''Echinochloa frumentacea'' (Indian barnyard millet, sawa millet, or billion dollar grass)''Echinochloa frumentacea''.
USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet. is a species of ''

Echinochloa ''Echinochloa'' is a very widespread genus of plants in the grass family and tribe Paniceae. Some of the species are known by the common names barnyard grass or cockspur grass. Some of the species within this genus are millets that are grown a ...

''. Both ''Echinochloa frumentacea'' and '' E. esculenta'' are called Japanese millet. This

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 ...

is widely grown as a cereal in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. Its wild ancestor is the tropical grass ''

Echinochloa colona ''Echinochloa colona'', commonly known as jungle rice, deccan grass, or awnless barnyard grass, is a type of wild grass originating from tropical Asia. It was formerly classified as a species of ''Panicum''. It is the wild ancestor of the culti ...

'', but the exact date or region of domestication is uncertain. It is cultivated on marginal lands where

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

and other crops will not grow well. The grains are cooked in water, like rice, or boiled with milk and sugar. Sometimes it is fermented to make

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

. While also being part of staple diet for some communities in

, these seeds are, in particular, (cooked and) eaten during

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

(willingly abstaining from some types of food / food ingredients). For this reason, these seeds are commonly also referred to as "" in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

(i.e., "rice for fasting", literally). Other common names to identify these seeds include () in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, () or () in Bangla, in the Garhwal Hills, () in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

-speaking areas, or (, ) seeds in

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

, or () in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Pests

Insect pests include: ;Root feeders *white grubs '' Holotrichia'' sp., '' Anomala dimidiata'', and '' Apogonia'' sp. (in India) ;Seedling feeders *shoot fly '' Atherigona falcata'' *'' Atherigona pulla'', '' Atherigona simplex'', ''

Atherigona soccata ''Atherigona soccata'', the sorghum shoot fly, is a species of fly in the family Muscidae whose larvae feed on the central growing shoots of millet crops like sorghum and finger millet, as well as maize, where they can cause serious loss of yield ...

'', '' Atherigona oryzae'', and '' Atherigona nudiseta'' *armyworm ''

Mythimna separata ''Mythimna separata'', the northern armyworm, oriental armyworm or rice ear-cutting caterpillar, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in China, Japan, South-east Asia, India, eastern Australia, New Zealand, and some Pacific islands. It ...

'' *thrips '' Haplothrips ganglbaueri'' *stem borers ''

Sesamia inferens ''Sesamia inferens'', the Asiatic pink stem borer, gramineous stem borer, pink borer, pink rice borer, pink rice stem borer, pink stem borer, purple borer, purple stem borer or purplish stem borer, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species ...

'', ''

Chilo partellus ''Chilo partellus'', the spotted stalk borer or spotted stem borer, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Charles Swinhoe in 1885. It is found in India, Pakistan, Iran, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan, ...

'', and '' Chilo diffusilineus'' ;Sucking pests *leafhoppers ''

Nephotettix cincticeps ''Nephotettix cincticeps'', the rice green leafhopper, is a species of true bug in the family Cicadellidae. It is a pest of barnyard millet ''Echinochloa'' is a very widespread genus of plants in the grass family and tribe Paniceae. Some o ...

'', '' Sogatella furcifera'', and '' Sogatella kolophon'' *plant hoppers ''

Nilaparvata lugens The brown planthopper (BPH), ''Nilaparvata lugens'' (Stål) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) is a planthopper species that feeds on rice plants (''Oryza sativa'' L.). These insects are among the most important pests of rice, which is the major staple cro ...

'' and '' Peregrinus maidis'' *leaf bug '' Cletus punctiger'' *aphids '' Hysteroneura setariae'' and '' Macrosiphum eleusines'' ;Leaf feeders *grasshoppers ''

Acrida exaltata ''Acrida exaltata'' is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is a pest of sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for ...

'', ''

Atractomorpha crenulata ''Atractomorpha crenulata'', commonly known as the tobacco grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the subfamily ''Pyrgomorphinae'', found in Asia. Taxonomy ''A. crenulata'' is a member of the genus '' Atractomorpha'', which is part of famil ...

'', ''

Hieroglyphus banian ''Hieroglyphus banian'' is a species of grasshopper in the family Acrididae. It is a pest of millets such as sorghum, pearl millet, and finger millet in India. References

Acrididae Insect pests of millets {{Acrididae-stub ...

'', '' Hieroglyphus daganensis'', '' Hieroglyphus nigrorepletus'', '' Oxya nitidula'' and '' Oxya bidentata'' *leaf caterpillar '' Euproctis similis'' ;Developing grain pests *bugs '' Agonoscelis pubescens'', ''

Dolycoris indicus ''Dolycoris indicus'' is a species of true bug in the family Pentatomidae. It is a pest of 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 ...

'', and ''

Nezara viridula ''Nezara viridula'', commonly known as the southern green stink bug (USA), southern green shield bug (UK) or green vegetable bug (Australia and New Zealand), is a plant-feeding stink bug. Believed to have originated in Ethiopia, it can now be fo ...

References

Millets frumentacea Cereals Flora of Malta {{Panicoideae-stub