eChapters

Kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum) is a resilient and ancient cereal crop native to the Indian subcontinent. Its cultivation dates back to ancient times, with references found in historical texts such as the Brihad Sanhita. This millet species exhibits remarkable adaptability to various agroclimatic conditions, making it well-suited for cultivation across different regions. Kodo millet thrives in a range of soil types, particularly well-drained and sandy soils, which contribute to its successful growth and yield. In terms of nutritional composition, kodo millet stands out as a significant source of protein, dietary fiber, minerals, and antioxidants. Its bioactive components contribute to potential health benefits, including aiding in diabetes management, improving cardiovascular health, and providing essential nutrients. The processing of kodo millet involves various techniques such as puffing, roasting, milling, and fermentation, each influencing its nutritional profile and culinary applications.

1. Introduction Millet is a heterogeneous group of small-seeded cereal crops classified based on their morphology as major millet and minor millet. Little millet (Panicum sumatrense) are small millets generally categorized as minor millet cereal crops. It is a self-pollinated crop that belongs to the family Poaceae and subfamily Panicoideae with a chromosome number of 2n=36 (Nandini and Bhat, 2019). It is a traditional cereal grain crop widely produced in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Western Myanmar. Little millet is widely cultivated in the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in India for food and feed (Ganapathy, 2017). Indigenously, it is commonly known as samai (Tamil), kutki (Hindi), savior same (Kannada), chama (Malayalam) (Table 1).

1. Introduction Millets, including foxtail millet (Setaria italica), are gaining popularity as “smart foods” due to their numerous benefits for the planet, consumers, and farmers (Anitha et al., 2021). Foxtail millet, classified as a major millet, belongs to the genus Setaria in the Poaceae family. It has a rich history, with archaeological remains dating back 7400-7935 years in northern China and cultivation in Europe around 4000 years ago (Lu et al., 2009). Foxtail millet is currently cultivated in 26 countries and stands as the secondhighest cultivated millet globally. It is a relatively short plant, growing up to 2-5 feet tall, and demonstrates high resistance to various stresses, both biotic and abiotic(Sharma and Niranjan, 2018). The crop’s short generation cycle of 5-8 weeks from planting to flowering, followed by 8-15 weeks to attain seed maturity, allows for harvesting within 75-90 days after plantation. Foxtail millet produces hundreds of seeds per inflorescence (Li et al., 2020).

1. Introduction Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum (L.) belongs to the grass family Paniceae. It is a perennial cropthat grows in summer each year as late-seeded summer crop (Figure 1). Its origin can be traced back to at least 2000 B.C. when it was said to be grown in the Central European regions. Proso millet plant thrives in dry areas such as Africa, Central Russia, Manchuria, Middle East and Northern India and North America’s Great Plains. Proso millet was introduced to Canada in the 17th century and used sparingly as a feed crop in the early 1900s (Rajasekaran and Francis, 2021). This is a low-demand crop and is utilised in organic farming systems across Europe and as an intercrop in the United States. Its shallow root system and resistance to atrazine residue make it a great intercrop between two crops that need a lot of water and pesticides. The last crop’s stubbles entrap more heat into the soil which promotes faster and earlier growth of millet. Hence, it can help to evade summer drought and achieve continual crop rotation (Kalinova and Moudry, 2006). It is an erect herbaceous annual crop with a lot of tillering. Its plant can reach a height of 45-100 centimetres. The stem is thin, with prominently enlarged nodes. The roots are thin and fibrous.

1. Introduction Millets have gained popularity as staple foods worldwide, particularly in regions with hot and humid climates. These crops are often cultivated in marginal areas where major grains struggle to yield significant harvests (Thapliyal and Singh, 2015). One such millet is finger millet (Eleusine coracana), native to Ethiopia, and widely grown in Africa and India, where it is known by various names, including ragi and mandua (Table 1). In many developing countries, finger millet serves as a staple for a substantial portion of the population, especially those belonging to lower economic strata, providing essential nutrients (Chandra et al., 2016).

1. Introduction Millets, one of the earliest foods consumed by humans, may have been the first cereal grain utilised in domestic cookery. It belongs to the Graminae grass family. The name “millet” describes a number of little-seeded grasses (annual) that are classified into five genera: Setaria, Panicum, Pennisetum, Paspalum, and Echinocloa in the tribe Paniceae, and one genus: Eleusine in the tribe Chlorideae (Pushpavalli, 2015). India ranks first in the production of millets followed by Niger and China (FAO, 2020). Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) serves as food, fuel, and fodder on a global scale. Since, it contributes up to 75% of all grain output in East Africa and several regions of India; it plays a significant role in indigenous diets. After rice and wheat, pearl millet is the third most significant crop farmed in India. Ninety percent of the country’s land is used for cultivating pearl millet, with Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana being the main states.

