Finger millet is an ancient African cereal crop, domesticated 7000 years ago in Ethiopia, reaching India at 3000 BC. Finger millet is reported to be resistant to various fungal pathogens including Fusarium sp. We hypothesized that finger millet may host beneficial endophytes (plant-colonizing microbes) that contribute to the antifungal activity. Here we report the first isolation of endophyte(s...

Rice, wheat, sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet are the major cereal staples of Indian households but sorghum, pearl millet and finger millet are only consumed in the regions in which they are cultivated. Sorghum is the staple of central and western regions of Maharashtra and the northern regions of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and pearl millet is mainly consumed in the western states of I...

Six cowpea genotypes (Danila, IT96D-772, IT90K-277-2, IT95K-1091-3, IT96D-740, IT96D-757) were intercropped with a local millet cultivar using four row arrangements (1:1, 1:2, 2:2 and 2:4 millet to cowpea rows) in a field experiment conducted at Minjibir near Kano in the Sudan savanna ecological zone of Nigeria during the 1999 and 2000 wet seasons. Cowpea genotypes and row arrangement had no ef...

This study describes an application of bacteriocinogenic lactic acid bacteria to improve preservative factors over fish fermentation based on the most frequently used technique in Senegal. Traditional fish fermentation performed by immersion in salted sea water and incubation at 30°C for 24 to 48h to develop flavor, is characterized by a pH value around 7. The process led to the growth of Enter...

Millet is a common name for a group of polyphyletic, small-seeded cereal crops that include pearl, finger and foxtail millet. Millet species are an important source of calories for many societies, often in developing countries. Compared to major cereal crops such as rice and maize, millets are generally better adapted to dry and hot environments. Despite their food security value, the genetic a...

Brassica juncea Nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related genes 1 (BjNPR1) has been introduced into pearl millet male fertility restorer line ICMP451 by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation. Transgenic pearl millet plants were regenerated from the phosphinothricin-resistant calli obtained after co-cultivation with A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 harbouring Ti plasmid pSB111-bar-Bj...

Lipoxygenase-1 (LOX-1) protein provides defense against pests and pathogens and its presence have been positively correlated with plant resistance against pathogens. Linoleate is a known substrate of lipoxygenase and it induces necrosis leading to the accumulation of isoflavonoid phytoalexins in plant leaves. Therefore, it is of interest to study the structural features of LOX-1 from Finger mil...

BACKGROUND Pearl millet landraces display an important variation in their cycle duration. This diversity contributes to the stability of crop production in the Sahel despite inter-annual rainfall fluctuation. Conservation of phenological diversity is important for the future of pearl millet improvement and sustainable use. Identification of genes contributing to flowering time variation is ther...

Millet grains have substantial benefits as a draught resistant crop, yield good productivity in the areas with water scarcity, possesses remarkable edible & nutritive values, and ease of processing & food manufacturing. Agriculture & Food security policymakers of developing countries should give due attention in promoting the research work & projects for studying the processing, food manufactur...

Finger millet is one of the small millets with high nutritive value. This crop is vulnerable to blast disease caused by Pyricularia grisea, which occurs annually during rainy and winter seasons. Leaf blast occurs at early crop stage and is highly damaging. Mapping of resistance genes and other quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for agronomic performance can be of great use for improving finger mill...