Concept

Millet

Summary
Millets (ˈmɪlɪts) are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets also belong to various other taxa. Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa (especially in South India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger), with 97% of millet production in developing countries. This crop is favored due to its productivity and short growing season under dry, high-temperature conditions. Millets are indigenous to many parts of the world. The term millet is sometimes understood to comprise sorghum. The annual harvest of sorghum is twice the amount of other millets. Of these pearl millet is the most common. Pearl millet and sorghum are important crops in India and parts of Africa. Finger millet, proso millet, and foxtail millet are also important crop species. Millets may have been consumed by humans for about 7,000 years and potentially had "a pivotal role in the rise of multi-crop agriculture and settled farming societies." Generally, millets are small-grained, annual, warm-weather cereals belonging to the grass family. They are highly tolerant of drought and other extreme weather conditions and have a similar nutrient content to other major cereals. The different species of millets are not necessarily closely related. All are members of the family Poaceae (the grasses) but can belong to different tribes or even subfamilies. The most commonly cultivated millets are in bold italic. Eragrostideae tribe in the subfamily Chloridoideae: Eleusine coracana: Finger millet (also known as नागली or नाचणी in Marathi, ragi in Hindi, Kannada, రాగులు in Telugu, கேழ்வரகு in Tamil and മുത്താറി in Malayalam.
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