This presentation is done by 2010/2011 batch of Export Agriculture students of Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka as a requirement for the subject which is “Rice & Field Crop Production”. Note that the information included here is relevant to Sri Lankan condition.

1. Thana Haal
Setaria italica (L.)
Group No 08

2. Introduction
• One of the oldest cultivated crop
• It was used in India, China and Egypt
before there were written records
• Staple diet of some countries – South
India
• Annual plant
• C4 plant
• Warm season crop

3. Cont’d
• Monocrop
• Intercrop with cotton
• The best integration in crop rotation is after
root or leguminous crops
• Yield 800-900 kg/ha
• Yield potentials of over three tons per hectare
• less important both economically and as a
food due to poor yields and less popularity as
food or feed

4. Cont’d
• Origin- China
• Countries
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
• Srilanka – Dry zone

5. Scientific classification
• Kingdom Plantae
• Division Magnoliophyta
• Class Magnoliopsida
• Order poales
• Family poaceae
• Genus Setaria
• Species Setaria italica(L)

6. Common names
• Thana Haal
• foxtail millet
• Dwarf setaria
• Giant setaria
• Hungarian millet
• Liberty millet
• Red rala

7. Uses
• As a food
– porridge
– Bread
– Cooked as rice
– Rotti
• making alcoholic beverages
– beer in Russia

9. Cont’d
• As a feed
– high quality hay, pasture and green fodder
– Grain as a feed for poultry & birds
• It can be used as a quick-growing crop in
contour strips in dense populations for
erosion control
• Foodstuff for individuals suffering from celiac
disease
• Indigenous medicine, specially used in snake
poisoning

10. Potentials
• Useful as an experimental crop to investigate
many aspects
– Lant architecture
– Genome evolution
– Physiology in the bioenergy grasses

11. Nutritional value of seed
• Protein 11%
• Oil 4%
• Crude fiber 6-7%
• Higher content of essential amino acid
• Vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin)
• Ash 1.5%

12. Morphology
• Stem
– Slim
– Vertical
– Leafy stems
– Single stalk or a few tillers
– Height of 120–200 cm
• Root
– deep root system

13. Cont’d
• Leaf
– blade is wide-lanceolate
– long-acuminate
– brightly colored midrib
– leaf edges serrate
• Inflorescence
– Large
– has main stalk with shortened branching
bearing spikes and bristles
– 2 Flowers per spikelet, the upper bisexual

14. Cont’d
• Seed
– Hundreds of seeds per inflorescence
– Small
– Diameter – around 2 mm
– Has thin, papery hull which is easily
removed in threshing
– Color : light yellow to brown, rusty and
black also

15. Varieties
Giant Setaria
• Dual-purpose
• Tall-growing type producing a good body of
leaf
• 105 days
• As a grazing crop, it should be subjected to
heavy quick grazing
• Higher grain yield than dwarf setaria
• The plant has no hair on the lower leaf-sheath,
distinguishing it from dwarf setaria

16. Cont’d
Dwarf Setaria
• Only as a grain
• 80 days
• Less leaf than others
• Dwarf setaria bears a profusion of hairs on the
lower leaf-sheath at 8-10 cm height
Recommended Varity by DOA
Promising Varieties -ISC 480

17. Ecological requirement
• Up to 2000 m(MSL)
• RF : 500-700 mm
– cannot tolerate waterlogging
• Temperature : 20-30̊C
• Drought tolerance -fairly tolerant
escape some droughts because of early maturity
• Light
– long day
– short day
– day neutral

18. Soil
• sandy loams - clay loams
• tolerates poor and dry soils
• difficult to germinate on heavy clay soils

19. Propagation
• By seeds
• Germination percentage : 75%
• Ability to spread naturally
• Spread from scattered seed

20. Land Preparation
• fine, firm seed-bed
• land development an initial ploughing

21. Time of planting
• Maha -rainfed as well with supplementary
irrigation when there are drought periods
• Maha - established with Maha rains that
occur in latter part of September or first week
of October for successful growth
• Yala -established with Yala rains that fall in
later part of April
• By timely cultivation pest problems can be
reduced

22. Sawing
• Usually drilled, but may be broadcast and
harrowed
• Spacing 30*30 cm
• 2-3cm deep
• Temperature of soil between 8 to 10 °C
• Except in sandy soils, rolling after planting is
desirable
• Not like muddy conditions during germination
• Seed requirement 5-7 kg/ha

23. Fertilizer recommendation
Fertilizer application (Kg/ha)
Urea Conc. SP MOP
Fertilizer requirement 125 50 50

24. Irrigation
• Normally grown under RF
• During dry periods, irrigations are
required every 4-7 days depending on
the severity of the drought and type of
soil

25. Weed management
• controlled by manual methods
– weeding
– application pre- and post emergent
weed killers
• Crops need to be maintained weed free
at least until flowering stage

26. Development of plant
• flowering 56-62 days
• short generation time
– approximately 5–8 weeks from
planting to flowering
– 8–15 weeks from planting to seed
maturity

27. Pest & Disease problem
• Diseases
– less affected by diseases
– leaf and head blast
– Green ear
• Pest
susceptible to bird attack in the field, and
mice and rat invasions

28. Harvesting
• harvested before depletion of soil moisture
• Seed heavy
– Harvest with combines using a small seeds
box
• harvested manually when grain moisture is
low and after physiological maturity is reached
• Seed moisture is lowered by sun drying to a
safer level before shelling the seeds

29. Postharvest and storage
• Dried thoroughly before storage
• Better to separate from impurities after
harvest
• Drying has to be done if the crop is too moist
(optimum 14%)
• Stored with husk but prior to its processing or
consumption the husk must be removed

30. Group members
• M.J.Watawana UWU/EAG/11/0036
• J.A.K.Dhananjaya UWU/EAG/11/0039
• P.M.Belpage UWU/EAG/11/0042

31. Thank you