Panicum sumatrense
| Panicum sumatrense | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Panicum |
| Species: | P. sumatrense |
| Binomial name | |
| Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem. & Schult. | |
Little Millet (Panicum sumatrense, Syn.: Panicum miliare auct. non Lam.) is a species of millet in the family Poaceae.
Range
In the temperate zones of Asia: the Caucasus, China, East Asia and also in the tropics of the continent: India, Indochina and Malaysia. The plant can be cultivated in India up to 2000 m above sea level.
It can withstand both drought and waterlogging. It can be cultivated up to 2000 m above sea level.
Description
This species of cereal is similar in habit to the proso millet except that it is smaller. It is an annual herbaceous plant, which grows straight or with folded blades to a height of 30 cm to 1 m. The leaves are linear, with the sometimes hairy laminae and membranous hairy ligules. The panicles are from 4 to 15 cm in length with 2 to 3.5 mm long awn. The grain is round and smooth, 1.8 to 1.9 mm long.
Common names for Little Millet
In India Moraiyo, Kutki, Shavan are some of the names in Hindi for little millet. In Bengali it is called as Sama. In Tamil it is called Samai. In Gujarati Gajro, kuri. In Telugu, it is called as Samalu. In Marathi it is called as Sava, Halvi, vari. In oriya it is called as Suan.
Subspecies
There have been two subspecies described:
- Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem. & Schult. subsp. psilopodium (Trin.) Wet.
- Panicum sumatrense Roth ex Roem. & Schult. subsp. sumatrense
Cultivation
The largest cultivation is in central India. Usually it is planted using a seed drill. It can also if necessary be planted spoiled. The green plant can also be used in part as cattle feed. The straw can mixed with clay or cement be used in construction.
The harvest yield is from 230 to 900 kg/ha.
Preparation
Little Millet is cooked like rice. Sometimes the millet is also milled and baked. The protein content of the grain is 7.7%.
References
- W. Franke, (1985): Nutzpflanzenkunde. Stuttgart.
- H. Genaust: Etymologisches Wörterbuch der botanischen Pflanzennamen. 3. Aufl., 701 S. Basel-Boston-Stuttgart, 1996.
- V. H. Heywood: Blütenpflanzen der Welt. Basel-Boston-Stuttgart, 1978
This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia.