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 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 grass 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. Seed color varies greatly between varieties.
Taxonomy
Synonyms:
Common names for foxtail millet in other languages spoken in the countries where it is cultivated include: () () () (ghomi) (ghomi)
Gurung : Tohro
()
() or () (). 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) , jawawut
Mandarin Chinese: 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. or () Mising: Anyak
() or () / () () or chumiza () () or ()
(), (), (), (), , or ; (millet flour). The gruel made from millet, the staple of Ancient Tamils, is called , , , or ( 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. It is referred to often in old Tamil texts and is commonly associated with Lord Muruga and his consort Valli.
In China, foxtail millet was the main staple food in the north before Sung Dynasty, when wheat started to become the main staple food. It is still the most common millet and one of the main food crops in the dry northern part of the country, especially among the poor. 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.
In the northern Philippines, 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 or silage 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 birds and rodents. Insect pests include Atherigona atripalpis, the foxtail millet shoot fly.
Insects
Insect pests include:
shoot fly Atherigona atripalpis (major pest) A. approximata, A. pulla, [[Atherigona punctata}A. punctata]], and A. biseta cutworm Agrotis ipsilon stem borer Chilo partellus pink borer, Sesamia inferens corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis