Finger millet
FINGER MILLET (RAGI)
Eleusine corocana (2n: 36)
Family: Poaceae
Introduction
Ragi is important staple food in parts of East and
Habitat: Grown mainly in the tropics; requires a well distributed rainfall during the growing season with an absence of prolonged drought; being a short day plant, the time to maturity is influenced by temperature as well as photoperiod.
Habit: Robust, free tillering tufted annual grass; 40-100 cm tall.
Roots: Seminal roots replaced by branched, shallow, fibrous adventitious root system from base of main stem and tillers.
Stem: Lower nodes of stem usually semi-procumbent, upper part erect, stout, compressed and smooth.
Leaves: Distichous, sheath flattened, overlapping, split along entire length, glabrous, ligule thin fringed; lamina linear; often folded with strong midrib, glabrous, tip acute.
Inflorescence: Terminal, digitate, usually 4-6 dense sessile spikes (digits); straight or incurved; compact or spreading; additional 1-2 short spikes carried 2-4 cm below terminal whorl.
Spikelets: About 60-80 spikelet per spike, densely crowned, arranged alternately on rachis in two overlapping rows along outer sides of spike; each spikelet with 6-12 florets arranged in two parallel rows on a zigzag rachilla with two basal glumes.
Florets: Hermaphrodite, but terminal floret may be sterile or staminate; lemma boat shaped with one strong median nerve forming keel; palea about three quarters of the length of lemma; lodicules two; stamens three; ovary with plumose stigma.
Fruit: Utricle, globose, smooth; colour varying from red, reddish brown, dark brown to nearly black; pericarp remain distinct during development and at maturity appears as a papery structure surrounding the seed.
Pollination: Pollen is shed during the emergence of the stigmas and anthers, hence normally self-pollinated. However one per cent cross pollination by wind takes place.
Origin and Wild relatives
Centre of origin:
The two closely related species of Eleusine are E. indica and E. africana,. Eleusine indica is a diploid having 2n: 18, while E. africana is an allopolyploid 2n: 36, derived from a cross in which E. indica is one of its parents E. coracana was selected from large grain mutants of E. africana in North Eastern tropical Africa. According to Mehra, 1963, it is believed that the cultivated E. coracana was derived from E. africana because of its ploidy level (2n: 36) and close resemblance to the African high landforms.
Classification of cultivated ragi
The cultivars of E. coracana differ from the wild species E. indica and E. africana in having larger seeds and the spikelets do not shatter at maturity. Mehra (1963) recognizes two groups of E. coracana as noted below.
1. African high land types:
Bearing resemblance to E. africana, with long spikelets, long glumes, and long lemmas with grain enclosed within the florets.
2. Afro-Asiatic types
With close resemblance to E. indica, short spikelets, short glume, short lemmas, and the mature grains exposed out of the florets.
Uses of Ragi
- Finger millet is an important
staple food in parts of East and
Central Africa andIndia - It is used for malting and brewing
- The grain is ground into a flour and malt into a stiff mush or porridge by adding to boiling water and stirring during heating until it attains the right consistency.
- Malted grain dried, roasted and ground
- Finger millet can be stored for long periods of up to ten years or more without deterioration or weevil damage.
- The straw can be used as fodder and the fields are often grazed after the ears have been harvested.
Chemical composition
Water 13 %
Carbohydrate 72%
Protein 8%
Fat 1.3%
Fibre 3%
Ash 2.7%
The prolamine of Ragi Eleusininhas high biological value with a good content of cystine, tyrosine, tryptophane and methionine, which are important in the prevention of Kwashiorkor, but low in lysine. The grain is a rich source of calcium phosphorus and iron.