Little millet, Blue panic, Indian millet
Panicum sumatrense

Family: Poaceae

What it is like

A millet grass. It can be erect or lie over. It is a grass which grows each year from seed. It can be 2 m tall. Plants which lie over can form roots at the nodes. The stem is strongly branched. There can be 46 erect flowering branches. Erect plants only produce 26 flowering shoots. The leaf blade is narrow and 56 cm long by 21 mm wide. The flowering heads can be open or compact. They are 50 cm long. They can have 14-52 branches. The spikelet is sword shaped and 2.5 mm long. The seed is shiny white to almost black.

There are about 500 Panicum species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It can tolerate drought. It can produce in poor soil. It is cultivated between 300-1000 m altitude. The annual average rainfall is 950-1200 mm.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Philippines, SE Asia, Sikkim, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The grain is cooked and eaten like rice. It can be ground into flour for bread.

It is an important cereal in the Eastern Ghats of India. It is cultivated.

Edible parts

Seeds, cereal

How it is grown

It is often grown in mixed plantings with foxtail millet, sorghum or pearl millet.

Plants can take 2.5-5 months to mature. Plants are harvested withy sickles then threshed and the grains removed by pounding. A yield of 200-600 kg/ha is average. In Rajasthan in India the seed are available August to November.

Its other names

Local names

Gadro, Gondula, Gundli, Heen-meneri, K(ee) sumatra, Kungu, Kungu, Kutki, Sama, Samai, Samalu, Sava, Shame, Shavan, Suan, Suniva

Synonyms

Pancium miliare auct. non Lamk.; Panicum attenuatum Willd.; Panicum psilopodium Trin.;