''Brachiaria deflexa'' (Guinea millet) is a
annual
Annual may refer to:
* Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
** Literary annual
* Annual plant
* Annual report
* Annual giving
* Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
* Annuals (b ...
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
grass belonging to the grass family (
Poaceae
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...
). It is native to many regions such as Africa, India, and Pakistan in both tropical and subtropical regions.
It has been used as a supplemental food source among other cereal crops.
Description
''Brachiaria deflexa'' is an annual grass that grows up to 70 cm tall. It has weak and slender stems that are finely pubescent. The stem extends into roots at the lower nodes. Leaves alternate across the stem and are a
linear-lanceolate shape with a pale leaf sheath.
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
imitates a panicle with 7-15 racemes on a 6 cm-15 cm long axis. These racemes are 2 cm-20 cm long, broadly elliptical (2mm-3.5mm), and have spikelets up to 15mm long.
It matures in 90–130 days and flowers throughout the year.
''Brachiaria'' is a
C4 species, which is advantageous in its dry and often highly sunlit conditions.
Geographic distribution and growth
Guinea millet is believed to have originated in the African savanna in the Fouta Djallon plateau of northwestern
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
. It can be found in Northern Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia and in Southern African in both
Maputaland
Maputaland is a natural region of Southern Africa. It is located in the northern part of the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between Eswatini and the coast. In a wider sense it may also include the southernmost region of Mozambique. The bi ...
and
Limpopo
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...
.
Guinea millet appears in Southern Asia along the northern regions of India in
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
and
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. Later, it also appeared in southern India in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, indicating new distribution patterns.
All of these regions generally have arid climates in addition to tropical areas.
Guinea millet can grow in a variety of conditions but generally prefers shady conditions with well-drained soil for best growth. This grass is considered to be drought-resistant.
It prefers to be along the edge of floodplains and pans where it is temporarily wet and is frequently found as a short grass among tall trees.
Phylogeny
Guinea millet belongs to the family Poaceae which contains species of small-millets that are renowned for their nutritional value and resilience to climate. Guinea millet demonstrates physiological traits common in the Poaceae family in its ability to survive in harsh climates, such as heat and drought, as well as being relatively unaffected by pathogens and insects.
Within the ''Brachiaria'' genus, Guinea millet is easily distinguished from other species due to its inflorescence's distinct panicle shape. However, Guinea millet can be confused with
fonio
Fonio is the term for two cultivated grasses in the genus ''Digitaria'' that are notable crops in parts of West Africa. They are millets with small grains.
Fonio is a nutritious food with a favorable taste. It is consumed mainly in West African ...
(''
Digitaria exilis
''Digitaria exilis'', referred to as findi or fundi in areas of Africa, such as The Gambia, with English common names white fonio, fonio millet, and hungry rice or acha rice, is a grass species. It is the most important of a diverse group of wild ...
''), which is also of the Poaceae family. Guinea millet has larger grains and faster growing rate than fonio, but it also requires good drainage and soil fertility to grow.
Guinea millet can also be differentiated from other species of grasses with morphological analysis of its starch granules. It produces exclusively round granules and have a differing texture when compared with other Poaceae species.
A point of contention in plant phylogeny revolves is the difference between ''Brachiaria'' genus and ''
Urochloa
''Urochloa'' is a genus of plants in the grass family, native to Eurasia, Africa, Australia, Mexico, and the Pacific Islands. '' genus. A recent study has concluded that both genera fall within the same monophyletic group using inflorescence morphology and nuclear ribosomal DNA analysis, but other studies differentiate the two based on other differences. Further morphological and phylogenetic study is needed.
Uses
Guinea millet is a grain that has been used for centuries as a grain in times of famine. In Ancient Africa, people of the
Songhai Empire
The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state that dominated the western Sahel/Sudan in the 15th and 16th century. At its peak, it was one of the largest states in African history. The state is known by its historiographical ...
(modern day
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
) and the
Bambara Empire
The Bamana Empire (also Bambara Empire or Ségou Empire, bm, italics=no, ߓߊ߲ߓߊߙߊ߲߫ ߝߊ߯ߡߟߊ, Banbaran Fāmala) was a large West African state based at Ségou, now in Mali. This state was established after the fall of the Mali Emp ...
(modern day Mali) would consume this grass and called it “paguiri” and “yaqué yaqué” respectively. In modern
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
, it is harvested by local populations and nomadic tribes as a supplemental food source.
Small millets of the Poaceae family are resilient and nutritious. Guinea millet and other small grains are as much as five-sevenfold better in terms of proteins, vitamins, fiber, and other macro- and micro- compounds. In addition, it has strong agronomic qualities such as not requiring much irrigation or pesticide use which make it easy to cultivate and manage. Thus, small millets are optimal to address food insecurity and its use as a substitute for larger grains (e.g. Rice and Wheat) are being studied.
Conservation
Guinea millet can degrade crop lands and thus efforts have been made to develop methods to prevent abundant grass growth.
Cowpea
The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...
studies have shown that a combination of hand-weeding and herbicide use is effective in controlling Guinea millet populations. Study indicated that Brachiaria ''deflexa'' occupied over 14% of the grassy weeds among crop populations, as compared with 13%
Euphorbia ''heterophylla'' and 0.8%
Vernonia ''galamensis'', demonstrating the pervasiveness of this grass.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15509040
Grasses of Africa
Millets
Cereals
Panicoideae