1. Introduction Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), a cereal grain belongs to the grass family (Poaceae), within the subfamily (Panicoidea) and in the tribe (Andropogoneae) (H.J. et al., 2005). It is grown throughout the world in regions with warmer summers and with daytime temperatures often exceeding 90°F (Rai et al., 1999).After wheat, maize, rice, and barley, it is the fifth most significant and nutritious millet in terms of volume. While many varieties of millets are exclusively cultivated for human consumption, sorghum is widely farmed for – food and feed for humans and animals respectively (Awika, 2011). For millions of people in Africa and Asia, sorghum is commonly consumed as a staple.. In West Africa, sorghum is known as dawa, guinea corn, and sorgho while in Sudan, it is referred as durra; in Ethiopia,Eritrea and East Africa, mtama; in southern Africa, kaffircorn, mabele, or amabele; and in the Indian subcontinent, jowar, jonna, cholam, or jola.(Bantilan et al., 2004).

1. Introduction Millets are the Nutri-cereals belonging to the Poaceae family and are classified into two major categories: major and minor, depending on their size and nutritional composition. Most millet crops are indigenous to India and are referred to as “nutri-cereals” since they contain most of the nutrients needed for the body to function properly. Millets such as Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl Millet (Bajra), and Finger Millet (Ragi) are the millets that come under the category of major millets. In contrast, the minor millets category includes Foxtail Millet (Kakun), Proso Millet (Cheena), Kodo Millet, Barnyard Millet (Sanwa), Little Millet (Kutki), Brown top millet including two pseudo millet that includes Buckwheat (Kuttu) and Amaranth (Chaulai) (Saini et al., 2021).

1. Introduction Millets, also known as “smart crops” or “miracle grains,” are a group of small-seeded, hardy cereal crops that have been cultivated for millennia. They are used as a staple food in many of the countries particularly located in arid and semi-arid regions. Millets have been overshadowed for quite a long time by commonly consumed cereals like wheat, rice, and maize. Nevertheless, they have made a remarkable comeback in our cuisines owing to the growing awareness and recognition of the numerous benefits at individual and environmental level. These small, drought-resistant grains play a pivotal role in addressing some of the most pressing global issues like food security, malnutrition and climate change.

Millets or nutri-cereals are the ancient grains which have now regained the interest of the scientific community as the super grains. These exhibit excellent nutritional and technobiofunctional profile apart from exhibiting tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. The millets are gluten free and show high in vitro protein digestibility, resistant starch content, antioxidant and prebiotic potential providing health benefits for all age groups ranging from paediatrics to geriatrics. The presence of certain anti-nutritional factors can lower the bioavailability of proteins and minerals. Processing enhances the nutritional and functional properties by increasing the antioxidant content and lowering the antinutrients. Different value added products can be prepared by incorporating millets thereby enhancing the nutritional and functional attributes. It is necessary to bring millets into regular consumption by the food industry in the interest of nutritionally and health-conscious consumer.

Introduction Market-led extension is a strategic approach aimed at providing farmers with valuable and high-quality information to enhance their decision-making processes in both production and marketing. This approach acknowledges the global nature of modern markets and encourages farmers to transition from being mere producers in local markets to becoming sellers in broader, potentially international markets. To make this shift successful, it is essential to equip extension workers, those who offer agricultural guidance, with the necessary skills and knowledge about market dynamics (Ahmad and Slathia, 2011). This involves a shift in their approach, moving from solely focusing on increasing productivity to emphasizing profitability. It also involves transitioning from subsistence farming to a more commercial orientation, from single-commodity farming to diversified crop production, and from local markets to global export markets.

Introduction The term ‘communication’ originates from the Latin word ‘Communis’, means the act of imparting, participating, and transmitting or the notion of making something common or sharing it among individuals. Communication encompasses the multifaceted process of sharing and exchanging ideas, emotions, information, and experiences between two or more individuals. It embodies the act of transmitting thoughts or expressions, serving as a vital conduit for the flow of knowledge and understanding. Essentially, it is aligning a sender and receiver for a specific message or series of messages. Leagans (1961) states that communication is the process by which two or more people exchange ideas, facts, feelings or impressions in ways that each gains a common understanding of the meaning, intent and use of messages. Effective communication is not just about issuing orders; it is about fostering comprehension (Suresh, 2003). It beyond imparting knowledge to enabling a profound understands (TNAU, 2012).

