MILLETS

BIOLOGY PROJECT
 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
Certified to be the Bonafide Project Work in BIOLOGY done by SRIRAM.N,
Register number ………………… of class XII-B of D.A.V. Senior Secondary School ,
Mogappair , Chennai-600050 during the year 2022-2023.

Signature of Principal Signature of Subject Teacher

Submitted for the Practical examination held on
At

SCHOOL SEAL EXTERNAL EXAMINER INTERNAL EXAMINER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION
2. DESCRIPTION
3. MILLET SPECIES
4. HEALTH BENEFITS OF MILLETS
5. NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF MILLETS
6. COMPARISON WITH MAJOR STAPLE FOODS
7. RESEARCH
8. CULTIVATION
9. PRODUCTION
 INTRODUCTION
Millets are coarse grains and a repository of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
They include jowar (sorghum), ragi (finger millet), korra (foxtail millet), arke (kodo
millet), sama (little millet), bajra (pearl millet), chena/barr (proso millet) and sanwa
(barnyard millet). The practice of consuming millets as part of the daily diet is not
new to India. “Millets had been the major staple food in central India, southern
India and hilly regions of Uttarakhand for centuries till the time of the Green
Revolution. After the advent of high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat during the
1970s, millets got sidelined from our food basket,". The reason for this is lack of
awareness about the nutritional benefits. “Also, government pushed only rice and
wheat in the subsidized public distribution system, rendering the cultivation of
millets uneconomical,". Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics of Asia
and Africa (especially in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger), with 97% of millet
production in developing countries. The crop is favored due to its productivity and
short growing season under dry, high-temperature condition
 DESCRIPTION
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. Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses, widely
grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for human food and fodder.
Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa
(especially in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger), with 97% of millet production in
developing countries. The 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 most widely grown millet is pearl
millet, which is an important crop 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"
MILLET CROPS
TRADITIONAL MILLETS IN INDIA
 MILLET SPECIES
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 and marked with an *.
Eragrostideae tribe in the subfamily Chloridoideae:
*Eleusine coracana: Finger millet
Paniceae tribe in the subfamily Panicoideae: Genus Panicum:
*Panicum miliaceum: Proso millet (common millet, broomcorn millet, white millet)
*Panicum sumatrense : Little millet (also known as and Samai in Tamil Nadu)
*Pennisitum glaucum: Pearl millet
*Setaria italica: Foxtail millet, Italian millet, panic
Genus Digitaria – of minor importance as crops.
Digitaria exilis: known as white fonio, fonio millet, and hungry rice or acha rice.
Digitaria iburua: Black fonio
Digitaria compacta: Raishan, cultivated in the Khasi Hills of northeast India
MILLET SPECIES
• Genus Echinochloa: Collectively, the members of this genus are called barnyard grasses or barnyard millets.
Other common names to identify these seeds include Jhangora, Samo seeds or Morio / Mario / Moraiaya
seeds.
• Digitaria sanguinalis: Polish millet
• Echinochloa esculenta: Japanese barnyard millet
• Echinochloa frumentacea: Indian barnyard millet, also known as Sawa millet, Kodisama in Andhra Pradesh
and Kuthirai vaali in Tamil Nadu and Bhagar or Varai in Maharashtra)
• Paspalum scrobiculatum: Kodo millet (also known as Arikelu in Andhra Pradesh and Varagu in Tamil Nadu)
• Brachiaria deflexa: Guinea millet
• Urochloa ramosa: Browntop millet (also known as Korle in Karnataka)
• Andropogoneae tribe also in the subfamily Panicoideae:
*Sorghum bicolor: Sorghum - usually considered a separate cereal, but sometimes known as Great millet
Coix lacryma-jobi: Job's tears, also known as adlay millet
 HEALTH EFFECTS OF MILLETS
HEALTH EFFECTS
Millets are anti acidic
Millets are gluten free
Millets detoxify body
Niacin (vitamin B3) in millet can help lower cholesterol
Prevents breast cancer
Helps to prevent type 2 diabetes
Effective in reducing blood pressure
Helps to protect against heart diseases
Aids in treating respiratory conditions such as asthma
Helps to optimize kidney, liver and immune system
Millet acts as a prebiotic feeding microflora in your inner ecosystem
Reduces risk of gastrointestinal conditions like gastric ulcers or colon cancer
Eliminates problems like constipation, excess gas, bloating and cramping
High consumption of polished rice and refined wheat flour,
which happen to be the main ingredients of foods consumed by
the urban population. This trend, coupled with sedentary
lifestyles, has led to a rise in obesity and other lifestyle diseases
like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, across age groups.
A study published in The New England Journal Of Medicine says
India has the world’s highest number of obese children (14.4
million) after China (15.3 million). Globally, it found that over
two billion children and adults suffer from health problems
related to being overweight or obese. In such a scenario, gluten-
free millets could prove to be an effective weapon. “Children
learn from their parents. If we eat healthy, they will also learn to
eat healthy. Millets were part of our grandparents’ diet, it’s only
in the past few decades that their consumption has reduced. We
need to embrace the goodness of millets: Their high-fibre
content helps in bowel movement and manages diabetes and
obesity. Their high magnesium level is good for lowering blood
pressure, while the potassium content keeps hypertension at
bay,". Research validates the goodness of millets. In 2010, a
study published in the Pathophysiology journal said that eating
korra could help bring down blood glucose in diabetes.
The same year, a research paper published in the Journal Of Agricultural And Food Chemistry
confirmed that all millets are rich sources of antioxidants, while another study in Nutrition
Research concluded that millets may be useful in preventing cardiovascular disease. “In the
hope of becoming fit, we start consuming whatever ‘superfood’ is trending in the West
(wheatgrass, cranberries, Soba noodles, broccoli rabe, to name a few), ready to spend a
bomb, and indifferent to the goodness of our own food,"
 NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF MILLETS
Nutritional Benefits Of Millets (For 100g of each Millet)
In a 100 gram serving, raw millet provides 378 calories and is a rich
source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber,
several B vitamins and numerous dietary minerals, especially
manganese at 76% DV (USDA nutrient table). Raw millet is 9% water,
73% carbohydrates, 4% fat and 11% protein (table).
 PROTEIN[g] FIBER[g] MINERALS[g] IRON[mg] CALCIUM
[mg]
Sorghum 10 4 1.6 2.6 54

