Foxtail millet,
scientific name ''Setaria italica'' (synonym ''Panicum italicum'' L.), is an annual grass grown for human food. It is the second-most widely planted species of
millet, and the most grown millet species in Asia. The oldest evidence of foxtail millet cultivation was found along the ancient course of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
in
Cishan, China,
carbon dated to be from around 8,000 years before present.
Foxtail millet has also been grown in India since antiquity.
Other names for the species include dwarf setaria, foxtail bristle-grass, giant setaria, green foxtail, Italian millet, German millet, and Hungarian millet.
Description
Foxtail millet is an
annual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
** Yearbook
** Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), ...
grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...
with slim, vertical, leafy stems which can reach a height of .
The seedhead is a dense, hairy
panicle long.
The small seeds, around in diameter, are encased in a thin, papery hull which is easily removed in
threshing
Threshing, or thrashing, is the process of loosening the edible part of grain (or other crop) from the straw to which it is attached. It is the step in grain preparation after reaping. Threshing does not remove the bran from the grain.
History ...
. Seed color varies greatly between varieties.
File:Food grain foxtail millet.jpg, Seeds of foxtail millet
File:Japanese Foxtail millet 01.jpg, ''Mochi
is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ma ...
-Awa'', Japanese foxtail
File:কাউন ক্ষেত.jpg, Millet fields in Bangladesh
Names
Names for foxtail millet in other languages spoken in the countries where it is cultivated include:
* as, কণী ধান ()
* bn, কাওন দানা ()
* hi, कांगणी ()
* ka, Ghomi, script=Latn ()
*german: Hirse
* gu, kang, script=Latn
*
Gurung
Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Go ...
: ''Tohro''
* hu, mohar or
* ja, awa, script=Latn ()
* jv, jawawut, script=Latn
* kn, ನವಣೆ () or ()
* ko, jo, script=Latn (). The grain obtained from it is called ''jopsal'' (좁쌀), a word that is commonly used in Korean as a metaphor for pettiness or innumerable small things (such as bumps of a skin rash)
* ms , sekoi, jawawut
* ml, തിന (thina), script=Latn
*
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
: ''su'' (粟). Also called ''xiǎomǐ'' (小米), which is the term commonly used for the grain after it has been husked (husks have been removed); unhusked grain is called ''guzi'' (穀子) in Northern China.
* mr, kang, script=Latn or ()
* ne, Kaguno, script=Latn
* or, କଙ୍ଗୁ () or ()
* pa, ਕਂਗਣੀ/ ()
*russian: mogara, script=Latn () or ''chumiza'' ()
* sa, प्रियङ्गुः () or ()
* si, thana haal, script=Latn
* ta, தினை (thinai),இறடி,ஏனல்,கங்கு, script=Latn, , or ; (millet flour). The gruel made from millet, the staple of Ancient Tamils, is called , , , or
* te,
కొర్రలు ( or )
Cultivation
In India, foxtail millet is still an important crop in its arid and semi-arid regions.
In South India, it has been a staple diet among people for a long time from the
Sangam period
The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...
. It is referred to often in old
Tamil texts and is commonly associated with Lord
Muruga and his consort
Valli
Vaḷḷi ( ta, வள்ளி) ("Creeper, Sweet potato plant") is a Hindu goddess, and the second consort of the deity Murugan. An incarnation of the goddess Sundaravalli, daughter of Vishnu, Valli is born on earth as the daughter of a chieft ...
.
In China, foxtail millet is the most common millet and one of the main food crops, especially among the poor in the dry northern part of that country. In Southeast Asia, foxtail millet is commonly cultivated in its dry, upland regions.
In Europe and North America it is planted at a moderate scale for hay and silage, and to a more limited extent for
birdseed
Bird food or bird seed is food (often varieties of seeds, Nut (fruit), nuts, and/or Dried fruit, dried fruits) intended for consumption by wild and domestic birds. While most bird food is fed to commercial fowl (such as chicken or Turkey (bird) ...
.
In the northern
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, foxtail millet was once an important staple crop, until its later replacement by wet-rice and sweet potato cultivation.
It is a warm season crop, typically planted in late spring. Harvest for
hay
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticat ...
or
silage
Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage ...
can be made in 65–70 days with a typical yield of of green matter or of hay. Harvest for
grain is in 75–90 days with a typical yield of of grain. Its early maturity and efficient use of available water make it suitable for raising in dry areas.
Pests
Diseases of foxtail millet include leaf and head blast disease caused by ''
Magnaporthe grisea'',
smut disease caused by ''
Ustilago crameri'', and green ear caused by ''
Sclerospora graminicola''. The unharvested crop is also susceptible to attack by
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s and
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...
s. Insect pests include ''
Atherigona atripalpis'', the foxtail millet shoot fly.
Insects
Insect pests include:
*shoot fly ''
Atherigona atripalpis'' (major pest)
*''
Atherigona approximata'', ''
Atherigona pulla'', ''
Atherigona punctata'', and ''
Atherigona biseta''
*cutworm ''
Agrotis ipsilon
''Agrotis ipsilon'', the dark sword-grass, black cutworm, greasy cutworm, floodplain cutworm or ipsilon dart, is a small noctuid moth found worldwide. The moth gets its scientific name from black markings on its forewings shaped like the letter ...
''
*stem borer ''
Chilo partellus''
*pink borer, ''
Sesamia inferens''
*corn borer, ''
Ostrinia furnacalis
''Ostrinia furnacalis'' is a species of moth in the family Crambidae, the grass moths. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and is known by the common name Asian corn borer since this species is found in Asia and feeds mainly on corn crop ...
''
;Leaf feeders
*armyworms, ''
Mythimna separata'', ''
Spodoptera frugiperda
The fall armyworm (''Spodoptera frugiperda'') is a species in the order Lepidoptera and one of the species of the fall armyworm moths distinguished by their larval life stage. The term "armyworm" can refer to several species, often describing the ...
'', and ''
Spodoptera litura
''Spodoptera litura'', otherwise known as the tobacco cutworm or cotton leafworm, is a nocturnal moth in the family Noctuidae. ''S. litura'' is a serious polyphagous pest in Asia, Oceania, and the Indian subcontinent that was first described by ...
''
*leaf-feeding caterpillars ''
Amsacta albistriga'', ''
Amsacta moorei'' and ''
Amsacta lactinea''
*ash weevil ''
Myllocerus undecimpustulatus maculosus''
*leaf beetle ''
Oulema melanopus''
*flea beetle ''
Chaetocnema basalis
file:Chaetocnema cf concinna - 2012-04-03.ogv, ''Chaetocnema'' cf ''concinna''
''Chaetocnema'' is a genus of flea beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. There are some 470 described species worldwide.
Selected species
References
External lin ...
''
*leaf folder ''
Cnaphalocrocis medinalis''
*leaf roller ''
Cnaphalocrocis patnalis''
*surface grasshopper ''
Chrotogonus hemipterus''
*grasshopper ''
Conocephalus maculatus''
;Earhead feeders
*green bug ''
Nezara viridula
''Nezara viridula'', commonly known as the southern green stink bug (USA), southern green shield bug (UK) or green vegetable bug (Australia and New Zealand), is a plant-feeding stink bug. Believed to have originated in Ethiopia, it can now be fo ...
''
;Others
*bugs, ''
Cletus punctiger'', ''
Dolycoris indicus
''Dolycoris indicus'' is a species of true bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is a pest of millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human ...
'', and ''
Nephotettix virescens''
*aphid ''
Melanaphis sacchari''
*sugarcane leafhopper ''
Pyrilla perpusilla''
History and domestication
The
wild antecedent of foxtail millet has been securely identified as ''
Setaria viridis'', which is interfertile with foxtail millet; wild or
weed
A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...
y forms of foxtail millet also exist. Zohary and Hopf note that the primary difference between the wild and cultivated forms is "their seed dispersal biology. Wild and weedy forms
shatter their seed while the cultivars retain them."
