Finger Millet Eleusine coracana

Group 05

• Finger millet is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal

• Originally native to the Ethiopian highlands• Cultivate in more than 25 countries in;– Africa (eastern and southern)– Asia (from Near East to Far East)

• As a staple food grain • The major producers are Uganda, India, Nepal,

and China

Introduction

Nutrient Composition of Finger Millet

Moisture - 13.24 % Protein - 7.6 % Carbohydrate - 74.36 % Fiber - 1.52 % Minerals - 2.35 % Fat - 1.35 % Energy - 341.6 cal/100 g

Kingdom : Plantae

Order : Poales

Family : Poaceae

Subfamily : Chloridoideae

Genus : Eleusine

Species : E. coracana

Botanical name: Eleusine coracana

Scientific classification

In Sri Lanka……

• Average yield : 1324 kg/ha• Extent : 5665 ha (2001-DOA)• Production : 4212 mt (2001-DOA)

• Grown in rain fed uplands in the Dry zone and Intermediate zone of Sri Lanka

• Can be grown during in low land paddy fields during yala season

• Major growing areas:– Anuradhapura– Monoragala– Hambanthota– Kegalle– Rathnapura – Nuwaraeliya– Ampara– Badulla– Jaffna

Ecological Requirements

• Climatic conditions– Finger millet grows best with medium

rainfall– Annual temperature range of 11 to 27°C– Low relative humidity

• Soil– well-drained soils silt loams – grows well on • Reddish brown earth• Calcic red yellow latasols• Sandy regosols

– Soil pH of 5.0 - 8.2

Recommended Varieties

Variety Days to maturity

• Ravi 90 - 100• Ravana 90 - 100

Land preparation

•Traditionally grown on Chenas during Maha season•Usually planted without land preparation

•Soil is worked to a fine tilth with a disc harrow or mammoty for higher yield

•Upland seeds should be planted in moist soil and protected them biological hazards

Seed Establishment

•Can done in 3 ways- Broad casting- Row seeding- Transplanting

• In Sri Lanka normally done broad casting

•In row seeding seeds are sawn with 30 cm spacing

•In transplanting, 20-25 days old seedlings can be

transplanted

Fertilizer application

•Basal Urea 50 kg/ha•TSP 50 kg/ha•MOP 50 kg/ha•Top dressing- apply 50 kg /ha of Urea at 3-4 weeks after planting

•To apply fertilizers their should be moisture in the soil

Irrigation

•Irrigate the field once in every 4-5 days until seedlings are establish

•During dry period supplementary irrigation is provided at weekly interval's

•Raise beds or the basin systems can be adapted for irrigation

•Finger Millet seedlings are slow growing and require a weed free environment for 45 days to develop vigorous plants

• Seedlings in rows facilitates weed control

Weed control

•Hand weed twice on 10th and 20th day after transplanting

•Finger millet matures in about 3-5 months time

•80 % of the ears become brown in colour can be

harvested

•Most labor intensive operation of the production

•The ripe heads are individually picked with knife

Harvesting

• Dried in the sun on a clean hard ground

• Good care is needed to prevent any physical

mixing during harvesting and drying

•When heads are dried enough, then they can be

threshed and winnowed

• Average yield - 1324 kg/ha

Cont’d…

• Finger millet is piled in heaps for a few days and stored as heads

• If kept dry, it can store for as long as five years

• During storage, insect pests do not attack it

• At onset of rain, the grain springs to life and can be ready to harvest in just 45 days

Storage

•No severe insect pests have been reported on finger millet in Sri Lanka •But plants are damaged by stem borer during Yala season

Symptoms :typical dead heart in older plantslarvae are found in the stem

Pests

Control- Chemical - (Diazinone ,

Furadan)

Cont’d…

•Bacterial Blast (Pyricularia spp) : Plants are affected by blast mainly during maha season

Symptoms –

Diamond shaped, greyish white lesions bordered

by a brown margin develop on leaves

Diseases

•Empty fingers and broken pedicels

•Seedlings may be killed under epidemic condition

Control

- Avoid dense plant population

- Avoid heavy N fertilizer

- Chemical control (Benomyl, Edifenphos )

Cont’d

• Commonly cooked and made into a porridge to accompany other foods

• Used in common food stuffs, such as idly and laddu

• Grain may used in the brewing of alcoholic beverages

•Millet straw can be used as an animal feed

Uses

• Great source to extract energy• Helps in bone development• For losing weight• Aid for diabetics• Treatment of anaemia• Reduces blood cholesterol• Relaxes body

Medicinal values

•Current annual production of finger millet is

about 6,400 mt

•Present productivity is about 1.1 mt/ha

•Annual extent of cultivation of finger millet

remains at 5,900 ha.

•About 3,200 mt of finger millet is imported to the

country annually

Present status

• Import of finger millet seeds is to fulfill the pure seeds requirements of the industries

-due to shortage of local products

• Finger millet seeds are exported in small amount which is negligible

• Price (Rs./kg) - Rs.24.00 – 30.00

Cont’d

•FCRDI has released high yielding variety of finger millets

-yield above 3.00 mt/ha under good management conditions

•With little more efforts to practice proper management conditions, we will be able to achieve self-sufficiency with the existing cultivated extent of finger millet

Cont’d

Group Members

•A.M.N.S.K.Abeysinghe UWU/EAG/11/0005

•A.P.Kariyawasam UWU/EAG/11/0006

•U.L.D.M.S.Gunasinghe UWU/EAG/11/0007

•R.M.M.K.Wijerathna UWU/EAG/11/0012

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