are prized for their higher nutritional value than major cereals. In the present study, biochemical components and antioxidant activity were examined in grains of four kodo millet cultivars and compared with rice. Results showed that four kodo millet cultivars had higher amylose content (14.8-29.66%), protein (7.1-9.7%), polyphenol (446.29-553.07 mg GAE/100 g), and elevated antioxidant activity (44.29-87.5 inhibition %) than rice cultivars. Also, we obtained a strong positive correlation between starch, amylose, protein content, antioxidant activity and total phenolic content (TPC). Notably, among the kodo millet cultivars, ATL 1 and CO 3 exhibited high amylose, protein, antioxidants, and phenolic content levels. Collectively, the information obtained in our study provides useful information to improve the targeted traits in kodo millet breeding programs.

An economic analysis on cost and returns of paddy in Jawadhu hills of Tamil Nadu

Rice is one of the three most important and staple food crops in the world. Rice belongs to the genus Oryza and family Gramineae. It is one of the few crop species endowed with richest genetic diversity. India is the second largest rice growing country after China. Tamil Nadu is the second largest producer of Paddy and the state is historically known for its agriculture since ancient times. The major food crop like Paddy is grown in large extent and rice is the staple food of the state. Because of the familiarity, the paddy crop has been cultivated in the hilly areas and it replaced traditional millet crops over the years. At this juncture, the study on economic analysis on production of paddy in Jawadhu hills of Tamil Nadu was carried out with the following specific objectives of: (i) to estimate costs and returns of paddy cultivation in the study area, (ii) to identify the constraints in production of paddy cultivation and offer policy suggestion based on the results of the study. A multi-stage stratified random sampling procedure was adopted for the study. Due to the profitability (net return in Rs.16, 726.00 per acre) of the crop, the tribal farmers in the study area increasing their area of cultivation of paddy over the years. But due to inadequacy of labour lack of availability of good quality seed and irrigation facility their portability minimized. The department of Agriculture and the Government has to take necessary steps to solve their constraints in paddy cultivation for the prosperity of the tribal farmers in the study area.

Spatial variation in allelopathic inhibition by Ageratina adenophora on growth and yield of two traditional millet crops

Spatial variation in allelopathic inhibition by Ageratina adenophora on growth and yield of two traditional millet crops

Djebba’s Cabaret

Djebba’s cabaret is the portrait of a young brewer of bilbil (Traditional millet beer). Djebba is a young woman who has trained as a teacher but has been unable to find work for 05 years. To survive in a big city like Ngaoundéré (Cameroon), she brews and sells millet beer so that she can support herself. Despite the low profit of the brewing profession, she has won the loyalty of a large number of customers with whom she shares very familiar relationships. Djebba’s business allows her to live on a daily basis but she still hopes that one day she will finally be able to work as a teacher.

Gamma irradiation to induce beneficial mutants in proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.): an underutilized food crop

Purpose Proso millet is a potential crop for food, nutritional security, and sustainable agriculture, particularly in the context of climate change. It is one of the traditional millet crops in cultivation in Tamil Nadu and India. Self-pollinated nature of this crop makes evolutionary process a terminal one and creating variability to broaden the genetic base is important. The objective of the study was to optimize mutagenic dose of gamma mutagen, document types of mutations and identify mutants for high grain and fodder yield. Hence to determine the feasibility of gamma mutagenesis in proso millet crop improvement. Material and methods A mutation breeding program with ten doses of gamma irradiation i.e., 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 and 1000 Gray were imposed on seeds of variety ATL 1, a popular variety in India. Roll paper method, tray method and field evaluation were carried out to determine the LD50 and GR50 doses. Based on viable mutation frequency in M2 generation, mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency was estimated. Targeted selection for yield and yield contributing traits was carried out in M2, M3 and M4 generation to identify high yielding mutants. Results The LD50 and GR50 doses of gamma was estimated to be 418 Gy and 542 Gy respectively. Based on results from probit analysis, mutagenic effectiveness, mutagenic efficiency and mutation spectrum the optimum treatment dose of gamma was concluded to be 400 Gy. High frequency i.e., 10.96 percent of phenotypic mutants were identified in the M2 generation. The broad range of mutants identified in M2 generation had mutations for plant height, plant habit, panicle shape, compactness, and length, days to fifty percent flowering, lodging resistance, tillering, leaf phenotype, apiculus color, culm branching, stem and leaf hairiness, sheath pigmentation, seed color and shape and seed coat attachment. Eight high yielding mutant families were isolated in M4 generation. The mean single plant grain and fodder yield of these mutants ranged between 25 to 51 g and 40 to 68 g respectively while in control it was 15 g and 30 g respectively. Conclusion The wide spectrum and high frequency of mutations both for qualitative and quantitative traits suggests mutation induction as a promising method for creating novel variations in proso millet. The high yielding mutants identified can be utilized for varietal development both for grain and fodder purpose after further stability and quality evaluations in the advanced generations.

