Fingermillet Harvesting and Threshing in Karnataka: A Case Study

摘要

Finger millet also known as Ragi or Mandwa is the most important small millet food and fodder crop. It is extensively cultivated in Asian countries like India, Ceylon, Malaysia, China, Nepal and Japan and African countries. In India it is cultivated over an area of 2.65 million ha with total production of about 2.9 million tones. It is widely grown in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra and in the hilly regions of Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh. Karnataka is a major finger millet producing state in India covering about 43 percent area of finger millet cultivation and producing nearly 49 percent of the total food grain production (Anon 2010). This crop is grown both in dryland as well as in irrigated conditions where irrigation facilities are available and it constitute only 5 percent area of the finger millet grown in Karnataka. Whereas the rain fed finger millet is about 95 percent and usually it is grown in kharif and irrigated finger millet in rabi or summer. Finger millet is often intercropped with legumes if it is grown under rain fed condition.