Skip to content

Foxtail millet (korralu) cultivation Photo: Sajal's Gallery · Pexels License · source ↗

Foxtail millet (korralu) cultivation

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L. Beauv.), known in Telugu as korralu (కొర్రలు), is one of the oldest cultivated cereals in India and a traditional dryland staple of Anantapur, YSR Kadapa and the broader Rayalaseema plateau. It is a short-duration (70-90 days), low-input C4 cereal grown almost entirely under rainfed conditions on shallow red and gravelly soils where paddy and most pulses fail. ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad is the mandate institute, coordinating AICRP on Small Millets along with ICRISAT.

Key features

  • Species: Setaria italica
  • Telugu name: korralu (కొర్రలు); Hindi: kangni; Tamil: thinai
  • Duration: 70-90 days (extra-short)
  • Yield: 800-1200 kg/ha rainfed; 1500-1800 kg/ha with one protective irrigation
  • Mandate: ICAR-IIMR Hyderabad; AICRP on Small Millets
  • Improved varieties: SiA 3085 (Suvarna), SiA 3088, SiA 326 (ANGRAU), Lepakshi (PS 4), Prasad
  • Use: human food (rice substitute), poultry/bird feed, fodder straw

Cultivation practice

Foxtail millet is sown at the onset of the south-west monsoon (June-July) by broadcasting or line sowing at 22.5 cm spacing with 8-10 kg seed/ha and a seed-cum-fertilizer drill where available. Recommended basal fertilization is 40:20:0 NPK kg/ha on red soils; FYM 5 t/ha improves stand on degraded lands. The crop requires 1-2 weedings in the first 30 days; after that the canopy closes and out-competes weeds.

Harvest is 70-90 days after sowing when panicles turn straw-yellow. Bird damage at maturity is significant — staggered sowing and bird-scaring at panicle emergence are standard. Threshing is done by beating panicles on a tarpaulin; the straw is excellent fodder for sheep and goats.

Adoption in Rayalaseema

In Anantapur and YSR Kadapa districts, foxtail millet historically occupied 1.5-2 lakh ha as the staple kharif cereal alongside groundnut. Area has declined sharply since the 1980s as groundnut expanded and consumer preference shifted to rice, but the crop is now experiencing a revival driven by the National Food Security Mission–Nutri Cereals component, ICAR-IIMR's Nutri-Cereal mission and a state Millet Mission promoting korralu, ragi (ఫింగర్ మిల్లెట్), sajja (పెర్ల్ మిల్లెట్) and saamalu (little millet) as health-grain alternatives.

Pests and diseases

  • Pests: shootfly (Atherigona spp.) at seedling, armyworm and stem borer in vegetative stage.
  • Diseases: blast (Magnaporthe grisea), grain smut and downy mildew. ICAR-IIMR recommends seed treatment with carbendazim 2 g/kg seed and timely roguing.

See also: Sorghum / Jowar Crop, Castor Crop, Groundnut Crop, Bengalgram Crop.

Sources

  1. Foxtail millet - ICAR-IIMR Hyderabad. ICAR-IIMR.
  2. Foxtail Millet - ICRISAT Smart Food / Millets Knowledge Hub. ICRISAT.