Millets in Sustainable Agriculture : Genetic Improvement, Nutritional Quality, Cultivation, and Integrated Pest-Disease Management

Covers the genetic improvement, nutritional quality enhancement, agronomic cultivation as well as insect pest management of sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, and small millets. Discusses the taxonomy and domestication of millets, the genomics, and conventional and modern breeding techniques and genetic engineering.

Raising awareness of the nutritional benefits of millets, the United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYM). Millets are nutrient-rich and drought- and weather-resistant and are agronomically and economically important crops. Used as an important staple food for many people, millets are also forage crop for cattle and poultry and used in grain mixes for birds. This new volume, Millets in Sustainable Agriculture: Genetic Improvement, Nutritional Quality, Cultivation, and Integrated Pest-Disease Management, is a comprehensive resource on the genetic improvement, nutritional quality enhancement, agronomic cultivation as well as insect pest management of sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, and small millets. The book presents the current aspects of taxonomy and domestication of millets and provides information on the genomics and conventional and modern breeding techniques and genetic engineering. The nutritional and nutraceutical importance and the fortification needs of each millet species are also thoroughly reviewed, emphasizing grain quality in terms of protein, starch, essential minerals, and vitamins. The volume also provides a detailed discussion on production, production challenges, and modern agronomic techniques of each millet for improved cultivation practices, covering seed priming, sowing and plant density effects, biofertilizer application, irrigation, harvesting and postharvest management, and more. Finally, the current effective integrated pest and disease management practices for millets are reviewed as well, sharing their best plausible and suitable management recommendations. Providing a holistic resource on millet genetic improvement, nutritional quality enhancement, cultivation, and disease-pest management, this volume will be valuable for agriculturalists and farmers, research scientists, and graduate and postgraduate students.