RECOMMENDED PACKAGE OF AGRO PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY FOR FINGER MILLET

Transcription

1 RECOMMENDED PACKAGE OF AGRO PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY FOR FINGER MILLET FINGER MILLET (Eleusine coracana Gaertn.) The cultivation of finger millet (ragi mandua, nagli, kapai and madua) is widely distributed extending from Tamil Nadu in South to Uttaranchal in North; Gujarat in West to Orissa in East and even extending to north eastern regions including Sikkim. The area under finger (Eleusine coracana) has declined from 2.6 million ha in early sixties to around 1.8 million ha in However, the annual production is maintained around 2.6 tonnes with a productivity of around kg/ha. Finger millet is grown in different seasons in different parts of the county. As a rainfed crop, it is sown in June July in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh; during June in Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Gujrat; and in April May in hills at higher altitudes of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh. It is also grown in the winter season (rabi) by planting in September October in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and as summer irrigated crop by planting is January February in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Varieties A number of high yielding varieties have been evolved and released for cultivation in different states. The improved varieties are able to meet the specific requirements of different regions. This includes varieties for drier areas, saline and sodic soils of Tamil Nadu, for both early and late planting situations in Kharif, rabi and summer in Karnataka, varieties combining high seed and fodder yield with earliness for Uttaranchal, blast resistant varieties for disease endemic regions and varieties suitable for coastal and high rainfall regions of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The varieties recommended for different states are given in table 15 and salient feature of recently released varieties in table 16. Season Finger millet is grown in all the cropping seasons in different parts of the country. More than 90 per cent of the area is under rainfed conditions, grown during Kharif season. It is normally sown in June-July in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka

2 and Andhra Pradesh; during June in Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and in April-May in hills at higher altitudes of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. It is also grown in winter season (rabi) by planting in September-October in Karnataka,Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and as a summer irrigated crop by planting in January February in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Tillage Fall ploughing is advantageous for moisture conservation. In the month of April or May, one deep ploughing with mould board plough followed by ploughing with wooden plough twice is necessary. Before sowing secondary tillage with cultivator and multiple tooth hoe to prepare smooth seed bed is necessary. Minor land smoothening before sowing helps in better in-situ moisture conservation. Seeds are very small and take 5-7 days to germinate.hence good seeds land preparation helps in better germination, minimizes weeds problem and effective soil moisture conservation. In Uttaranchal where frequent ploughing operations are difficult to carry out effective digging and turning of soil, removing perrenial weeds, land smoothening, providing inward slope with a shallow drain helps in taking out excess rain water.. 31

