Prepared by Submitted to

Hari Prasad Paneru (32)

Rajan Poudel (14) Mr. Umanath Sharma

Neela poudel (41) Department of plant Science

Prakash Basnet(5) IAAS, Lamjung Campus

Umesh Sapkota (23)

Nabeen Raj Gyawali (50)

STATUS OF MILLET IMPROVEMENT IN NEPAL

2069/12/17

The millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for both human food and fodder.

It is an important staple food in parts of eastern and central Africa, Indian and Northern hills of Nepal.

Millet is also the base ingredient for the distilled liquor rakshi and the indigenous alcoholic drink of the Sherpa, Tamang, Rai and Limbu people, tongba, in eastern Nepal.

Introduction

The millets include species in several genera, mostly in the subfamily panicoidae, of the grass family. The exception, finger millet, is in the subfamily chloridoideae. The most widely cultivated species in order of worldwide production are:

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) (Also known as bajra in India)

Foxtail millet (Setaria italic)

Proso millet, common millet, broom corn millet, hog millet or white millet (Panicum miliaceum)

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana)

Millet varieties

Millets (a group of small seeded species of cereal crops) leads fifth position in production (33.94 million tons in 2007) and in area.

It is a fourth most important food crop in Nepal and a second most important cereal crop of upland.

This crop shares 1.37% of AGDP. Among various species of cultivated millets, finger millet is widely cultivated in Nepal.

The total area under millet cultivation in Nepal is 265889 ha and production is 292683 Mt. Out of total millet area (2008/09) terai, hill and mountain covers 3.78%, 76.13% and 20.09% respectively.

Area and Distribution

It is believed that Uganda or a neighboring region is the centre of origin of Eleusine coracana (finger millet).

Mehra(1962) proposed E. coracana to be of African origin.

Originally millet is native to the Ethiopian highlands and was introduced into India approximately 4000 years ago.

Zeven and Zhukovsky( 1975)proposed the centre of origin of various millets as:

1.African region: pearl millet, finger millet 2.Chinese-Japanese region: Proso millet, foxtail millet 3.Hindustani region: little millet

Origin of millets

Various millets

Finger millet

Proso millet

Pearl millet

Genetic studies of millets deals with the qualitative and quantitative traits such as chlorophyll deficiencies, leaf characters, panicle characters, bristle characters and plant pigmentation.

Bajra; pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is a diploid species (2n=14) with the genome formula AA.

Napier grass (Pennisetum typhoides) is thought to be allotetraploid (2n=28 ) with genome

formula AABB. Inter-specific crosses of pearl millet with Napier grass have been made in India and the U.S.A and selections from the crosses utilized as fodder.

Polyploid origin of Eleusine coracana is suggested since it has a chromosome number of 2n=36 and the basic number of the genus Eleusine is 9. That the species is polyploid is further indicated by possession of duplicate genes for inheritance of many qualitative characters, such as purple pigmentation, grain color, sterility, pericarp color, elongation of earheads, glume length and earheads shape.

Finger millet is tetraploid. E. coracana subsp. coracana and subsp. africana and E. indica are identical, while the ct genome of E. tristachya differed consistently

The survey of ct genome concluded E. indica as one of the genome donors (maternal genome donor) of domesticated finger millet. E. coracana subsp. Africana is considered as the progenitor of domesticated finger millet.

Genetics of Millet

High yield and stability: Higher grain yield is the principal objective in breeding

millet. The yield of finger millet and pearl millet is generally low.

The production ability of finger millet is 4-5 ton/ha. The selection of vigorous growth plant and high tillering capacity meet this objective.

Similarly straw yield is also considered in improving millet.

Breeding objectives

Finger millet may be grouped as early maturing (80-100 days) and mid-late maturing (100-120 days).

Improvement should normally be directed toward the early and medium-late varieties.

Early maturity adapts finger millet to multicropping.

Two types of tillering can be found on finger millet, basal and nodal tillering. High Basal tillering tends to result in late maturity but uniform ripening, so selection for high tillering capacity and early maturity in the same plant is not fruitful.

