Millets: Exploring the Underutilized Potential for Sustainable Agriculture

Millets have long been overshadowed by more mainstream crops, yet their potential is vast and largely untapped. This new volume meets an urgent need to raise awareness about the nutritional benefits, processing techniques, crop protection strategies, and breeding tools and techniques for underutilized millets.

The volume first provides readers with a foundational understanding of the historical, nutritional, and ecological significance of these grains, setting the stage for a deeper exploration into their underutilized potential and the transformative role they can play in global agriculture.

One of the key strengths of this book lies in its commitment to addressing the multifaceted challenges faced by millet cultivation. It goes beyond the traditional narrative, shedding light on pest and disease management strategies crucial for the success of millet crops, providing a holistic and practical guide for farmers and researchers alike.

Chapters look at plant protection aspects, covering the gamut of challenges to millet cultivation and production, such as stress from environmental factors, fungal diseases, insect pests, along with effective management techniques.

The authors explore how today’s rapid and cutting-edge technology is used in practices and breeding methodologies that not only enhance millet production but also contribute to the overall sustainability of agricultural systems, serving as a valuable resource for those at the forefront of agricultural innovation. These include genetic solutions for disease resistance, improved yields, enhanced nutritional quality, improved stress response, etc.

The volume also, importantly, takes an in-depth look at the effect of climate change on diseases and insect pests of millet crops.

Millets: Exploring the Underutilized Potential for Sustainable Agriculture stands as a comprehensive guide that bridges the gap between the potential of millets and their actualization in sustainable farming practices. It is a valuable resource for researchers, farmers, policymakers, and anyone passionate about the intersection of agriculture, sustainability, and resilience. This book is not just an exploration of millets; it is a roadmap for a more sustainable and secure future for agriculture and food systems worldwide.

Devanshu Dev, PhD, is working as a Subject Matter Specialist in Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Sheohar) at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, PUSA, India. He has more than seven years of experience in research, teaching, and extension of plant diseases and their management and mushroom cultivation technology. Currently, he is working on assessment of fungicides against rice sheath blight disease, assessment of insecticides against red banded caterpillar in mango, and crop residue-based nano industry (Dissemination of Mushroom Production Technology in Schedule Caste Community of Bihar). He has published more than a dozen research papers in various journals of international repute as well as many book chapters and more than 20 popular articles. Dr. Dev has been awarded a PhD degree in Plant Pathology from the G B Pant University of Agriculture sciences and Technology, Uttarakhand, India.

Saurabh Pandey, PhD, is currently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of Agriculture at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India. He has eight years of experience in different areas of plant biotechnology aspects such as plant stress biology, plant virus interactions, abiotic stresses, bio-fortification, molecular marker studies, and metabolism related to the tomato and rice crop. Currently, he is working on the introduction and biotic stress management of unconventional crops like banana and apple in the Punjab region, India. He has published about half a dozen research papers in various journals, including Frontiers in Plant Science, Environmental and Experimental Botany, Plant Science, Journal of Plant Growth and Regulation, Advances in Genetics, Physiology, and Molecular Biology of Plants, and Plant Stress. He has also contributed articles of varied interest in many magazines and periodicals. Dr. Pandey has authored many book chapters on molecular marker, genomics, plant breeding, and plant molecular virology, catering to the needs of modern agriculture research. He has been an active member of the Indian Virological Society, the Indian Academy of Horticultural Sciences, and the Society of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology. Dr. Pandey is the recipient of a gold medal for his MSc degree from UAS, Bangalore. He received the best postgraduate thesis award for his MSc thesis, among other awards for his research work. Dr. Pandey has received NTS, JRF, and SRF during the degree program, awarded by the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) India and Department of Biotechnology, India. He did MSc (Agriculture), specializing in Plant Biotechnology at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, and was conferred his PhD (Plant Virology) by the National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, India.

Sudha Nandini, PhD, is working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at the Tirhut College of Agriculture of Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, PUSA, India. Dr. Nandini has more than seven years of experience in research and four years of teaching and extension of plant pathology and diseases and their management and mushroom cultivation technology. She has been awarded several awards for her work, including an award from the AICRP Centre on Mushroom for her excellent work, a Young Scientist Award and a Best Poster Award from the Uttarakhand Council of Science and Technology, Dehradun, for distinguished research on medicinal mushroom shiitake, as well as several best poster awards. Currently, she is working on mushrooms as well as on plant protection methods. She has published more than a dozen research papers in various journals of international repute as well as published many book chapters and popular articles.

Sunidhi Mishra, PhD, is working as an Assistant Professor at the College of Agriculture and Research Station, Kurud, of Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur, India. She has more than eight years of experience in different areas of vegetable sciences, such as wilt in brinjal, selection of wild germplasm, resistance breeding, etc. Currently, she is working on vegetable improvement of brinjal and potato. She has published more than a dozen research papers in various journals of international repute as well as many book chapters and more than 20 popular articles. Dr. Mishra has been awarded gold and silver medals from Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV), Raipur for securing first rank in during her master’s degree program. She was awarded a PhD (Vegetable Sciences) degree from the Indira Gandhi Agricultural University, Raipur, India.

Kumar Nishant Chourasia, PhD, is working as a Scientist at the Division of Crop Improvement at the ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres, Barrackpore, India. Dr. Chourasia has more than seven years of experience in research in the field of plant breeding and genetics in different crops like potato, tubers, and fiber crops and has also handled many projects related to those crops. He also has more than eight years of experience in different areas of crop improvement aspects such as plant stress biology, pre-breeding studies, molecular marker studies, etc. Currently, he is working on maximizing fiber productivity in jute through genetic and agronomical approaches, in vitro regeneration and haploidy induction in jute, pre-breeding approaches in jute for major biotic stresses resistance, and development of high fiber yielding jute genotypes through hybridization. He has published more than a dozen research papers in various journals of international repute. Dr. Chourasia has published many book chapters and popular articles.