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Crop

Millet

Cereals and Pseudocereals

Millet is not one plant but a group of small-seeded grasses grown as cereal grains across Asia and Africa, prized for tolerating drought and poor soil where wheat and maize struggle. Pearl millet was domesticated in the Sahel region of West Africa around 6000 BC, while proso millet was independently domesticated in China, where husk phytoliths from the Cishan site date to roughly 10,300 to 8,700 years ago. It remains a staple grain and fodder crop across the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa today. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Scientific Name
Multiple genera, principally Cenchrus americanus (pearl millet), Panicum miliaceum (proso millet), Setaria italica (foxtail millet) and Eleusine coracana (finger millet) 1
Crop Class
Cereal 2
Domestication Region
West Africa (Sahel, pearl millet) and northern China (proso millet), independently 1
Domesticated When (Circa)
Circa 6000 BC (pearl millet, Sahel); circa 8,700 to 10,300 years ago (proso millet, China) 1
Classification
Primary Use
Feed 1
Era
Era (category)
Neolithic 1
Connections

Associated With

Deccan Famine of 1630-1632, Milestones

Three consecutive failed monsoons destroyed staple grain harvests, including millet, across the Deccan Plateau, Gujarat and Khandesh.

Desert Locust, Pests and Diseases

Desert locust swarms are a historic and recurring threat to millet and other cereal crops across the Sahel.

Domestication of Millet, Milestones

This milestone records the domestication event of the millet crop it is directly named for.

Sahel Famine of 1968-1985, Milestones

Millet, a staple crop across the Sahel, was hit hard by the prolonged drought behind the 1968-1985 famine.

In the Other Atlases

Era Of Origin

The Neolithic Period

Also in History Atlas: the era this subject comes from.

Found In

Africa

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Millet (Wikipedia)
China

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Millet (Wikipedia)
West Africa

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Millet (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Millet (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • lead section
  • lead description or Wikipedia lead (primary-uses)
    It remains a staple grain and fodder crop across the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa today.
View the Source
2. Millet (Wikipedia)
  • lead: widely grown as a staple cereal crop
  • lead: millet and millet-based products used as food for humans
  • lead: millet and millet-based products used as fodder for livestock
View the Source
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