Introduction Terms total development of rural areas with the purpose of increasing the quality of life for rural people is referred to as rural development. It is a broad anddiverse concept that encourages the expansion of agricultural and allied activities, communities, cottage industries and crafts, community services and facilities, and total human resources in rural areas. As a strategy, rural development is the result of interactions between many physical, technological, economic, and societal elements. Its purpose is to improve the economic and social well-being of a particular rural demographic group. Rural development is a multifaceted concept that covers various aspects of development in order to improve rural people’s quality of life (Ilbery, 2008). Agriculture, village industries, crafts, community services, and rural human resource development all fall under this category.

Introduction There is an emergence of a transformative paradigm of participatory approaches in various fields such as management, health care and education, community development, etc. Participatory approaches challenge the top-down approach used frequently for decision making (Narayanasamy, 2009). Participation is a dynamic process where two individuals exchange their ideas, thoughts, and knowledge for making proper decisions and solving the problems faced by local people. It is a process of empowering individuals that helps people make proper analysis, make their own decisions, and develop their confidence. It is successfully used in increasing self-help activities of local people and for proper implementation and evaluation of large scale projects. FAO has reported that through participatory programmes it is very easy to mobilise local knowledge for self-reliant development, reducing government assistance costs.

Introduction Agricultural sector is the pillar of the Indian economy. It provides employment to around half of the workforce of the country and contributes around 18 per cent to the gross value added of the country. Small and marginal landholdings, constituting less than 2 hectares, make up a significant 85 percent of India’s farming community (Joshi, 2022). These small farmers encounter various challenges, including farm-specific and household transaction costs that limit their participation in input and product markets. With changing food preferences driven by income and population growth, there’s a growing need for small-farm commercialization to meet the rising demand for diversified, higher-quality diets (Chakraborty, 2020). To address the constraints faced by small farms, aggregation models have emerged as institutional interventions.

Introduction Market led extension effectively delivers sufficient and high-quality information to farmers so they can make decisions about production and marketing that willmaximize their return on investment without endangering the needs of future generations. Farmers must improve from being producers or sellers in the home market areas to producers cum sellers in a large market to best reap the benefits of their products. This necessitates the transfer of new extension strategies involving a range from local market to export markets, subsistence to commercial agriculture, productivity to profitability, commodity-oriented to farming systemsoriented, mono-cropping to varieties of crops, and so forth. The extension agents’ attention must be diverted from production in some way. Reducing production costs, increasing product value, and enhancing marketability will assist the farming community in receiving high returns for the products.

Introduction Extension programmes are strategically planned and implemented by an organization, typically a government department, with the majority of their funding originating from public sources. In the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of developmental initiatives, extension programmes play a pivotal role in fostering progress and transforming societies. These initiatives, designed to extend knowledge, skills, and resources to target communities, are instrumental in addressing pressing challenges and promoting positive change across various sectors. In order to justify the allocation of public funds and to measure effectiveness and sustainability of the programmes, it is imperative to conduct thorough and comprehensive monitoring and evaluations of their administration and impact at regular intervals.

Introduction In modern agriculture, soft resources like knowledge and skills are sometimes even more crucial than hard resources like inputs. In the 21st century, agriculture has to overcome a number of obstacles, including feeding an expanding population while a declining rural labour force, producing more feedstocks for a huge bioenergy market, supporting the overall development of many developing countries heavily dependent on agriculture, adopting more efficient and sustainable production techniques, and adapting to climate change (Colle, 2011). In order to make efficient and effective agricultural decisions, farmers are increasingly adopting information (Cash, 2001). Compared to the current availability of roughly 0.1 million personnel, the required number of extension agent who worked in field level is anticipated in between 1.3 to 1.5 million.

Introduction The primary mission of extension services is to facilitate desirable changes in human behaviour through educational means. These changes can encompass various aspects, including knowledge, skills, attitudes, understanding, goals,actions, and confidence. Effective communication is the cornerstone of an extension worker’s role. Their responsibility extends beyond merely informing farmers about improved practices; they are tasked with ensuring that the results of research and field trials are practically applied by farmers. Nevertheless, extension workers often encounter perplexing questions in their line of work.

