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Echinochloa crusgalli (etc.)MilletMillets is the name applied to annual warm-season grasses with small edible seeds which botanically are widely different. The more important are listed below, and all are described under GRASSES. 1. Echinochloa crusgalli var. crusgalli (L.) Beauv. (E. frumentacea) Japanese millet, barnyard millet, chiwaga 2. Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. Finger millet, African millet; Indian millet, rupuko, ragi 3. Panicum miliaceum L. Proso, broomcorn millet, hog millet, Indian buffalo grass 4. Paspalum scrobiculatum L. (P. scrobiculatum var. frumentaceum Stapf) Scrobic, koda, ditch millet 5. Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke [P. glaucum (L.) R. Br. sens. Amer. auct.] Bulrush millet, cattail millet, pearl millet, Indian millet, horse millet, bajra 6. Setaria italica (L.) Beauv. Foxtail millet, Boer millet, Nunbank setaria It should be noted that sorghum is sometimes erroneously referred to as millet. The heads of bulrush millet and foxtail millet are rather ense cylindrical spikes, those of finger millet and scrobic are racemes, and the other millets bear panicles. The seeds; except for those of bulrush millet, remain enclosed in the hulls after threshing. USE. Although the chemical composition varies, all millets are used similarly. As the seeds are hard, they should be ground or crushed before being fed to cattle and hogs; however, whole seeds or unthreshed bundles can be fed to poultry, although whole seeds are about 5% less digestible for poultry than ground seeds are. Millets are relished by all kinds of livestock. If maize is available, a mixture of millet and maize generally performs better in pigs and poultry diets than either alone. Millet not merely improves weight gains and feed conversion, but also tends to produce a whiter, firmer fat in pigs than is obtained with maize alone. Bulrush millet, which retains the hulls after threshing, should be finely ground as the bard hulls will otherwise splinter into sharp fibres, which can cause internal irritation. When millet is the only grain used for feeding, the performance is generally somewhat lower than with maize, for instance. Scrobic seeds are reported to cause poisoning; it seems that the hush and testa of the small-seeded varieties as well as unripe seeds can be toxic. Finger millet is inferior in feeding value and therefore should not constitute more than 50% of the grain content of the ration. An excellent simple ration for the self-feeding of pigs is the following: 40% maize, 40% bulrush millet and 20% wheat pollards. Caution should be taken in feeding bulrush millet to breeding sows in the wet season, for the ergot content of bulrush millet may be dangerously high and cause lack of milk in sows.
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