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Foxtail millet (botanic name Setaria italica) is the second-most widely planted species of millet, and the most important in East Asia. It has the longest history of cultivation among the millets, having been grown in China since sometime in thesixth millennium BC. Other names for foxtail millet include Italian millet, German millet, Chinese millet, and Hungarian millet.

Contents [hide] 1 Description 2 Common names for Foxtail millet 3 Cultivation 4 History and domestication 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit]Description

Foxtail millet is an annual grass with slim, vertical, leafy stems which can reach a height of 120–200 cm (3.9–6.6 ft).

The seedhead is a dense, hairy panicle 5–30 cm (2.0–12 in) long.

The small seeds, around 2 mm (less than 1/8 in.) in diameter, are encased in a thin, papery hull which is easily removed in threshing. Seed color varies greatly between varieties.

[edit]Common names for Foxtail millet

• In India: Tinai, chamai, kavalai, kambankorai are some of the names for millet in Tamil. Nuvanam is millet flour. The gruel made from millet, the staple of Ancient Tamils, is called kali, moddak kali, kuul, and sangati. Korralu (Telugu), Navane (Kannada)


• In Mandarin: xiǎomǐ (小米), meaning 'little rice'.


• In Japanese, foxtail millet is called awa (粟).


• In Korean, a foxtail millet plant is called jo (조), and the grain obtained from this plant is called jopsal (좁쌀). It is commonly used in Korean as a metaphor for pettiness or innumerable small things (such as bumps of a skin rash).

[edit]Cultivation