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4 I. Recommended varieties of finger millet for different states State Season Varieties Remarks Andhra Pradesh Early kharif (May-August) AKP 2, Suraj, VR 708 (Champavathi) OEB For entire state 10, PR 230 Late kharif (July-November) Godavari, Ratnagiri, Gautami and Sarada For North coastal A.P Padmavathi, Kalyani, Saptagiri For Rayalseema & Telangana Late Rabi (November-March) Godavari, Ratnagiri and Gautami For North coastal region Kalyani, Ratnagiri and Gautami For Rayalseema Bihar Kharif (June-September) BR 407, RAU 8, VL 149 For North Bihar Chattisgarh Kharif (June-Sept) PR 202, RAU 8 and BM 9-1 Jarkhand Kharif (June-September) A 404, Birsa Marua 2 (BM 2), VL 149 For Chotanagpur Plateau Gujarat Kharif (June-September) Gujarat Nagli-1, Gujarat Nagli-2, VL 149, VL 149 is a blast tolerant, early and high OEB 10 yielding variety Himachal Pradesh Kharif (April-September) VL 124, VL 149 VL 124 is superior in both seed and fodder yield Karnataka Kar or Early Kharif (April- Indaf 9, GPU 26, GPU 45, VR 708 August) Kharif (July-November) Indaf 8, HR 911, PR 202, MR 1, MR 6, L 5, GPU 28 II Varieties of finger millet released during Indaf 8 and MR 1 to be sown before 20th July GPU 45, GPU 26, GPU 48 can be sown upto August Late kharif (August-November) Indaf 9, PR 202, GPU 28, GPU 26, GPU 45 and OEB 10 Rabi (October-September) Indaf 7, Indaf 15 and Indaf 9 Indaf 7 possesses cold tolerance Summer (January-May) Indaf 5, Indaf 9, HR 911, GPU 26 and GPU 48 Maharashtra Kharif (May-September) VL 149, RAU 8, BM 9-1, GPU 45, Dapoli 1, VL 146 Madhya Pradesh Kharif (June-October) VL 149, PR 202, RAU 8, BM 9-1, GPU 45, OEB 10 Orissa Kharif (June - September) PR 202, VL 149, VR 708, OUAT 2, BM 9-1, AKP 2, Dibyasingh, Neelachal, OEB 10 Tamil Nadu Maghazipattam(Dec-April) Co 7, Co 11, Co 12, Co 13, Co 14, K 5, K 7, Paiyur 1, TRY 1, OEB 10 Chitharaipattam (April-August) Co 11, Co 12, Co 13, Paiyur 1, K 7, K 5 Adipattam (June-September) Paiyur 1, Co 11, Co 12, Co 7, Indaf 5 Purattasipattam (Sept.-Dec.) Co 7, Co 11, Co 12, Co 13, K 7, Paiyur 1, Indaf 5 and VR 708 Uttar Pradesh Kharif (June-September) Nirmal, KM 13, KM 65, PES 110, VL 146 For plains Uttaranchal Kharif (June-October) VL 124, VL 204, PES 400, VL 149, VL 315 For hills Planting rabi crop beyond October is to be discouraged OUAT 2 is a white seeded variety Paiyur 1 possesses drought tolerance and hence suitable for dry districts of Salem and Dharmapuri. TRY 1 is tolerant to salinity.

5 Sl. No. Crop/Variety Pedigree Institute where developed Year of release Maturity (Days) Av Yield Kg/ha 1. HR 911 UAS 1 x IE 927 PC Unit, Bangalore Karnataka 2. Indaf 8 Hullu bele x IE 929 UAS, Bangalore Karnataka 3. Gujarat nagli 2 (NS 109) Pureline selection GAU Sardar Krishinagar, Gujarat Area of Adaption Special features It can be grown in rainfed and irrigated conditions Long duration type for early sowings Gujarat High finger number 4. Indaf 9 KI x IE 98 R UAS, Bangalore Karnataka For late sown conditions in Kharif 5. KM 13 Pureline selection CSAUA&T, Kanpur Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa 6. PES 400 Pureline selection GBPUAT, Pantnagar Hills of U.P Early maturity 7. Co 13 Co 7 x TAH 107 TNAU, Coimbatore Tamil Nadu 8. TRY 1 Selection from HR 374 TNAU, Coimbatore Tamil Nadu Tolerant to salinity 9. VL 124 Selection from local germplasm VPKAS, Almora Hills of U.P 10. RAU 8 BR 407 x Ranchi Local RAU, Dholi Bihar and other states Earliness, high seed and fodder yield 11. Saptagiri Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, MR 1 x Kalyani APAU, Perumalapalli (PR 2614) Orissa, Andhra Pradesh 12. Indaf 15 IE 927 x IE 67 UAS, Bangalore Karnataka 13. VL 149 VL 204 x IE 882 VPKAS, Almora All states Wide adaptation, earliness 14. A 404 Selection from germplasm BAU, Ranchi Bihar Gautami 15. PR 202 x U22 MRS, Vizianagaram Andhra Pradesh Tolerance to blast, high yield (PR ) 16. GN 3 KM 13 x GN 2 GAU, Gujarat Gujarat Padmavathi ANGRAU, 17. Pureline selection Coastal Andhra Pradesh (PPR 2350) Perumalapalli (AP) 18. Dapoli Suraj (VR 520) Selection from mutant No Pureline selection KVK, Dapoli ANGRAU, Vizianagaram, (AP) Konkan regions of Maharashtra All over India 20. KM 65 Selection from exotic germplasm CSAUA&T, Kanpur Uttar Pradesh 21. VL-146 Selection from germplasm APAU, Perumallapalli Andhra Pradesh 22. BM 2 Selection BAU, Ranchi Bihar

6 23. GPU 28 Indaf 5 x IE 1012 PC Unit, Bangalore Karnataka Highly blast resistant 24. Birsa marua 2 Pureline selection BAU, Ranchi Chotanagapur regions of Jharkand 25. Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Champavathi ANGRAU, ARS, Puerline selection Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, (VR 708) Vizianagaram Karnataka, Orissa 26. MR 1 Hamsa x IE 927 UAS, Bangalore Karnataka Long duration, for early sowings 27. PR 230 (Maruthi) 28. BM 9-1 Pure line selection ANGRAU, Paleru Mutant from Budha Mandia OUAT, Berhampur Andhra Pradesh (Telangana region) Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra Moderately resistant to blast and brown spot 29. L-5 Malawi x Indaf 9 UAS, Bangalore Karnataka Late variety, for early sowings 30. GPU 26 (I-5 x I-9) IE 1012 PC Unit, UAS, Karnataka Early, blast tolerant, suitable late Bangalore sowings &summer PC Unit, UAS, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Early, blast resistant 31. GPU 45 GPU 26 x L 5 Bangalore Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra OUAT, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, 32. GE 68 x GE 156 Bhubaneshwar, Orissa Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh Moderately resistant to blast, Chilika resistant to stem borer, late (OEB 10) and Tamil Nadu variety 33. TNAU 946 TNAU, Coimbatore Tamil nadu VL 315 UPKAS, Almora Uttaranchal Tolerant to finger and neck blast 35. GPU 48 GPU 26 x L 5 PC Unit, UAS, Bangalore Karnataka Early, high yield, blast resistant Suitable for summer also

7 Seed rate and planting A plant population of 4-5 lakhs (400, ,000) per ha is optimum for getting higher yields and higher or lower population than the optimum will reduce the yield. Line sowing is ideal and seed drills giving a spacing of cm between rows should be used. Finger millet seeds are very small (400 seeds/g), and the recommended seed rate of 10 kg per hectare will contain about 4 million seeds. Therefore, even when seed drill is used thinning within the row leaving a spacing of cm between plants, must be followed. The recommended spacing for different states is given in the table. Wider row spacing (30 cm) and closer plant to plant spacing of 7.5 cm helps in better establishment of the crop. Maintenance of optimum population is not a problem in transplanted crop. Seedlings are to be grown in raised bed for transplanting in the main field. About 5 kg seeds/ha is enough for the transplanted crop. In general, seedlings of days old are ideal for transplanting in rows of cm apart, with 2 seedlings per hill at every 10 cm within row. Sowing by seed cum fertilizer drill is advantageous for line sowing besides efficient utilization of applied nutrients. Maintenance of optimum plant population is an important prerequisite for getting higher yields under rainfed conditions. Poor germination, often, is the result of inadequate moisture after sowing in low rainfall areas. After establishment by about days of sowing, thinning operation to remove excess seedlings is necessary. Similarly, where ever plant population is not uniform, gap filling with days seedlings should be used.

