Evaluation of millets for physio-chemical and root morphological traits suitable for resilient farming and nutritional security in Eastern Himalayas

Jayanta Layek; Krishnappa Rangappa; Anup Das; Meraj A Ansari; Sunita Choudhary; Namrata Rajbonshi; Sandip Patra; Amit Kumar; Vinay K Mishra; Natesan Ravisankar; Sunil Kumar; Samarendra Hazarika; Sudip K Dutta; Subhash Babu; M Tahasildar; Nivedita Shettigar

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1198023

Evaluation of millets for physio-chemical and root morphological traits suitable for resilient farming and nutritional security in Eastern Himalayas

Front Nutr. 2023 Jul 4:10:1198023. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1198023. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jayanta Layek^#¹, Krishnappa Rangappa^#¹, Anup Das^{1

2}, Meraj A Ansari^{1

3}, Sunita Choudhary⁴, Namrata Rajbonshi¹, Sandip Patra¹, Amit Kumar¹, Vinay K Mishra¹, Natesan Ravisankar³, Sunil Kumar⁵, Samarendra Hazarika¹, Sudip K Dutta¹, Subhash Babu⁶, M Tahasildar¹, Nivedita Shettigar¹

Affiliations

¹ ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, India.
² ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna, India.
³ Project Coordination Unit, ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram, Meerut, India.
⁴ International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Hyderabad, India.
⁵ ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram, Meerut, India.
⁶ ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Millets are nutritionally superior and climate-resilient short-duration crops and hold a prominent place in cropping sequences around the world. They have immense potential to grow in a marginal environment due to diverse adaptive mechanisms.

Methods: An experiment was conducted in an organic production system in the North Eastern Himalayan foothills of India for 3 consecutive years by evaluating high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of different millets, viz., finger millet, foxtail millet, little millet, barnyard millet, proso millet, and browntop millet, along with local landraces of finger millets (Sikkim-1 and Sikkim-2; Nagaland-1 and Nagaland-2) to identify stable, high-yielding, and nutritionally superior genotypes suited for the region.

Results: Among the various millets, finger millet, followed by little millet and foxtail millet, proved their superiority in terms of productivity (ranging between 1.16 and 1.43 Mg ha^-1) compared to other millets. Among different varieties of finger millets, cv. VL Mandua 352 recorded the highest average grain yield (1.43 Mg ha^-1) followed by local landraces, Nagaland-2 (1.31 Mg ha^-1) and Sikkim-1 (1.25 Mg ha^-1). Root traits such as total root length, root volume, average diameter of roots, and root surface area were significantly higher in finger millet landraces Nagaland-1, Nagaland-2, and Sikkim-1 compared to the rest of the millet genotypes. The different millets were found to be rich sources of protein as recorded in foxtail millet cv. SiA 3088 (12.3%), proso millet cv. TNAU 145 (11.5%), and finger millet landraces, Sikkim-1 and Nagaland-2 (8.7% each). Finger millet landrace Sikkim-2 recorded the highest omega-6 content (1.16%), followed by barnyard millet cv. VL 207 (1.09%). Barnyard millet cv. VL 207 recorded the highest polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content (1.23%), followed by foxtail millet cv. SiA 3088 (1.09%). The local finger millet landraces Sikkim-1 and Sikkim-2 recorded the highest levels of histidine (0.41%) and tryptophan (0.12%), respectively. Sikkim-1 and Nagaland-2 recorded the highest level of thiamine (0.32%) compared to the HYVs.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that finger millet has great potential in the organic production system of the North Eastern Himalayan Region (NEHR) of India, and apart from HYVs like VL Mandua 352, local landraces, viz., Nagaland-2 and Sikkim-1, should also be promoted for ensuring food and nutritional security in this fragile ecosystem.

Keywords: destabilized soil ecosystem; millets; nutritional security; physio-chemical traits; root architecture.