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

Abstract

IntroductionMillets 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.MethodsAn 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.ResultsAmong 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.ConclusionThese 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.

Year-round growth potential and moisture stress tolerance of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum L.) under fragile hill ecosystems of the Eastern Himalayas (India)

“…The turgid and fresh roots were scanned after air drying by a root scanner by using winrhizo R software (Regent instruments Inc., Quebec, Canada) to measure the finer details of root architecture as a response to moisture stress. The intact turgid root system was evenly spread on a transparent fiber tray (30 cm x 20 cm) without overlapping and imaging was done at a resolution of 200 dpi (dots per inch) with Epson v 700 perfection scanner (Arsenault et al, 1995;Abenavoli et al, 2016;Hazarika et al, 2020;Hajong et al, 2022;Layek et al, 2023).…”

“…The leaf surfaces have been cut into 2.0-2.5 cm 2 dimensions and the layer of nail polish impression was gently removed with the help of forceps to place the same on microscopic slides with a few drops of water before a glass cover slip was placed on top to cover. Stomatal numbers on every sample surface were counted at three different microscopic fields under 40X magnification of compound microscope along with related observations on stomatal length, breadth, and number of guard cells in the particular microscopic field (Hazarika et al, 2020;Layek et al, 2023).…”

“…It was interesting to witness the retention of higher leaf water balance for increased metabolic activity by buckwheat, which is only possible through regulation of water absorption through roots and water loss through transpiration. Similar studies assessing the impact of root growth phenotyping on stress tolerance have been conducted for many crop plants (Abenavoli et al, 2016;Hazarika et al, 2020;Das et al, 2021;Hajong et al, 2022;Layek et al, 2023), including shoot growth alterations were also considered as robust for moisture stress response studies for better water and nutrient uptake and adequate plant growth and development (Schroeder et al, 2001;Seki et al, 2007).…”