8 Recommended spacing and manuring for finger millet in different states State Spacing (cm) Fertilizers (NPK Kg/ha) Rainfed Irrigated Andhra Pradesh 22.5 x :20:20 60:30:30 Bihar 22.5 x :20:20 40:20:20 Jarkhand 22.0 x :20:20 40:20:20 Gujarat 30.0 x :20:10 Himachal Pradesh 25.0 x :20:0 Karnataka 22.5 to 30 x 7.5 to10 (Rainfed) 22.5 x 10 (Irrigated) 50:40:25 100:50:50 Maharashtra 22.5 x :20:0 50:25:0 Chhattisgarh 25.0 x :30:20 Madhya Pradesh 22.5 x :40:0 Orissa 22.5 x 10 40:20:20 60:20:20 Tamil Nadu 22.5 x :20:20 90:45:45 Uttaranchal 25.0 x :30:20 Manuring and fertilization : Finger millet responds well to fertilizer application especially to N and P. The recommended doses of fertilizers vary from state to state and for rainfed and irrigated crop (Table 17). With judicious application of farmyard manure, inorganic fertilizer efficiency is enhanced. Entire P2O5 and K2O are to be applied at sowing, whereas nitrogen is to be applied in two or three split doses depending upon moisture availability. In areas of good rainfall and moisture availability, 50% of recommended nitrogen is to be applied at sowing and the

9 remaining 50% in two equal splits at and days after sowing. In areas of uncertain rainfall, 50% at sowing and the remaining 50% around 35 days after sowing is recommended. Adequate application of FYM, two to three tonnes per hectare help in better development of root growth. Bio-fertilizers Treating seeds with Azospirillum brasilense (N fixing bacterium) and Aspergillus awamori (P solubilizing 25 g/kg seed is beneficial. In case seeds are to be treated with seed dressing chemicals, treat the seeds first with seed dressing chemicals and then with bio-fertilizers at the time of sowing. Procedure for inoculating seeds with biofertilizers 1. Bio-fertilizer culture specific to the crop is to be 25g per kg of seed. 2. Sticker solution is necessary for effective seed inoculation. This can be prepared by dissolving 25 g jaggery or sugar in 250 ml water and boiling for 5 minutes. The solution thus prepared is cooled. 3. Smear the seeds well using the required quantity of sticker solution. Then add culture to the seeds and mix thoroughly so as to get a fine coating of culture on the seed. 4. The culture-coated seed is to be dried well in shade to avoid clumping of seeds. 5. Use the inoculated seeds for sowing. Soil and moisture conservation Finger millet is predominantly grown as a rainfed crop on rolling fields there fore it is essential to adopt soil and moisture conservation practises to achieve stability in yield. They are (a) Summer ploughing or ploughing after the harvest of previous crop (b) Ploughing across the slope (c) Errection of small section bunds at an interval of 10-12m depending up on the slope and levelling the depressions and (d) Opening a dead furrow at 3.3 to 4.0 m interval.

10 Weed control Weeds problem in ragi crop can be effectively managed by cultural and mechanical measures. In line sown crop 2-3 inter-cultivations and hand weeding once are necessary. In broadcast crop, 2 effective hand weedings will minimize weeds as inter-cultivations are not possible. In assured rainfall and irrigated areas spraying 2, 4-D sodium 0.75 kg a.i./ha as post-emergent spray around days after sowing effectively control weeds. Alternatively 0.5 kg a.i./ha as pre-emergence spray is also effective in control of weeds. In assured rainfall and irrigated areas 0.1 lt a.i /ha as preemergence. Irrigation Land must be converted in to ridges and furrows to facilitate irrigation before transplanting of crop. For irrigated crop, depending on soil type, weather condition and duration of variety, 8-14 irrigations are necessary. Irrigate the crop once in 6-8 days in light soils and once in days in heavy soils. CROPPING SYSTEMS Crop rotation Rotation with legumes like green gram / black gram/ rice bean / soybean in northern states, horse gram,pigeon pea, field bean or groundnut in southern states will minimize inorganic fertilizer application and also sustain higher yields. Ragi-ragi rotation must be discouraged as it affects sustainability of soil as well as crop yield. Intercropping Finger millet + pigeon pea combinations in 8-10 : 2 proportion brings higher returns in Karnataka and 6:2 proportion found profitable in Bihar. Trans planting of finger millet and simultaneous sowing of pigeon pea avoids competation between crops Finger millet +soybean in 4:1 proportion or finger millet + field bean in 8:1 proportion are the other profitable crop combinations. In