Early maturity

Lodging resistance is attained by breeding for short, stout stalks with good thickness of rind and freedom from insects or diseases, damaging and weakening the stalk.

Strong, well developed root systems are also needed to provide good anchorage into the soil.

Lodging resistance

The principal diseases of various millets are blast, blight, smut, wilt, downy mildew, green ear and rust whereas stem borer is important insect of fingermillet.

For improving the millet, it should be free from these diseases and insect.

Disease and insect resistance

Longer bristles on Bajra offers considerable protection to the crop against the damage of birds.

The bristles are hairy outgrowths at the base of spikelet. Introduction of long bristles varieties offers the improvement of pearl millet.

Seed quality Finger millet is staple food in some parts of country.

Increasing protein content, seed/ grain size adds nutritive value of millet which can be achieved through breeding.

Longer bristles

S.No Variety Recommended year

Maturity days

Productivity(ton/ha)

Domain

1 Okhle 1 2037 154-194 3.3 Mid and high hill

2 Dalle 1 2037 125-151 3.3 Terai inner terai and mid hill

3 Kavre kodo 1 2047 167 2.3 900-1900 masl upland

Recommended varieties of various millets

Introduction and germ plasm collections

The initial step in a breeding program is collection of as many as indigenous and exotic stains.

After collection, it is studied carefully and classified systematically to find the desired character.

Various strains of millets are introduced from many parts of world and are collected at various research centers.

In most countries, the breeding work that has been done is germplasm acquisition through local collections and international sources and evaluation of the same to select adaptable varieties.

Breeding methods 

A number of plants are selected on the basis of their phenotype and the open pollinated seeds from them is bulked together to raise the next generation. This is called mass selection.

Many varieties of Bajra are reported to have been developed by single plant selection. Selection of single plant in a cross pollinated crop results in mild inbreeding and is sometimes followed by loss of vigor and yield.

Pure line selection to create homozygous inbred lined has been carried out with pearl millet. The procedure is not different with that of maize.

Pollination must be controlled by bagging spikes to ensure that selfing occurs.

Both mass and pure line selection have been used in finger millet to isolate improved strains from mixed local varieties.

Pedigree selection also helps to obtain a new variety with desirable genes combination in finger millet.

Selection

There has been little hybridization breeding of finger millet in Asian and African countries. In Uganda, hybridization was achieved through hot water emasculation technique and use of male sterility .

Hybrid seeds may be produced in finger millet through use of cytoplasmic male sterility, cytoplasmic genetic male sterility and manual emasculation.

Finger millet is almost entirely self-pollinating and crosses between different genotypes can be made only with difficulty. Genetic improvement has been limited to pedigree-based selection, but the possibility of male sterility discovered in Uganda enhancing cross breeding.

Besides these methods of breeding some others such as tissue culture, somaclonal variations are also used for improving millets varieties.

Hybridization

Millets falls under underutilized food crop of Nepal.

Research works on millets were started before 1970s.

After the establishment of Nepal Hill Crop Improvement Program (NHCIP) in 1986, lots of activities were carried out. Germ plasm from other countries and local landraces within a country were evaluated during that time.

Crossing was also started by NHCIP. A lot of crossing activities by NHCIP such as disease resistance × adaptation, yield × adaptation, yield× disease resistance were also conducted to develop a variety.

research activities for the improvement of this crop are also being carried out and are handled by different institutions/ organizations of related disciplines. NARC is the leading organization mandated for carrying out research activities.

But very few activities are carried out in millet for its improvement in different aspects such as yield, wider adaptability, blast resistance, days to maturity, plant height, seed color etc.

Present research status

Though millet is one of the major staple food crop for hill and mountain region, but has poor productivity due to limited research for improving the crop.

Being an important staple food, there is an urgent need to develop high yielding lines resistance to disease, early maturing, higher straw yield and stress tolerant.

Among the diseases reported blast appears to be the most serious and devastating disease.

Through hybridization technique and suitable selection methods development of new high yielding varieties of desired characters is possible.

Because small floret size in small millets limits cross breeding. For this study hot water emasculation method, use of gametocides along with genetic male sterile system may help in developing hybrid varieties.

Conclusions