Indian barnyard millet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Indian barnyard millet
Scientific classification
Genus:	Echinochloa
Species:	frumentacea
Synonyms
Echinochloa colona var. frumentacea (Link) Ridl. Echinochloa crus-galli var. edulis Hitchc. nom. illeg. Echinochloa crus-galli var. edulis Honda Echinochloa crus-galli var. frumentacea (Link) W.F.Wright Echinochloa crusgalli var. frumentacea W. Wight Echinochloa glabrescens var. barbata Kossenko Oplismenus frumentaceus (Link) Kunth Panicum crus-galli var. edule (Hitchc.) Thell. ex de Lesd. Panicum crus-galli var. edulis (Hitchc.) Makino & Nemoto Panicum crus-galli var. frumentacea (Link) Trimen Panicum crus-galli var. frumentaceum (Roxb.) Trimen Panicum frumentaceum Roxb. nom. illeg.

Echinochloa frumentacea (Indian barnyard millet, sawa millet, or billion dollar grass) is a species of Echinochloa. Both Echinochloa frumentacea and E. esculenta are called Japanese millet. This millet is widely grown as a cereal in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Its wild ancestor is the tropical grass Echinochloa colona, but the exact date or region of domestication is uncertain. It is cultivated on marginal lands where rice and other crops will not grow well. The grains are cooked in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar. Sometimes it is fermented to make beer. While also being part of staple diet for some communities in India, these seeds are, in particular, (cooked and) eaten during religious fasting (willingly abstaining from some types of food / food ingredients). For this reason, these seeds are commonly also referred to as "vrat ke chawal" in Hindi (i.e., "rice for fasting", literally). Other common names to identify these seeds include oodalu (ಊದಲು) in Kannada, Shyamak (শ্যামাক) or Shyama Chal (শ্যামা চাল) in Bangla, jhangora in the Garhwal Hills, bhagar (भगर) in Marathi-speaking areas, samo or morio (mario, moraiaya) seeds in Gujarati, or kuthiraivaali (குதிரைவாளி) in Tamil.

Pests

Insect pests include:

Root feeders

• white grubs Holotrichia sp., Anomala dimidiata, and Apogonia sp. (in India)

Seedling feeders

• shoot fly Atherigona falcata
• Atherigona pulla, Atherigona simplex, Atherigona soccata, Atherigona oryzae, and Atherigona nudiseta
• armyworm Mythimna separata
• thrips Haplothrips ganglbaueri
• stem borers Sesamia inferens, Chilo partellus, and Chilo diffusilineus

Sucking pests

• leafhoppers Nephotettix cincticeps, Sogatella furcifera, and Sogatella kolophon
• plant hoppers Nilaparvata lugens and Peregrinus maidis
• leaf bug Cletus punctiger
• aphids Hysteroneura setariae and Macrosiphum eleusines

Leaf feeders

• grasshoppers Acrida exaltata, Atractomorpha crenulata, Hieroglyphus banian, Hieroglyphus daganensis, Hieroglyphus nigrorepletus, Oxya nitidula and Oxya bidentata
• leaf caterpillar Euproctis similis

Developing grain pests

• bugs Agonoscelis pubescens, Dolycoris indicus, and Nezara viridula