11 Uttaranchal finger millet &soy beans are mixed together in 90:10 per cent proporation by weight basis and sown is also practiced. Finger millet + soybean in kharif and oats in rabi is an ideal and remunerative cropping sequence for northern hilly region. Cropping sequence Potato paddy-finger millet cropping sequence is highly remunerative in northern Bihar than other cropping sequences. Similarly for Southern Karnataka or Deccan plateau ragi potato maize or ragi onion ragi are highly remunerative cropping sequences. In assured rain fall areas raising early crop of cow pea or sesamum followed by transplanting of early duration finger millet can be practiced. Diseases Finger millet is affected by a variety of diseases of which blast caused by Pyricularia grisea is the major problem. The disease is quite severe in kharif crop at all the growth stages. The losses caused will be more if the disease appears in the nursery and on the ears affecting the neck and fingers. Management a) By growing resistant varieties like GPU 28, GPU 26 and GPU 48. b) Treating seeds with fungicides like 2g/kg a day before sowing c) If necessary spraying the nursery with carbendazim (0.05%) or kitazin (0.1%) or Ediphefos (0.1%) or Saaf (0.2%) d) Spray any of the above fungicides at 50 per cent flowering and repeat 10 days later if Kitazin or Ediphenfos were used to control neck and finger blast.

12 In recent years, brown spot caused by Drechslera nodulosa is gaining importance. Its damage could be severe if the crop is subjected to drought or nutrition deficiency. The disease can be effectively managed by proper nutrition and water management. Need based spraying of Mancozeb or Saaf (0.2%) can be resorted to. Other diseases affecting the crop are mottle streak & streak virus, foot rot (Sclerotium rolfsii), downy mildew or green ear (Sclerospora macrospora), grain smut (Melanopsichium eleusinis). Besides, at higher altitudes Cercopspora leaf spot and in the coastal regions sheath blight (Rhizoctonia sp.) also appear, but are of minor importance. Pests Finger millet attracts several pests of which army worm, cutworm, stemborer, leaf aphid, grasshoppers, grey weevil, shootfly and ear caterpillars are important. Army worms and cut worms They appear during the early stages and continue upto harvest. The caterpillars cut seedlings at the base during early stage, which appears as if grazed by domestic animal. They are active during night and hide under stones and clods during the day. In later stages of plant growth, these insects act as defoliators. They are cyclic in nature. Control When the symptoms are noticed take up dusting of Malathion 24 kg/ha or Endosulfan 12 kg/ha or Phasolone 24 kg / ha or Quinolfos 24 kg/ha.

13 Leaf aphid It occurs throughout the crop growing period. The nymphs and adults suck the sap from tender leaves and stem. They can cause serious damage in the seedling stage upto 30 days. Control Spray Dimethioate (0.05%) or quinolfos (0.05%) or Endosulfan (0.07%). Stemborers The larva bores into the stem, resulting in dead heart. Control Spray the crop with Dimethioate (0.05%) or Phosphamidon (0.05%) or Monocrotophos (0.04%) Ear caterpillars Ear caterpillars appear at dough stage on ears and persist till harvest. The caterpillars bite the maturing seeds and make a fine web out of their casting and half eaten grains. This further attracts saprophytic fungi. Control Dust Malathion 24 kg/ha or Quinolfos 24 kg/ha or Endosulfan 24 kg/ha or Phosalone 24 kg/ha.

