Finger millet
| Eleusine coracana | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Subfamily: | Chloridoideae |
| Tribe: | Eragrostideae |
| Genus: | Eleusine |
| Species: | E. coracana |
| Binomial name | |
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Eleusine coracana Gaertn. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Finger millet or Latin Eleusine coracana is an annual herbaceous plant widely grown as a cereal crop in the arid and semiard areas in Africa and Asia. It is a tetraploid and self-pollinating species probably evolved from its wild relative Eleusine africana.
Finger millet is native to the Ethiopian and Ugandan highlands. Interesting crop characterists of finger millet are the ability to withstand cultivation on altitudes over 2000 meters above sea level, its favorable micronutrient contents (high iron and methionine content in particular), its high drought tolerance and a very long storage time of the grains.
Finger millet originated in East Africa (Ethiopian and Ugandan highlands) and came to India (Hallur region of Karnataka) around 2000 BCE. It has been found in an Indian archaeological site dated to 1800 BCE (later iron age).
Main cultivation areas are Eastern and Southern African countries (Uganda, Kenya, Zaire, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Sudan, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique) and Southern Asia (mainly India and Nepal).
Finger millet is a short-day plant with a growing optimum at 12 h daylenght for most varieties. Its main growing area ranges from 20° N to 20° S, meaning mainly the semiarid to arid tropics. Nevertheless, finger millet is found to be grown at 30° N in the Himalaya region (India and Nepal). It is generally considered as a drought tolerant crop. But compared with other millets, such as pearl millet and sorghum it preferes moderate rainfall (≥500 mm annually). The majority of worldwide finger millet farmers grow it rainfed, although yields often can be significantly improved when irrigation is applied. In India, finger millet is a typical rabi (= dry season) crop. Heat tolerance of finger millet is high. For Ugandan finger millet varieties for instance, the optimal average growth temperature ranges at about 27 °C, while the minimal temperatures shouldn't be lower than 18 °C. Relatively to other millet species (pearl millet and sorghum) finger millet has a higher tolerance to cool temperatures. It is grown from about 500 meters above sea level up to about 2400 meters above sea level (e.g. in Himalaya region). By that, it can be cultivated on higher elevations than most tropical crops. Finger millet can grow on various soils, including highly weathered tropical lateritic soils. Furthermore, it can tolerate soil salinity up to a certain extent. Its ability to bear waterlogging is limited, therefore good drainage of the soils and moderate water holding capacity are optimal. Finger millet can tolerate moderately acidic soils (pH 5) but also moderately alkaline soils (pH 8.2).
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Wikipedia