Did you know that Kodo Millete with botanical name pasapalum scobiculatum is an annual grass cultivated in the plains of India mostly in Deccan for its grains whose newly gathered grains with husks are poisonous and are used only after removing the husk?

Kodo Millete (pasapalum scobiculatum) 

Did you know that Kodo Millete with botanical name pasapalum scobiculatum is an annual grass cultivated in the plains of India mostly in Deccan for its grains whose newly gathered grains with husks are poisonous and are used only after removing the husk?

Kodo Millete with the botanical name pasapalum scobiculatum in the family of Poaceae, is a monocot tufted annual or perennial grass that grows up to 150 cm tall. It is also known as cow grass, rice grass, ditch millet, Native Paspalum, or Indian Crown Grass. Mostly cultivated in the plains of India since ancient times, for its grains; newly gathered grains with husks are poisonous; husks are removed prior to use or powdering. The millet is certainly superior to rice, gluten free and rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. It has large potential to provide nourishing food to subsistence farmers. 

In Indian vernaular languages, Kodo Millete plant is known as: Arka, Harak or Harike in Kannada; Kodo, Kododhaam in Hindi; Varak in Malayalam; Kodra in Punjabi; Varagu in Tamil; and Arikelu in the Telugu. Also known as Kodrava defined in the “Indian epigraphical glossary” as it can be found on ancient inscriptions commonly written in Sanskrit and Prakrit as a species of grain eaten by the poor. It is a plant of low to fairly high elevations in the tropics and subtropics, being found from sea level to 3,000 metres; confined almost entirely to the southern states of India, as a minor cereal, where it is valued for its draught resistance. It is also said to have originated in West Africa and now also grown in Nepal and Thailand.  

The Kodo Millet plant, propagated from seed, grows in different soil from very poor to very fertile and can tolerate a certain degree of alkalinity. The plant has shallow root system which may be ideal for intercropping. It is an erect annual some 80 to 90 cm high. Stems are rather stout, not or sparingly branched, glabrous or thinly furnished with rather long hairs. Blades are 15-40 cm long, 5-12 mm wide, pale green. Leaf sheaths and leaves are glabrous. Flower is unisexual, sessile; with 5 mucronate tepals 2-3 mm long; male flowers with 5 stamens c. 1 mm long; female flowers with superior, 1-celled ovary crowned by 3 stigmas. The seeds it produces are very small and ellipsoidal, being approximately 1.5 mm in width and 2 mm in length; they vary in color from being light brown to a dark grey.

Kodo Millete has potential to be used as grass ties on hillside plots to prevent soil erosion, while its coarse grains are esaily preserved providing as insurance against famine. It has been noted that it makes a good cover crop.

Kodo millet is a rich source of minerals such as calcium, phophorous, and magnesium. It is a good source of B Vitamins which maninly include nicotinic acid, pyridoxine and folic acid. It also has high polyphenol and antioxidnat content. As a nutritious grain it is a good substitute to rice or wheat. It is a tradtional medicine used to treat Type 2 Diabetes.

- Narasipur Char