14 NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF SMALL MILLETS Small millets are highly nutritious and even superior to rice and wheat in certain constituents. Finger millet is the richest source of calcium ( mg/100 gm grain) and other small millets are good source of phosphorous and iron too. The protein content range from 7-12% and fat content from 1.12 to 5.0 %. The millet protein has well balanced amino acid profile and good source of methionine, cystine and lycine. These essential amino acids are of special benefit to those who depend on plant food for their protein nourishment. The millet grain contains about 65% carbohydrate, a high proportion of which is in the form of non starchy polysaccharides and dietary fibre which help in prevention of constipation, lowering of blood cholesterol and slow release of glucose to the blood stream during digestion. Millet grains are also rich in important vitamins viz., Thiamine, riboflavin, folin and niacin. It is of interest to note that lower incidence of cardiovascular diseases, duodenal ulcer and hyperglycemia (diabetes) are reported among regular millet consumers. Nutrient composition of millets and cereals (per 100 g) Carbohydrates Fat Crude Mineral (g) fibre matter (g) (g) (g) Food gain Protein (g) Calcium (mg) Phosphorous (mg) Fe (mg) Millets Finger millet Kodo millet Proso millet Foxtail millet Little milet Barnyard millet Cereals Wheat Rice Millet grains are known for good shelf life. The grains dried to 10-12% moisture can be stored for many years in farm homes. There are reports of finger millet kept for more than two decades without adverse effect on grain quality. The millet flour and their products also show good shelf life. Besides India, in many countries of Eurasia including China and Japan, foxtail millet, proso millet and barnyard millet have been popular food grains for many centuries.

15 Essential amino acids contents of millets and cereals (g/100g of proteins) Amino Finger Kodo Proso Foxtail Barnyard Wheat Rice acids Millet Millet Millet Millet Millet Isoleucine Leucine Lysine Methionine Cystine Phenyl alanine Tyrosine Threonine Tryptophan Valine Histidine In India many different kinds of traditional foods are made and they form the stable diet for many rural and urban households. Ragi is eaten in the form of mudde (dumpling or stiff porridge) and / or roti. Many other traditional foods are made from popped ragi flour mixed with sugar / jaggery / ghee / milk / butter milk and salt. In several rural households a vast variety of traditional snacks are made from ragi and other small millets. The millet grains offer many opportunities for diversified utilization and in adding value. With proper processing it is possible to make many different kinds of food products by adopting appropriate milling, popping and other technologies (see flow chart). Except finger millet other millets resemble rice in grain morphology containing husk, bran and endosperm. Traditionally the husk and bran are separated by hand pounding. However, in recent years milling technology has been improved to enhance the grain quality, save time, as well as energy. Millet mill is available today both for cottage level and large scale processing. Milled millet can be further processed towards various food uses such as flakes, quick food cereals, ready to eat snacks, supplementary foods, extrusion cooking, malt based products, weaning foods, and more importantly health foods. Finger millet flour is easy to make since the endosperm and bran are pulverized freely and in such flour fibre content is normally higher. However, it is possible to reduce fibre content by adopting simple sieving methods. Malting of ragi for food uses is in practice from time memorial in southern India. Ragi has superior malting properties compared to other cereal grains like rice, maize, jowar and bajra. Ragi contain high level of calcium and its protein is