Introduction The Indian economy depends heavily on agriculture, which is also key to its expansion and advancement. In India, agriculture and related industries support more than two thirds of the people either directly or indirectly. 85 percent of Indian agriculture’s growers are small and marginal farmers (GOI, 2010-11). It is difficult for them to access markets, knowledge, loans, and agricultural extension services. As a result of the high transaction costs, the food sectors, finds challenges to buy agricultural products directly from farmers. This renders the supplychains ineffective and raises issues with food safety, lack of transparency, and traceability. Although debt is frequently stated as the direct cause of their misery, deeper problems including low scale operations, a lack of information, inadequate communication links with the wider market, etc., are also involve in these phenomena.

Introduction Agriculture plays a vital role in human societies and economies around the world. It is the prime food source for human populations, ensuring a reliable supply of nutritious food for the health and well-being of people everywhere. It is a major contributor to the economy of many countries, particularly in the developing world, where it provides livelihoods for millions of people and supports local and national economies. Agriculture is both impacted by and contributes to climate change. However, sustainable agriculture cultivation can also help to reduce the consequences of climate change by decreasing emissions of greenhouse gas and increasing resilience to extreme weather events.

Introduction India’s vast and diverse agricultural landscape has one of the greatest agricultural sectors. With over 60% of its people working in agriculture, India’s economy and food security heavily depend on agriculture. In recent years, the world has witnessed many difficulties, including information access restrictions, dispersed property ownership, and uncertainty brought on by climate change. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has emerged as a potent tool for empoweringfarmers, boosting production, promoting sustainable practices in response to these difficulties, and bringing game-changing transformations in Indian agriculture. India ranks second among Asian countries in the advanced user category. On the one hand, profit motivation, corporate expansion, community services, and rural welfare have been the goals of ICT-based agricultural models in India (Spielman et al., 2021).

Introduction The world of agriculture stands at the crossroads of innovation and tradition, and at the heart of this dynamic sector lies the crucial role of farm journalism. In the backdrop of evolving technologies, shifting market dynamics, and the everpressing need for sustainability, farm journalism emerges as a vital conduit of information, education, and advocacy for farmers and rural communities. This chapter delves into the multifaceted realm of farm journalism, exploring its definition, scope, guiding principles, and its indispensable functions and roles in the sphere of rural development.

Introduction Since about 10,000 years ago, men and women have been rearing livestock and producing crops. Information about agricultural practices can be found in documents dating back over 3,000 years from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China. Agricultural extension services have evolved and developed in many parts of the world to address agricultural systems’ unique challenges and requirements. These initiatives aimed to provide farmers with scientific knowledge, technological advancements, and improved farming practices to enhance agricultural productivity.

Introduction Agricultural extension plays a pivotal role in the advancement of agriculture in any nation. It encompasses the dissemination of knowledge, guidance, and assistance to farmers, rural communities, and various stakeholders involved in the agricultural domain. The primary objective of agricultural extension is to empower farmers to enhance their productivity, income, and overall quality of life. The concept of agricultural extension has undergone significant transformations across various countries, including India. This article will delve into the historical progression of agricultural extension both internationally and within the Indian context.

Farm economic efficiency of a specific area is an important factor of productivity and growth, where resources are scare and opportunities for developing and adopting better technologies have lately declining. No doubt, conventional farming is risky and farmers are reluctant to invert heavily in crop production. Modest increments in productivity are no longer sufficient to justify the investment of scarce resources as farming sector is small scale and resource poor, but integrated farming system assumes greater importance for sound management of farm resources to enhance the farm productivity, reduce the environmental degradation, improve the quality of life of resource poor farmers and to maintained sustainability. Farming system refers to the farm wherein two or more enterprises are integrated with the farm resources for achieving the fuller utilization, realize maximum profit and stabilize returns.

Introduction For sustainability hill agriculture water conservation issues are of great concern. Water is a generally limiting factor for crop production in hills and further water scarcity is arising at alarming rate due to climate change, declining soil productivity and inefficient management factors. Global warming is also putting the serious impact on the intensity, frequency and distribution of the rainfall. Further hill soils are ecologically fragile with undulated steep soils with low water retentive capacity where irrigation is not available. Moreover scope of supplying water by developing new water resources is limited thus under these conditions there is an urgent need for development of recent advanced agrotechniques to conserve and harvest natural water resources and protect the fragile environment of hills.