Development and Standardization of Mango Leaf Incorporated Health Mix

With increase in diabetes and non communicable diseases and changing diet and lifestyles, it is essential to realize food anthropology. Millets plays an important role in human health. It is low calorie and has easily digestible components. Millets are small seeded grasses that are tough and grow well in dry zones as rain-fed crops, under marginal conditions of soil fertility and moisture in semi dry tropic area. They are highly nutritious, non-glutinous and not acid forming foods. Millets release lesser percentage of glucose compared to rice. Intake of fiber and antioxidant rich millets may promote the human health. In addition to millets, mango leaves have antioxidant properties and control the degenerative diseases like diabetes mellitus, asthma and so forth. The present study aims to utilize the mango leaves and millets to improve human health. The objective of the study is to develop healthy diet including millets, pulses and nuts. Some easily available millets, pulses and nuts were selected to formulate health mix. Mango leaves powder was incorporated in health mix in the ratio of 5, 10 and 15%. The acceptability trial was conducted organoleptically to standardize the health mix. Nutrient present in standardized health mix incorporated with mango leaves powder was analysed. The formulated health mix was prepared as porridge to evaluate the acceptability. Based on the organoleptic evaluation 5% of mango leaves powder incorporated health mix was highly acceptable. Nutrient analysis showed that standardized health mix with mango leaves powder was rich in macronutrients and micronutrients. The study reveals that easily available and low cost millets, pulses have more nutritional properties. There is need to propagate traditional millet based recipes with value addition phytonutrient rich leaves like mango.

Microbial Diversity and Metabolite Profile of Fermenting Millet in the Production of Hausa koko, a Ghanaian Fermented Cereal Porridge.

Hausa koko is an indigenous porridge processed from millet in Ghana. The process involves fermentation stages, giving the characteristic organoleptic properties of the product that is produced largely at a small-scale household level and sold as a street food. Like many other indigenous foods, quality control is problematic and depends on the skills of the processor. In order to improve the quality of the product and standardize the process for large-scale production, we need a deeper understanding of the microbial processes. The aim of this study is to investigate the microbial community involved in the production of this traditional millet porridge and the metabolites produced during processing. High-throughput amplicon sequencing was used to identify the bacterial (16S rRNA V4 hypervariable region) and fungal [Intergenic Transcribed Spacer (ITS)] communities associated with the fermentation, while nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used for metabolite profiling. The bacterial community diversity was reduced during the fermentation processes with an increase and predominance of lactobacilli. Other dominant bacteria in the fermentation included Pediococcus, Weissella, Lactococcus, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc, and Acetobacter. The species Limosilactobacillus fermentum and Ligilactobacillus salivarius accounted for some of the diversities within and between fermentation time points and processors. The fungal community was dominated by the genus Saccharomyces. Other genera such as Pichia, Candida, Kluyveromyces, Nakaseomyces, Torulaspora, and Cyberlindnera were also classified. The species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Stachybotrys sansevieriae, Malassezia restricta, Cyberlindnera fabianii, and Kluyveromyces marxianus accounted for some of the diversities within some fermentation time points. The species S. sansevieria and M. restricta may have been reported for the first time in cereal fermentation. This is the most diverse microbial community reported in Hausa koko. In this study, we could identify and quantify 33 key different metabolites produced by the interactions of the microbial communities with the millet, composed of organic compounds, sugars, amino acids and intermediary compounds, and other key fermentation compounds. An increase in the concentration of organic acids in parallel with the reduction of sugars occurred during the fermentation process while an initial increase of amino acids followed by a decrease in later fermentation steps was observed.