16 rich in methionine and sulphur containing amino acids. Finger millet while malting does not pose problems of mold growth, or fodder etc. Finger millet malt has acceptable taste, very good aroma and shelf life. The procedure for preparation of ragi malt is briefly described below; Preparation of ragi malt : Well cleaned good quality ragi having good germination should be used for the preparation of malt. The grain should be first washed in water then steep (soak the grains) in clean soft water in a vessel of appropriate size for a period of hrs. change the water twice or thrice. After soaking for the required period, the grains are taken out and again washed. After draining the excess water, the grains are spread over a gunny bag or thick cloth, spread thinly and allowed for germination for hrs depending upon the temperature and humidity prevailing. It is desirable to cover the grain kept for germination with another cloth so as it facilitate uniform germination. During germination water should be sprinkled as and when necessary to keep the sprouts moist. Two days of germination period is sufficient for ragi. if germination is allowed too long, root and shoot will grow very long causing high malting loss. During germination set of enzymes that promote digestion of food develops. Important among them are starch, protein and fat digesting enzymes. In finger millet since starch content is more and amylase is the most important enzyme produced. After required period of germination the grains are dried in open sun by spreading thinly on a cloth. 6-8 hrs of sun drying should be sufficient. Soon after drying the root lets are removed by rubbing grains gently against dry, clean cloth. the separated root lets are aspirated leaving malted ragi. Malted ragi should be mildly toasted or kilned at C in an iron pan heated at low flame. Malting enhances carbohydrate and protein digestibility and in addition the water soluble vitamins is also enhanced along with increase in the bio-available minerals and other nutrients. The roasted grain is ground into fine flour and sieved through a 80 to 100 sieve mesh or through a muslin cloth. The malt so obtained has improved nutritional quality, enhanced digestive enzymes and is an ideal base to prepare weaning foods, infant foods, malted milk foods, health foods, medical foods etc., Fermented beverage : Finger millet malt is fermented in Africa traditionally to prepare beer. It is a very popular family drink for ceremonial functions. In India also the fermented beverage by name Hadia is very popular among tribal communities in Jarkhand and so also in Nepal and Butan. Finger millet malt mixed with barley malt (50 : 50) can be brewed to produce commercial lager beer.

17 Popping : Popping is traditionally adopted to prepare ready to eat snacks from millets. Traditionally millet grains are popped in hot sand (above C ) with continuous agitation. The popped millet is separated by sieving. In case of finger millet the whole grain is popped which contains seed coat also; while in other small millets during popping the husk gets separated. Popped finger millet flour develops fine aroma and is extremely popular in south India to make many ready to eat products. Extrusion cooking : These are modern food processing technologies widely adopted for the preparation of ready to eat snacks, nutritious foods, weaning foods, health foods etc. small millets have potential for preparing value added products based on these technology. Baking : Finger millet flour upto 30-40% can be blended with wheat flour for the preparation of bread, cookies and other baked products. High fibre special bakery products especially made from finger millet is suitable for diabeties.

18 ROLE OF SMALL MILLETS IN WIDENING FOOD BASE AND NUTRITION SECURITY Millet crops are important in the overall development of agriculture in the country. As bulk of the production is consumed at the farm / village level, the real value of these crops has not been appreciated and their role not recognized in imparting food security to a large section of farming community (Vulnerable groups)in different parts of the country. The assured harvest of these crops has made them an important component of dry land, hill and tribal agriculture in many states. National food security could only be effective when food and fodder needs of the region are met within the region itself. At present there is excessive dependence on two food crops namely; rice and wheat for maintaining / sustaining food self sufficiency. This has made not only the food security very fragile but also shrunken the food basket. This has further led to imbalance as well as undesirable dependence for food and feed needs on their regions. This needs correction and more ideal situation would be producing the required food within the state / region itself by promoting and developing locally / regionally important rainfed crops. The changed dietary patterns largely dependent on rice and wheat which has led to widespread nutritional deficiency. The prevalence of micro-nutrients deficiency even in the quite affluent population is a matter of serious concern. This is hampering the normal functioning of human body making it more vulnerable to diseases and even bringing down normal physical fitness in the cross section of the population to day. In order to alleviate this problem and make food security meaningful, millets in general and small millets in particular could play a major role. Millets being eco-friendly crops are suitable for fragile and vulnerable agoecosystems and should be preferred crops for sustainable and green agriculture. The promotion of millet crops can lead to much efficient natural resource management and ultimately to a more holistic approach in sustaining precious agro-biodiversity.