Soil conservation: it is using and managing land based on the capabilities of land itself, involving the application of the best practices to result in greatest profitable production without damaging the land Principles of soil conservation The aim of soil conservation is to obtain the maximum sustainable level of production from a given area of land whilst maintaining soil loss below a threshold level which theoretically, permits the natural rate of soil formation to keep pace with the rate of soil erosion. In addition, there may be a need to reduce erosion to control the loss of nutrients from agricultural land to prevent pollution of water bodies; to decrease rates of sedimentation in reservoirs, rivers, canals and ditches In the longer term, erosion has to be controlled to prevent land deteriorating in quality until it has to be abandoned and cannot be reclaimed, thereby limiting options for future landuse.

As already discussed in above chapter there are various physical, geographical and environmental constraints that are associated with the hill agriculture, thus the scope for` agricultural policies based on modern input-intensive agriculture is inhibited in the hilly areas resulting in the majority of the hill communities to either live on subsistence agriculture or immigrating to other parts of the country for employment. The policies that might give successful results for any other state in India situated in the plains, may not prove to be fruitful in this hilly state. As the livelihood of the weaker sections in the hill areas is absolutely dependent on natural resources, their devastation will make the process of inclusive growth unsustainable in the long run. For sustainable agriculture it is necessary that agriculture of hill can be b understood in the right way and it should include all the necessary interventions on those activities in which farmers are dependent to make a livelihood. 

Besides diversities and advantages in hills, the communities sustain largely on subsistence farming due to following constraints A.Natural constraints in hills There are large number of Inherent limitations in hill agriculture like, remote areas, vulnerability, marginality , eroded soil and short growing seasons. These Inherent constraints can be judged by the use of unsustainability indicators of hill agriculture which further showed increased in soil erosion rates from sloping farmlands , leaving of agricultural land due to decreasing soil fertility, appearance of stones and rocks on the cultivated lands, reduction in forest and grazing areas and more emphasis on monocropping that widened the cycle of inadequate food production and lead to food insecurity and increasing unemployment and frustration (Table 3) (Shrestha, 1992). These natural constraints are.

Hilly areas of India, especially the Himalayas and the Nilgiris which are rich in their forests areas and watersheds have played a major role in maintaining climatic and ecological balance in the country for a long time. These hills and mountain areas have specific characteristics which differs them from plains in diversity of habitats for flora and fauna, ethnic diversity, topography, elevation, physiographic feature land use systems and socio-economic conditions. Agro-biodiversity The hills are characterized by rich agrobiodiversity. These rich agro-diversity elements have evolved, over the years due to association with the communities distributed along the mountain and hill slopes.

Mountains play a vital role in sustaining about 10 per cent of the world population directly as they are the major source of water supply and majority of rivers originate from these ecosystems thus sustain the life of people residing in the plains. In India hill and mountainous areas are vastly distributed all over the country with the major mountain ranges in the Himalayas and the Western Ghats. The Himalayas are extending in 2500 km length and 250 to 400 km breadth (Khanday et al. 2004). They are further classified in three major categories i.e Western Himalayas (including Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh), Central Himalayas (including eight hill districts of Uttarakhand), North Eastern Himalayas (including Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Union Territory of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, hill areas of Assam and Darjeeling district of West Bengal). Whereas Western Ghats also known as Sahyadri including border of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu .

1.1 Introduction Amaranth is considered as one of the “superfoods” of the coming century due to its exceptional qualities in various aspects. However, the crop is not a novel discovery, and it has faced quite a number of obstacles in order to get to where it is today in terms of nutritional status and acceptance by modern day consumers as a food which is able to provide nutrition. Despite the setbacks and disuse, Amaranth has had three redeeming qualities that have earned its standing as a “superfood.”In recent years, the grain amaranths have garnered increased attention because of their nutritional qualities and, in particular, the nutritional value of the seed protein. Amaranth seed is higher in fiber (8%) than the grain of most cereals.

1.1 Introduction In parallel with the expansion of organically cultivated land and low-input agricultural system, there is an increasing demand for crops that have promising potentials to be grown successfully in these systems. Buckwheat is generally sown in smaller areas, which may be found suitable for low-input agricultural systems. Buckwheat is a fast-growing crop with a variety of utilizations. Buckwheat, one of the pseudo and minor-cereals, has the ability to satisfy the rapidly rising population’s ever-increasing food need in the nation’s hill regions in the context of changing climatic conditions. It is also known as common buckwheat or Fagopyrum esculentum, it is not a cereal grain, but rather a seed that is related to rhubarb and sorrel. It has a unique nutty flavour that makes it an excellent ingredient in a variety of dishes. It is known in India by a variety of names, including ogal, phaphar, bresha, mittahe dyat, dro, and brotitae.