Local food diversification of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) cultivars in West Sulawesi, Indonesia: A case study of diversity and local culture

Abstract. Daryono BS, Ramlah, Pabendon MB. 2020. Local food diversification of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) cultivars in West Sulawesi, Indonesia: A case study of diversity and local culture. Biodiversitas 21: 67-73. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P.Beauv.) is one of the non-rice cereal crops that has long been domesticated in the world, including West Sulawesi-Indonesia as an alternative food crop instead of rice on local culture. Traditional millet cultivars may become an indispensable part of the local culture and traditions of millet-growing people across Asia over many generations. The existence of this germplasm in West Sulawesi Province, Indonesia has been observed morphologically and showed a close relationship with local culture. A total of six traditional millet cultivars (Tarreang) with different morphological characteristics have been found in this region and still preserved sustainably by the local farmers along with their local culture and traditions. The tradition of Sayyang pattu’duq may become a good example of this relationship. In this tradition, some traditional food is made by the local people like porridge tarreang, jelly tarreang, buras tarreang, jepa golla mamea, jepa anjoroi, dodol tarreang, also widely presented and used as a symbol in important ceremonies, such as celebrations in the month of Muharram, completed Al-Qur'an for children, weddings, births or show the baby's. This information may be useful as guidance for conservation and millet breeding programs in the future.

Effect of parboiling on decortication yield of millet grains and phenolic acids and in vitro digestibility of selected millet products

Parboiling is a common method used in rice processing to improve milling yield and physicochemical properties. The current study evaluates parboiling as a pre-treatment step in millet decortication and its impact on phenolic profile and in vitro digestibility of two traditional millet products, steam-cooked couscous and porridge, made from pearl (Pennisetum glaucum) and proso (Panicum miliaceum) millets. Parboiling increased decorticated yield of pearl and proso millet by 37% and 28% respectively. It resulted in significant (P < 0.05) rise in free and bound phenolic contents and DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity of the millet products. This method significantly (P < 0.05) changed starch digestion fractions of both products thereby reducing expected glycemic index (eGI) while the in vitro protein digestibility of products decreased by 14–17%. Parboiling could be an effective way to improve millet decortication yield as well as produce millet products with higher phenolic acids antioxidant activity and lower GI.

Adaptation measures to sustain indigenous practices and the use of indigenous knowledge systems to adapt to climate change in Mutoko rural district of Zimbabwe.

This article examines adaptation measures used to sustain indigenous practices and the use of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) to adapt to climate change in Mutoko rural district of Zimbabwe. Community-based adaptation is able to reduce the vulnerability as well as improve the resilience of the local people to climatic variability and change. Subsistence farmers have always adopted adaptive strategies to some of these changes over the years. As such, the adoption of indigenous practices will significantly help rural community members to adapt to climate change. This study employed a qualitative method and an exploratory design, and the results are derived from 30 purposively selected in-depth interviews. The study discovered that there are numerous measures used to adapt to climate change and subsequently to sustain indigenous practices. The study also found that the community no longer grows maize in large quantities, having shifted to millet and sorghum in order to adapt to climate change. The community also provided various strategies to adapt to climate change. These strategies include mulching, creating large storage houses for produce and creating temporary walls on riverbanks in order to store water when the rivers dry up. This study concludes that climate change adaptation measures employed by the community have significantly helped them to sustain their indigenous practices in many ways. Also, the use of IKS, through activities such as crop type change from maize to traditional millet and sorghum (which facilitates traditional lifestyle and activities), re-establishes the community’s indigenous practices since they are made to observe the practices of yesteryear.

Design of Millet Seed-metering Device under Hole-seeding Conditions

In order to solve the problem that traditional millet drilling method needs labor-intensive artificial thinning-out, a hole-seeding method is proposed to replace it. Under hole-seeding conditions, an air-suction millet seed-metering device was designed. The design of air-cutting valve can assure that suction-holes are not clogged and reliably falling seeds. Suction-hole structure of the seed-metering device takes chamfer type. The dimension parameter of the chamfer hole is as follows: diameter of 4 mm, chamfer depth of 2.5 mm, fissuriform bottom of suction-hole is 1 mm width, number of holes is 32. The passing rate of hill spacing, repeat-sowing rate, leak-sowing rate and hill formation were analyzed by seed-metering test platform, which meets the precision of millet seed and agronomic requirements.

English

Child malnutrition is a major problem in Western Uganda where finger millet porridges are commonly used as complementary foods. This study aimed at improving the nutritional value and safety of finger millet porridges using Moringa oleifera, Cucurbita maxima and lactic acid fermentation. Proximate analysis, iron, zinc and vitamin A contents of composite flours was done according to AOAC methods while agar diffusion pouring technique and a seven point hedonic scale were used to analyse antimicrobial and organoleptic properties of the improved millet porridges, respectively. The porridges were developed with the aim of catering for at least 60% daily requirements for protein, vitamin A, iron and zinc for children aged 7-24 months. They were fermented using lactic acid starter cultures. Chi-square tests were used for comparing percentage acceptance of the porridges by mothers. Analysis of variance was carried out and differences among means were compared by Duncan&rsquo;s test at p&lt;0.05. Fermented millet porridge with 7% M. oleifera leaves had the best nutrient composition and antimicrobial properties while fermented millet porridge with 17% C. maxima flesh was more acceptable by mothers. The porridges are thus a potential solution to inadequate nutrient intakes and diarrhoeal infections attributed to child malnutrition in Western Uganda and most developing countries. &nbsp; Key words: Nutritional value, traditional millet porridges, western Uganda. &nbsp

Study on Negative-pressure Precision Millet Seed-metering Device

Traditional millet drilling method has a problem of labor-intensive artificial thinning-out, so a negative-pressure precision millet seed-metering device was designed to realize millet precision dibble seeding. Single factor experiment researches effect of rotational speed and air-chamber vacuum of seed-metering device on its seed-metering passing rate, repeat-sowing rate and leak-sowing rate. By means of orthogonal experiment method, optimal parameters of seed-metering device were defined, which was 20 r/min rotational speed, 4 mm bore diameter, 1.5 KPa air-chamber vacuum and 55 mm air cut valve arc length. The field test result shows that the seed-metering device meets completely standards of “Single-seed (Precise) Seeder Technological Requirements” and agronomic requirements.

Consequences of malnutrition in early life and strategies to improve maternal and child diets through targeted fortified products

This supplement brings together papers focusing onthe critical 1000 days of human development frompregnancy until 2 years of age. It is the third in anannual series first published as a Special SupplementoftheFoodandNutritionBulletininJune2009.Dietsof poor nutritional quality during pregnancy, infancyandearlychildhoodleadtonutrientintakes,whichdonot meet requirements.This, combined with frequentinfections during early childhood,results in deficits ingrowth (stunting),limited psychosocial development,increased risk of mortality, and reduced learningcapacity and productivity later in life among thosethat survive. Programmes need to prevent these defi-cits by improving maternal and child nutrient intakein addition to preventing and treating infections.Over the past 3 years, the community of nutritionscientists and researchers, activists and developmentpractitioners committed to an integrated approach tonutrition programming has grown. This communityadvocates for a greater focus on maternal, infant andyoung child nutrition (MIYCN), the application of alifecycle approach to programming and the breakingdown of the barriers between expertise and sectorsthat limit the scale-up of cost-effective programmesthat meet the needs of vulnerable populations on asustainedbasis.ThisMIYCNsupplementcontinuestoreflect and contribute to this movement by providingthe results of leading-edge research to inform techni-cal consensus, programme design, policy and furtherresearch. It discusses the consequences of malnutri-tion in early life and focuses on programme-relatedresearch to improve nutrient intake through breast-feeding, promoting consumption of special formu-lated fortified foods that fill nutrient gaps or enhancethe diets of women and children. It also presentsresearch assessing feeding practices and preferencesof caregivers in relation to child feeding and formu-lated products. An operations research project inChina is described that illustrates how these activitieswerebroughttogetherinanintegratedprogrammetoimprove nutrient intake in young children.Dewey and Begum (2011) set the stage by summa-rizing the prevalence, causes and consequences ofstunting.One-third of children under 5 years of age indeveloping countries are stunted,with many childrenin several regions already stunted at birth. Stuntingrates increase during the first 24 months of life withlittle change thereafter until adolescence, whendelayed maturation and an extended growth periodresult in some compensatory growth (Bosch

Increasing land pressure in East Africa: The changing role of cassava and consequences for sustainability of farming systems