19 FEEDING VALUE OF MILLET STRAWS The chemical composition of some millets is given below. Straw Composition (% on DM basis) CP EE CF NFE Finger millet Kodo millet Foxtail millet Proso millet CP : Crude protein; EE : Either Extract; CP : Crude Fibre; NFC : Nitrogen Free Extractions Cattle and buffaloes maintained solely on millet can meet their energy requirement for maintenance and further improvement in intake and utilization can be achieved by supplementing the critical nutrients and by adopting processing methodologies to enhance fibre utilization. Concentrate supplementation at 20% of the dietary dry matter (DM) improves the intake of dry mater of finger millet straw. Addition of small amounts of specific bypass protein like fish meal or cotton seed meal to straw diets also substantially improves the rumen fermentation and subsequently the production performance. Urea ammoniation (4% w/w, in 100 litre of water) of finger millet straw has shown beneficial effects in the form of increased dry matter intake (25-30%), organic matter digestibility (10-15 units) and total digestible nutrients (10-15 units) and total digestible nutrients (10-12 units) as compared to untreated straw. The digestibility of nutrients from the crop residues is generally low and are therefore, considered as poor quality roughage. In spite of their low nutritive value, the use of straws and stovers for animal feeding together with the possibilities to improve their feeding value is a topic of top priority in the

20 scientific community. Results of the systematic research work conducted of finger millet straw under Indo-Dutch project on Bioconversion of Crop Residues at National Dairy Research Institutes, Bangalore in collaborating with AICRP on small millets, GKVK, Bangalore clearly indicated that variation in the chemical composition and digestibility of straw exists due to genetic and managemental practices and the quality of straw can be manipulated to the advantage without any detrimental effect on grain yield. Although some feeding trails have been conducted to evaluate the grain, straw and forage of finger millet as animal feed, information on other millets is limited. A balance has to be maintained in the cultivars evolved for higher grain yield and the nutritive value of crop residues. Here is scope for selection of dual purpose varieties, which could give high grain yield and good quality straw. A reduction in the feeding value of crop residue might result in poor adaptation of the new variety by the farmers. The chemical composition (%DM) of finger millet and reported acid detergent insoluble protein (ADICP) 2.3, neutral detergent fiber 24.1 and Acid detergent fibre 9.4%. Apart from the indigestible protein, the NDF was higher in finger millet as compared with that of maize and sorghum. These two factors possibly limited the use of finger millet as a complete substitute for maize in the diet of monogastric species such as pigs and poultry. Small millets as birds feed : All most all the small millets are used as birds feed either whole or broken grains are fed to birds. Feeding value of proso millet, sorghum grains and corn in broiler diets was studies. It was found that proso millet was similar to sorghum but lower than maize in true metabolizable energy (TME) content and were lower in gross energy (GE) metabolized (TME/GE) than were maize and sorghum.

21 Replaced maize with either raw ground, germinated or pelleted foxtail millet at 50 and 100% levels in broiler diets on an isonitrogenous and isoenergetic basis and found that pelleting of foxtail millet improved the performance of broilers when compared with raw, germinated or maize-based diets. The ME value of about 3100 Kcal/Kg of Indaf-5 ragi variety used in broilers. The lower ME value of ragi both in broilers and layers, has been attributed mainly to the non-starch polysaccharide content of ragi, which would cause less availability of nutrients and also to the tannin content of ragi which might inactivate some of the host enzymes (amylases, proteases and lipases) leading to poor digestibility or metabolisability. In poultry feed proso millet at 0,25, 50, 75, and 100% levels replacing maize on weight to weight basis in the feed for broiler checks to examine the performance and found that the feed consumption was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in all the proso containing diets. Increase in feed consumption was due to a short fall in bioavailability of dietary energy. Which was in turn because of higher levels of crude fiber in the diets. Small millets are mainly grown under dry land conditions. Due to uncertainties of rains both grain and crop residue are of equal importance under scoring the inter dependence of crops and live stock. Under such farming system, the economics of crop production must invariably take into account the market value of the crop residue. Although, growing finger millet does not bring higher returns to farmer but he continues to grow because he values the straw of the crop equally.

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