This book documents the global pearl millet research for achieving the sustainable development goals in the eve of International Year of Millets in 2023 by FAO. This book offers perspectives on the recent advances in the field of genomics, next-generation breeding approaches, hybrid development, crop production and protection technologies of pearl millets. Pearl millet is the world’s most important millet grown in the hot, semi-arid ecologies of Asia and Africa with versatile end uses. Of all the world’s cereals, pearl millet ranks the sixth most important crop after rice, wheat, maize, barley and sorghum. In the changing climatic condition, it can be pitched as strategic crop for food and nutritional security owing to its ability to survive in harsh ecologies and the higher micro-nutrients grain content. This books focuses on nutritional importance, climate resilience, seed systems, value-addition and market policies to enhance the genetic gain of pearl millets under marginal and favorable ecologies, and way forward for a food and nutrition secure world. It is a useful reading material for researchers and professionals working on small grains, millets and their cultivation and nutrition related aspects.

This edited volume is the first book that explicitly explains the link between the extraordinarily small-scale microbial processes and the growth and yield attributes of millet crops. This book includes chapters emphasizing on the effects of rhizosphere biology on long-term millet crop management. Millets are a collection of small-grained cereal grasses that are grown for human carbohydrate needs. They are among the oldest crops, mainly divided into two groups: major and small millets based on seed size. Major millets are composed of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum); while small millets are composed of six species that includes finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.)), little millet (Panicum sumatrense), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum (L.)), foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.)), barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea (L.)), and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum (L.). These crops are earlier considered as orphan crops, but recently due to their nutritional values it is gaining the importance. Various reports are published based on role of rhizosphere on growth and health of these crops. The rhizosphere being a dynamic interface among the plant roots and soil microbes provides a number of advantages to the millets too. The soil properties in rhizospheric region are also different as compared to the bulk soil. This book discovers the functional attributes of rhizosphere in promoting the healthy growth of millet crop and achieving higher yield during the changing climatic condition. This book is of interest to university teachers, scientists working in the millets, and policymakers in agricultural departments. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, biotechnology, microbiology, genetics, and soil science.

Deeply rooted in indigenous peoples’ culture and traditions, millets (also called ‘nutricereals’ are ancestral crops high in nutritional value. As the global agrifood systems face challenges to feed an ever-growing global population, resilient cereals like millets provide an affordable and nutritious option and help guarantee food security. This book presents the basic principles and practices of millets and other potential crops towards climate resilience and nutritional security. It discuses the role of millets in sustainable agriculture, the medicinal use of foxtail millet, exotic fruits in India, and climate-resilient fruit and vegetable crops. The goal of this work is to promote the sustainable cultivation of millets, also under adverse and changing climatic conditions and improving their quality, highlighting their potential to provide new sustainable market opportunities for producers and consumers. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan or Bhutan)