Pearl millet 10.6 1.3 2.3 16.9 38

Finger millet 7.3 3.6 2.7 3.9 344

Foxtail millet 12.3 8 3.3 2.8 31

Proso millet 12.5 2.2 1.9 0.8 14

Kodo millet 8.3 9 2.6 0.5 27

Little millet 7.7 7.6 1.5 9.3 17

Barnyard millet 11.2 10.1 4.4 15.2 11

Teff 13 8 0.85 7.6 180

Brown millet 11.5 12.5 4.2 0.65 0.01

COMPARISON WITH MAJOR STAPLE FOOD
 RESEARCH ABOUT MILLETS
Research on millets is carried out by the International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics and ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets
Research in Telangana, India, and by the USDA-ARS at Tifton, Georgia, United
States. Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) is a premier agricultural
research institute engaged in basic and strategic research on sorghum and
other millets under Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). IIMR
coordinates and facilitates sorghum research at national level through All
India Coordinated Research Projects on Sorghum, Pearl Millet and Small
Millets and provides linkages with various national and international
agencies. Sanctioned manpower - 48 scientists in 17 disciplines supported by
41 technical, 21 administrative and 27 supporting staff distributed in its main
center at Hyderabad, and the two regional stations at Centre on Rabi
Sorghum (CRS), Solapur and Off-Season Nursery, (OSN) Warangal.
 CULTIVATION OF MILLETS
Pearl millet is one of the two major crops in the semiarid,
impoverished, less fertile agriculture regions of Africa and southeast
Asia. Millets are not only adapted to poor, droughty, and infertile soils,
but they are also more reliable under these conditions than most other
grain crops. This has, in part, made millet production popular,
particularly in countries surrounding the Sahara in western Africa.
Millets, however, do respond to high fertility and moisture. On a per-
hectare basis, millet grain production can be 2–4 times higher with use
of irrigation and soil supplements. Improved breeds of millet improve
their disease resistance and can significantly enhance farm yield
productivity. There has been cooperation between poor countries to
improve millet yields.
 PRODUCTION OF MILLETS
In 2020, global production of millet was 30.5 million tonnes, led by India
with 41% of the world total (table). Niger also had significant
production.
Millet production-2020 (Source : FAOSTAT of the United Nations )
COUNTRY PRODUCTION[MILLIONS OF TONNES
India 12.5
Niger 3.5
China 2.3
Nigeria 2.0
Mali 1.9
Ethiopia 1.2
World 30.5