Millet, the grain, is having a moment.
Researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, along with partners in India, have developed a deeper understanding of why millet is so efficient at taking up micronutrients from the soil. Using the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan and the Advanced Photon Source near Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Raju Soolanayakanahally and colleagues looked at what millet’s genes are doing at different stages – from when it first sprouts to when it makes seeds.
By comparing this new data with genetic information from other grains, the researchers say their work could be applied in the development of better forms of other crops such as barley and wheat. “If we (get to a point where we) can’t grow durum wheat or barley, and we replace those land areas with growing millet, then Canada can be one of the stable suppliers of very nutrient-dense cereals for the world,” says Soolanayakanahally. | READ MORE