Increasing land pressure during the past three to four decades has transformed farming systems in the mid-altitude zone of East Africa. Traditional millet-, cotton-, sugarcane- and/or banana-based farming systems with an important fallow and/or grazing component have evolved into continuously cultivated cassava or cassava/maize-based systems. Within three to four decades, cassava cultivation increased from 1–11 to 16–55% of cropped fields in our six study sites. Declining soil fertility, and not labour or food shortage, was apparently the primary trigger for this transformation. The land use changes have increased nutrient offtakes and reduced nutrient recycling rates. Cassava and maize now account for 50–90% of nutrient removal. Whereas single-season fallows were the most important source of nutrient recycling on cropped fields in the past, currently cassava litterfall and maize stover contribute roughly 70% of nutrient recycling, with 50–70% of N, P and K recycled in cassava litterfall. This may explain why many farmers reason that cassava ‘rests’ the soil. With increasing land use pressure farmers progressively use cassava as an ‘imitation fallow’ throughout their farm. Farmers increasingly target cassava to poor fertility fields characterized by low pH and available P. High cassava intensities are nonetheless maintained on more fertile fields, probably to guarantee regeneration of soil fertility on all fields. Once cassava is targeted to poor fertility soils, farmers have run out of low-input management options and need to intensify management to maintain system productivity. As cassava is now used by more farmers and on a larger acreage than fallowing in the studied farming systems, cassava cropping could perhaps serve as an excellent entry point to strengthen system sustainability.

Integrated Pearl Millet Management in the Sahel: Effects of Legume Rotation and Fallow Management on Productivity and Striga Hermonthica Infestation

Increasing population density and food needs in the Sahel are major drivers behind the conversion of land under natural vegetation to arable land. Intensification of agriculture is a necessity for farmers to produce enough food. As manure is scarce and fertilizers expensive, this study looks into the potential role of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) and short duration fallow in maintaining soil fertility and productivity and in reducing the major weed problem Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. The research was carried out ‘on-farm’ in a traditional millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.) growing area in the Malian Sahel, near Bankass. The four year experiment combined 0, 2, 5, and 7 years of preceding fallow with (i) 4 years of millet, (ii) 1 year of cowpea + 3 years of millet, and (iii) 1 year of cowpea + 3 years of millet/cowpea inter-cropping. Total millet production (4 years) was 1440 kg ha−1 for all systems with 2, 5 or 7 years of preceding fallow against 1180 kg ha−1 for systems without fallow. Cowpea grain production showed no significant differences between fallow treatments. Over 4 years, all cropping systems produced similar total amounts of millet grain, implying that the millet ‘lost’ during the year with a pure cowpea crop in treatments (ii) and (iii) was compensated within three years, while the cowpea grain production was an additional benefit. Such compensation was however not observed for increasing number of preceding fallow years, showing that there is no additional production benefit in 5–7 years of fallow as compared to 2 years. The soil organic carbon content decreased more slowly in treatments with a cowpea pure crop in 1998 than in the millet pure crop, while overall higher contents were observed after preceding fallow also after four years of cropping. Striga hermonthica infestation decreased linearly with duration of preceding fallow, but also after seven years of fallow and one year of cowpea the hemi-parasitic weed still re-appeared. Overall the intensification through a cowpea pure crop and cowpea intercrop in these millet-based systems improved production and a number of other characteristics of the system, making it more viable.

Low Input Technology Options for Millet-based Cropping Systems in the Sahel

SummaryPearl millet is a staple cereal cultivated mainly by subsistence farmers on 14 million ha of the West African semi-arid tropics. Increasing pressure on the land has reduced the length of the fallow periods, which are necessary to restore soil fertility, resulting in declining yields. To investigate ways of reversing this decline, three systems combining phosphorus fertilizer application, improved varieties of millet and cowpea, and improved agronomic practices were compared with the traditional millet–cowpea intercrop system in a three year experiment. The most productive system involved the rotation of fertilized millet and cowpea. Pre-sowing tillage increased hay and fodder yields in all the improved systems. The application of fertilizer increased the amount of available phosphorus in the soil. Soil pH declined somewhat in all treatments, although the initially low soil organic matter did not change.

Water Availability and the Development of Rainfed Agriculture in South-West Niger, West Africa

Niger faces a number of socio-economic and natural resource problems which constrain its development. The result is a low level of industrialization with over 90 per cent of the population directly engaged in agriculture. The government has identified self-sufficiency in food production as a prime objective and this study focussed upon the development of food crops in south-west Niger. The study was based on the premise that water is a major factor limiting agricultural productivity. Water availability in the dry-land farming systems was therefore investigated using the waterbalance approach. Studies were carried out on soil moisture, infiltration and run-off, drainage, evapotranspiration, rainfall, crop-rooting depth and crop coefficients. The results were combined to produce a water-balance model which showed that traditional millet cultivation could expect serious yield reduction two years in ten. Large drainage losses were probable two-years in ten because of the poor soilmoisture retention and the skewed distribution of rainfall. The model was also used to examine the potential of new crops (sunflower and soya-bean) which were found in this study to be under severe moisture stress for most of the time.