Introduction The world recently celebrated the birth of its eighth billionth baby, a major milestone in the development of the human race and the doubling of our numbers in 47 years. This tremendous growth has been driven by ambitious advances in technology and health care, soaring achievements of global prosperity and a longer life expectancy that has come to a staggering 72 years. However, the glory of these achievements is marred by how we are failing the lion’s share of the global population in meeting their basic requirements. Almost one in seven people on our planet do not have enough to eat. Food and nutritional insecurity are detrimental to human development and are a major brake on overall socio-economic development which downplays any major accomplishments we have made since not having enough to eat is an international security issue. Adequate food production, easy access and the capacity to buy food, relevance concerning nutrition and stability of these elements are all necessary for sustainable food security (Helland and Sorbo, 2014).

Introduction Millets are a group of annual grasses which are small seeded, hardy, drought tolerant, low maintenance and mainly found in semi-arid regions. The historic importance of millets can be derived from various types of traditional dishes which uses millets like roti and chapati flatbreads in India, uji (a type of porridge), injera (a fermented flatbread commonly eaten in Ethiopia) and beer in Africa, and kasha and fermented drinks in Eastern Europe. Millets are the 6th most important cereal grain in the world. India, China and Nigeria are the largest producers of millets, and the Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics estimates that in Africa and Asia more than 90 million people depend on millets in their diets. There are hundreds of millet types, but the major types grown commercially are: proso millet, foxtail millet, pearl millet, Japanese barnyard millet and browntop millet. In this book chapter, we will mainly focus on two minor millets i.e., Teff and Fonio

1.1 Introduction Millets are small-grained ancient cereal crops that were renowned as one of the oldest sources of nourishment in prehistoric times. They are believed to have been cultivated since 8000 BC. Apart from providing nutritious grains, these crops are well adapted to the marginal and dryland ecosystems due to their climatic resilience, biotic stress tolerance, and capacity to flourish in the wild. Among the millets, small millets make up a distinct subgroup and comprise of finger millet (Eleusine coracana), little millet (Panicum sumatrense), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea) and brown top millet (Brachiaria ramosa L.) in India along with a few more cereals like teff, fonio, job’s tears and guinea millet in some other parts of the world. As fine cereals gained popularity after the 1960s, the acreage and significance of these crops began to decrease. In recent years the drastic climate change has made us to focus on underutilized crops.

1.1 Introduction Millets are one of the world’s earliest food grains, arguably the first cereal grain utilized for household uses. It has been a cherished crop in India for ages and constitutes a staple food for over one-third of the world’s population. Recently ICAR has designated millets as “Shree Anna”. Several types of small-seeded cereals are grouped together as small millets. These crops offer a reliable and affordable harvest from the regions where the primary cereals fail to produce a sustainable yield. Small millets are insignificant in terms of food production, but they are vital as staple foods in their particular ecosystems. Small millets are more than just finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and include kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum L.), little millet (Panicum sumatrense), foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) and barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentaceae). The rest of the two small millets namely, fonio millet (Digitaria exilis) and teff (Eragrostis tef) are of local significance in Africa. Small millets have a high nutritional value, but also their demand has deteriorated due to a lack of standard processing techniques to compete with fine cereals. Small millets have a huge potential to satisfy our nutritional needs, therefore we must push ourselves and make efforts to enhance its utilization by incorporating them into our daily diet.

1.1 Introduction Millets are nutri-cereals that have been the oldest food since time immemorial and are decisively the first cereal grain to be used for domestic purposes. Millets generally include small seeded members of the Poaceae family globally used for food and fodder purposes. The word “millet” emanated from the French word “Mile” which means “thousand” signifying that a small quantity of millet may contain thousands of grains. Millets were erstwhile produced in marginal or degraded terrains with very low soil nutrients and semi-arid conditions with very little rainfall. After the green revolution, there was a shift away from millet in favour of wheat, rice, and maize as a result of more land becoming irrigated to alleviate extreme poverty and malnourishment in the country and to feed millions. Most of the millet crops possess the C4 photosynthetic pathway and are therefore able to withstand frequent changes due to environmental stresses. Consequently, millet production has declined and within a few decades post-green revolution, crops that were once eaten by every household were transformed into fodder crops. Millets are considered as ‘good for the planet crops’ as they take less to give more, due to such multi-faceted qualities millets are considered as miracle crops.

