Millets are major food and feed sources in the developing world especially in the semiarid tropical regions of Africa and Asia. The most widely cultivated millets are pearl mil‐ let [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.], finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn], foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauvois], Japanese barnyard millet [Echinochloa esculneta (A. Braun) H. Scholz], Indian Barny...

The origin of millet from Neolithic China has generally been accepted, but it remains unknown whether common millet (Panicum miliaceum) or foxtail millet (Setaria italica) was the first species domesticated. Nor do we know the timing of their domestication and their routes of dispersal. Here, we report the discovery of husk phytoliths and biomolecular components identifiable solely as common mi...

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is well-adapted for the Central Great Plains and could be planted in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-millet-fallow rotation, resulting in two crops in 3 yr. To determine the most suitable tillage system for proso millet production within this rotation, seven tillage management systems were evaluated over a 6-yr period (1972-1977). The research was condu...

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is one of the oldest domesticated cereal crops in Eurasia, but identifying foxtail millets, especially in charred grains, and differentiating it from its wild ancestor, green foxtail (Setaria viridis), in the archaeobotanical remains, is still problematic. Phytolithic analysis provides a meaningful method for identifying this important crop. In this paper, the s...

BACKGROUND During the Neolithic revolution, early farmers altered plant development to domesticate crops. Similar traits were often selected independently in different wild species; yet the genetic basis of this parallel phenotypic evolution remains elusive. Plant architecture ranks among these target traits composing the domestication syndrome. We focused on the reduction of branching which oc...

Lack of proper complimentary foods continues to be a problem in many parts of the world, especially among low socio-economic status households. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of optimised millet porridges on the nutritional status of moderately malnourished children. The study was a closed cohort study involving 93 moderately wasted children aged 7-36 months and the...

Finger millet (Eluesine coracana) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica), are highly nutritious minor millets and hence is used in most of the staple foods. The present study was to estimate the thin layer drying characteristics of foxtail and finger millet and developing a thin layer model which adequately fits the data. Foxtail and finger millet with an initial moisture content of 0.314 and 0.3...

The stunt nematode, Tylenchorhynchus claytoni, was found to cause a reduction in root volume (cm) of loblolly pine at population densities equivalent of 125 nematodes/100 cm (6 in) soil and greater. The results of a host range test conducted in containers under controlled conditions determined that buckwheat cultivar (Fagopryum esculentum ‘Mancan’), velvetbean (Mucuna pruriens), Kobe lespedeza ...

Background and Aims Intercropping systems contain two or more species simultaneously in close proximity. Due to contrasting features of the component crops, quantification of the light environment and photosynthetic productivity is extremely difficult. However it is an essential component of productivity. Here, a low-tech but high-resolution method is presented that can be applied to single- an...