The
reference genome for foxtail millet was completed in 2012.
Genetic comparisons also confirm that ''S. viridis'' is the antecedent of ''S. italica''.
The earliest evidence of the cultivation of this grain comes from the
Peiligang culture
The Peiligang culture was a Neolithic culture in the Yi-Luo river basin (in modern Henan Province, China) that existed from 7000 to 5000 BC. Over 100 sites have been identified with the Peiligang culture, nearly all of them in a fairly compac ...
of China, which also cultivated ''
Panicum miliaceum
''Panicum miliaceum'' is a grain crop with many common names, including proso millet, broomcorn millet, common millet, hog millet, Kashfi millet, red millet, and white millet. Archaeobotanical evidence suggests millet was first domesticated abou ...
'', but foxtail millet became the predominant grain only with the
Yangshao culture.
More recently, the
Cishan culture
The Cishan culture (6500–5000 BC) was a Neolithic culture in northern China, on the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. The Cishan culture was based on the farming of broomcorn millet, the cultivation of which on one site has been d ...
of China has been identified as the earliest to domesticate foxtail millet around 6500–5500 BC.
The earliest evidence for foxtail millet cultivation outside of its native distribution is at
Chengtoushan
Chengtoushan () was a Neolithic settlement located on the northwestern edge of Dongting Lake in Li County, Hunan, China.
The site is at the village of Chengtoushan, Chengtoushan Town, Li County, it is about northwest of the county seat and nor ...
in the Middle Yangtze River region, dating to around 4000 BC.
In southern China, foxtail millet reached the
Chengdu Plain
The Chengdu Plain (Chinese: 成都平原; Pinyin: Chéngdū Píngyuán), known as Cuanxi Bazi (Chinese: 川西坝子; Sichuanese Pinyin: Cuan1xi1 Ba4zi3) in Sichuanese, is an alluvial plain located in the western part of the Sichuan Basin in so ...
(
Baodun) at around 2700 BC and Guangxi (, near the Vietnamese border) at around 3000 BC.
Foxtail millet also reached Taiwan (Nankuanli,
Dapenkeng culture) at around 2800 BC and the
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...
(
Karuo) at around 3000 BC.
Foxtail millet likely reached Southeast Asia via multiple routes.
The earliest evidence for foxtail millet in Southeast Asia comes from various sites in the Khao Wong Prachan Valley in central Thailand, with the site at providing the earliest date with direct
AMS dating to around 2300 BC.
The earliest evidence for foxtail millet in East Siberia comes from the archaeological site at Krounovka 1 in
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of t ...
, dating to around 3620–3370 BC.
The earliest direct evidence for foxtail millet in Korea come from
Dongsam-dong Shell Midden, a
Jeulmun site in southern Korea, with a direct
AMS date of around 3,360 BC.
In Japan, the earliest evidence for foxtail millet comes from the
Jōmon site at Usujiri in
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The lar ...
, dating to around 4,000
BP.
Foxtail millet arrived in Europe later; carbonized seeds first appear in the
second millennium BC in central Europe. The earliest definite evidence for its cultivation in the Near East is at the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
levels at
Tille Hoyuk in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, with an uncorrected
radiocarbon
Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and c ...
date of about 600 BC.
Agronomic genetics
As with some other
cereals the ''
waxy'' gene contributes to
glutinousness.
References
External links
Alternative Field Crops Manual: MilletsSiridhanya millets粟の収穫粟の脱穀
— ''"Harvest of foxtail millet"'' Gujō, Gifu
Gujō City Hall
is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,858, and a population density of 41 persons per km2, in 15,341 households. The total area of the city was . Gujo Hachiman, a part of the city that wa ...
, Japan
{{Authority control
Millets
Setaria
Grasses of Asia
Plants described in 1753
Cereals