1. 1 Introduction, Origin and Taxonomy Barnyard millet (Echinochloa species) is one of the oldest domesticated small millet crops which can be grown in both warm and temperate regions of the world and it is widely cultivated in Asia. It is distributed predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, China, Japan, and Korea and also to some extent in Africa and United States. In India, this crop is mainly grown in Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Gujarat and the hills of Uttarakhand (Kumar et al., 2000). It ranks fourth in terms of production amongst the small millets. Indian Barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea) and Japanese Barnyard millet (Echinochloa esculenta) are the two important species of the barnyard millet. Barnyard millet is majorly grown for human consumption, though it is also grown for livestock feed and fodder (Sood et al., 2015).

1.1 Introduction Among the C4 grasses known as panicoids (subfamily: panicoideae), which also includes nutrient-rich cereals like millets and sorghum as well as commercially valuable crops like switchgrass, napier grass, and guinea grass, are bioenergy feedstocks like sugarcane and miscanthus. Among all, millets overpowered others in terms of biotic/abiotic stress resilience, resource sustainability as well as nutritional benefits. Minor millets, often known as nutritional cereals, are a type of small-seeded grains that are members of the Poaceae family. Up to 35 kinds of grass from 20 genera are well-known for being minor millets. Finger millet, foxtail, proso millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet, and little millet are the most significant small millets that are grown worldwide. India is the leading producer and consumer of millet crops and their products. The total area of small millets in India is around 1.63 m ha, with a production of 1.82 m tones during the year 2016- 17 (Annual progress report 2018-19, ICAR-AICRP on small millets).

1.1 Introduction Millets are the most ancient grains that have been cultivated since time immemorial and consumed as food, feed and pastures. Millets are considered nutraceuticals’ since they possess significantly higher nutritional qualities compared to other cereals. Millets are grown across the world for grains and human food due to their nutritional advantages and ability to withstand adversities. Millets are preferred over other grains due to their short life cycle, low input requirement and ensured production with in-built genetic tolerance for abiotic stresses. Major millets include Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), while there are numerous minor millets classified as small millets. With an extent of over 0.87 lakh ha and a production of 0.66 kg ha-1, India is the world leader in small millet production (Maitra and Shankar, 2019). Small millets are primarily grown on rainfed uplands in arid and semi-arid climates with sub-optimal management. Following the green revolution due to extreme demands for food, the main focus in India was on the production of fine cereals mainly rice and wheat to overcome hunger and poverty, while millets became ignored grains. Furthermore, urbanization, increased affluence and dietary changes relegated millets to the status of poor man’s food. However, due to a re-evaluation of nutritious characteristics, millets have recently regained their lost prestige (Maitra, 2020).

1.1 Introduction Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], a cultivated diploid (2n = 20) tropical cereal C4 grass plant, is currently the fifth most important cereal crop grown in the world and the first important crop in Sudan where drought stress is a major productivity-limiting factor since most of the sorghum is grown under rain-fed conditions. It is a monocotyledon plant of tropical origin, belonging to the Poaceae family. Starch, followed by protein, fat, and fibre, makes up the majority of sorghum’s nutritional makeup, which is similar to maize in terms of its nutritional content. Compared to other cereals, including wheat and maize, the crop exhibits comparatively good water use efficiency. Sorghum is a valuable botanical model crop for other tropical grasses with complex genomes that use C4 photosynthesis due to its vast adaption to severe settings, resistance to stress conditions, diverse germplasm collections, and short (710 Mb) genome size. Sorghum, a historically important source of food and a staple crop, is becoming a crop with a variety of applications, including food, fuel, fodder, and a model for the functional genetics and genomics of tropical grasses.

1.1 Introduction Millets were one of the first crops to be domesticated by mankind in Asia and Africa which later spread across the globe as critical food sources to the evolving civilizations. The earliest evidence of millets has been found in the Indus civilization around 3000 BC. Millets are a collective group of small-seeded annual grasses that are grown as grain crops, primarily on marginal land in dry areas of temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions (FAO). However, due to the popularity of the cereal crops like wheat, rice and maize; millets have lost dominion and have become an underutilized crop in last few decades. Millets have the potential to be the crop of the future, as our major crops have reached yield plateau, also changing climate has introduced several new biotic and abiotic stresses to the major crops, so to feed the ever-growing population we need to shift towards other potential crops. India is the largest producer of millet as it contributes about 41% of the total millet production of the world (APEDA, 2020).

