Minor millets in South Asia: learnings from IFAD-NUS project in India ...

26 minor millets in south asia
locations. For example, in Kolli
Hills, in finger millet-led crop
mixture, farmers chose other cereals
like little and Italian millets, or
maize, and non-cereal crops like
pigeonpea and rapeseed mustard
(Fig. 4). The intercrops preferred in
Jeypore along with finger millet are
little millet, sorghum, pigeonpea,
black gram, and niger.
Under traditional practice, seeds
of some of these crops are mixed in
variable proportions and broadcasted. It also uses a heavy seed rate as a safeguard
against poor seed quality and uncertain soil moisture. Such seed rate under favourable
soil moisture results in a very dense crop, which is normally not thinned out and
leads to crowded plant population and poor yield. Traditional practice of cultivation
also does not apply manure or fertilizers or any other intensive management
practices. Under such situation, the crop offers poor to modest yield depending on
weather. Seeds saved from such mixed crops also turn to be of inferior quality with
considerable physical mixing, which adversely affects the yield potential.
Hence, major interventions on improved agronomic practices to enhance
productivity of nutritious millets and income from their cultivation are (i) use of farmer
preferred millet varieties, (ii) use of quality seed produced in participation with farmers,
(iii) planting in rows instead of broadcast sowing (Fig. 5), (iv) use of scientifically
recommended seed rate, (v) effective use of row ratios for millet-based intercrops,
(vi) encouraging application of farm yard manure and/or fertilizers, on farmers’
choice, (vii) thinning to regulate plant population, and (viii) inter-cultivation and
need-based top dressing with
fertilizers, Another intervention
made in Kolli Hills in view
of increasing replacement of
nutritious millets with tapioca
was promotion of both crops in
the same land by inter cropping
short duration millets with
tapioca together with modified
agronomy to get high yield
from both crops.
During 2004, a total of
78 farmer participatory field
demonstrations on improved
agronomic practices were
Fig. 4. Intercrop of finger millet with pigeonpea
and mustard
Fig. 5. Farmers initiated row planting for millet cultivation