1.1 Introduction Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is a warm-season, C4 , annual cereal crop mainly grown for food, feed and fodder purpose. It is diploid species having chromosome number 2n = 2x = 14, belongs to genus Pennisetum, tribe Paniceae of Gramineae family. It has several species e.g., americanum, typhoides, and glaucum. Pearl millet originated in northern Africa in the region from western Sudan to Senegal. It is the sixth most important cereal crop in the world and third most important crop in India after wheat and rice.1.2 Area and Production Pearl millet is cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. India is the largest producer of millet in the world. In India, pearl millet occupies 6.93 million ha with an average production of 8.61 million tones and productivity of 1243 kg/ hac. The major pearl millet growing states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana which account for more than 90% of pearl millet acreage of the country and are commonly grown in kharif season. It is also cultivated during the summer season in parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and during the rabi season at a small scale in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

With Judicious Use of Herbicides

Herbicides are the chemicals used for killing or suppressing the growth of weed plants from field / horticulture / plantation crops as well as non-cropped areas/ water bodies etc. The herbicide is said to be an ideal herbicide when it is very safe to the crop on which it is applied and on the other hand, it must control all associated weeds effectively. Also, ideal herbicides should leave no residual effects on the succeeding crop(s). Herbicides are of two types i.e.

1. Selective herbicides and
2. Non-selective herbicides.

A selective herbicide is that which is very safe to crop plants but unsafe to weed plants e.g. atrazine in maize, clodinafop in wheat etc. On the other hand, non-selective herbicides are those which kill all green plants including crop and weed plants which come in their contact e.g. paraquat and glufosinate ammonium.

With the current food production level of 275.11 million tonnes, India has to step up food grain production by next decade to feed the burgeoning population (Report Ministry of Agriculture). India with 2.3% of the global geographical area, supports about 16.8% human population, 20% of the world’s livestock. However, per capita availability of land for producing agricultural commodities has declined from 0.34 ha in 1951 to about 0.23 ha in 1980 and 0.15 ha in 0.15 ha during 2015 and it is expected to decline further to about 0.09 ha by 2050 A.D. With the possibility of horizontal expansion or putting more land under cultivation being remote, further augmentation in yield in Indian agriculture will be forced more and more into marginal or problematic soils accompany about 57% geographical area with increasing competition for good quality lands.

With the sharp development of urban and industrial growth, the area under agriculture is declining year by year. On the other hand, human and animal population is increasing at a very fast rate. So, to meet the growing demand of food and fodders, a vertical increase in yield is required. Crop productivity per unit area can be enhanced with the manipulations of some agronomist practices such as sowing the crops at appropriate time, selection of suitable field for raising a crop, adoption of best planting techniques, use of appropriate seed rates, adoption of proper irrigation schedule, proper and need based application of fertilizers, adoption of zero till technology, green manuring, mulching, addition of well decomposed farm yard manure, timely and proper weed management, selection of recommended crops and crop varieties, proper control of insects and pests, adoption of marketing tips etc.

Essential elements for plant growth

A large number of mineral elements are present in plants, but they do not require all these for growth. Out of the 107 elements in the periodic table, 90 elements are naturally occurring in plants and out of which only 17 elements are essential for plant growth.

Although common sense goes a long way in defining the concept of an essential element, Arnon and Stout in 1939, stated that an essential element should fulfil following criteria:

1. A deficiency in absence of the elements should make it impossible for the plant to complete its lifecycle.
2. Must not be replaceable by another element.
3. Must be directly involved in plant metabolism, that is, it must be required for a specific physiological function.

   To Arnon and Stout’s three requirements for essential elements should be added a fourth:

Water is indispensable for human, animal and plant life. It is a major component of all organisms some of which contain more than 90% of water. Water is a constituent of protoplasm. It maintains turgidity of cells which is essential for stomatal opening, expansion of cells and for different physiological processes. Water is also required for translocation of nutrients and dissipation of heat.

16.1 Irrigation

Irrigation is generally defined as the artificial application of water to soil for the purpose of supplying the moisture essential for plant growth.

However, a broader and more inclusive definition of the term irrigation is the application of water to the soil for any number of the following six purposes —

1. To add water to soil to supply the moisture essential for plant growth.
2. To provide crop insurance against short duration drought.
3. To cool the soil and atmosphere, thereby making more favourable environment for crop growth.
4. To wash out or dilute salts in the soil.