Origin and Dispersal of Common Millet and Foxtail Millet*

Origin and Dispersal of Common Millet and Foxtail Millet* By SADAO SAKAMOTO Plant Germ-plasm Institute, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University (Mozume, Muko, Kyoto, 617 Japan) In Eurasia, both winter and summer cereal with nine bivalents at the MI of the PMCs4>. This crops have been cultivated over a wide range of indicates that these two species are biologically the environmental conditions. Winter cereals, such as same species and S. viridis is the probable ancestor wheat and barley, were domesticated in the Middle of domesticated foxtail millet. However, because East about 10,000 years ago. Rice is a representa of wide occurrence of S. vin'dis in Eurasia, it is tive of summer cereals originating in southern almost impossible to localize the place of domesti Asia, and it has been grown widely in Asian coun cation of foxtail millet mainly on the geographical tries. In addition to rice, several kinds of millets distribution of wild ancestral species. have been domesticated in Eurasia, some in east or central Asia and others in the Indian subcontinent. Among them, common millet (Panicum miliaceum Current theories on the geogra L.) and foxtail millet (Se/aria italica (L.) P. Beauv.) phical origin of common millet are thought to be the most anciently domesticated and foxtail millet cereals in Eurasia. In the present paper, a new 14 theory on the origin and dispersal of those two Vavilov > assumed that common millet and fox millets based on the results of recent field research tail millet originated in East Asia based on the fol on the two millets in southwestern Eurasia and lowing two lines of botanical evidence: (1) sharp those of the experimental works on landraces of increase in diversity in common millet toward the millets collected from the vast areas of Eurasia East Asia and an exceptional diversity of biological is discussed. characters of this millet in Mongolia and Manchu ria, an area of Chinese civilization, and (2) the Botanical origin of common principle center of the diversity of foxtail millet is millet and foxtail millet eastern Asia including China and Japan, where it is cultivated as a cereal crop for food. Vavilov's The botanical origin of common millet is still theory has been supported by the findings of unknown. The probable progenitor of this millet archaeological remains of these two millets from in the genus Panicum based on the genetical stud the Neolithic Yan-shao villages of China, which ies has not been found yet. On the other hand, were established about 4,000 BC. green foxtail (S. viridis (L.) P. Beauv.) is presumed Quite interestingly, the earliest palaeoethnobo a wild ancestor of foxtail millet, S. italica. The two tanical finds of common millet in the West came species are diploids with the same chromosome from the Neolithic sites of central Europe. Foxtail number (2n=18). The F, hybrid between them is millet has also been found in some Neolithic sites fertile and chromosome pairing in F, is normal in Europe, and this millet was chiefly cultivated in 7 the Bronze Age in alpine Europe ' . Carbonized * Contribution no. 46 from the Plant Germ-plasm Insti grains of common millet have also been reported tute, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, from the aceramic levels at Argissa-Maghilla in Japan. Greece (5,000-6,000 BC) and from the Jemdet Nasr 85 9 period in Mesopotamia dating around 3,000 BC i. form are very similar to the cultivated common The palaeoethnobotanical data obtained so far evi millet except for the shorter stature, more sparsely dently indicate that common millet and foxtail opened panicles, fewer spikelets per panicle, millet have been the staple food for the people smaller floral glumes and brittle spikelets. The since a very early period of agricultural develop average heading date of this weed grown in a 2 ment in Eurasia. Therefore, recently, Harlan > glasshouse was 39 days, which was very similar to suggested the possibility of independent domestica those of cultivated Romanian forms. tion of these two millets at least in China and Based on the resemblance of this form to the cul Europe. He discussed three different possibilities tivated one, it was classified as P. miliaceum sub on the domestication and dispersal of these two species ruderale (Kitag.) Tzelev 13>, which was found crops considering the archaeological findings from in Manchuria and originall y named as P. milia 5 8 Neolithic sites in China and Europe; (1) common ceum var. ruderale Kitagawa >. Popova > reported a millet and foxtail millet were domesticated in very similar readily shattering form of common China and dispersed to Europe before 4,000 BC, (2) millet from the Central-Boharian Oasis. This form they were domesticated in the West and dispersed is distributed not only in Manchuria but also in 13 to China before Yang·shao times, and (3) there was Siberia and Central Asia '. A similar plant is des more than one domestication. He believed that the cribed in the European weed flora. independent domestication was the most likely The origin of common millet is still unknown. A answer because no other known crop has such a more detailed study of this weed form in Romania distribution in that time range. He mentioned may provide some ideas on the botanical origin of further that in our present ignorance to these two this crop, although it is often difficult to distin millets, independent domestication appears to be guish the wild form from the weedy race which the most likely but new information would easily sometimes might possibly be derived from an lead to other conclusions. escaped cultivated form. However. judging from the wide occurrence of this weed form, from Man Our recent research results churia to East Europe through Central Asia, detailed genetic analysis of this form with the cul In 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1982, we made four tivated form is expected to provide some positive botanical expeditions to Afghanistan, Turkey, ideas on the botanical origin of common millet that Greece, Romania, France and Spain. During these has been completely ignored and unexplored. field research works, we collected many samples of common millet and foxtail millet together with 2) Traditional utilization methods information on traditional cultivation methods and If common millet and foxtail millet have been utilization for food. At the same time, during cultivated extensively in wide areas of Eurasia these years, we collected many different Jandraces since ancient times, there must be the traditional of these two millets from the vast areas of Eurasia. way of utilization for those two millets. During Using these materials we carried out an analysis our field research work, we gathered information of genetic variations and their geographical on this subject from local people in each region. distribution. Table 1 gives a summary of the results. The infor mation on China and Caucasia was obtained from 1) Finding of a weed form of common millet the literature. During our field research in 1980, we collected a Generally speaking, the utilization methods of weed form of common millet along the road located cereal grains are divided into two groups, one for in the western suburbs of Iasi, Moldavia Province foods and the other for drinks. The former is of Romania 11 >. This form occurred abundantly further divided into three categories, grain, meal forming a dense belt between the road and the and flour, and the latter non-alcoholic and alco maize field and partly invaded into the cultivation holic drinks. For preparation of food from the fields. The morphological characteristics of this grains of common millet and foxtail millet, seven 86 JARQ Vol. 21, No. 2, 1987 Table 1. Foods and drinks made from the grains of common millet and foxtail millet in Eurasia Type of cooking Region Grain Meal Flour Drink Boiled . Dumpling Flour Non- . grain Gruel Mochi Porndge (dango) porridge Bread alcoholic Alcoholic Japan { non -waxy + + waxy + + + + Korea l non-waxy + waxy + + + Ch.ina { non-waxy + + + + waxy + + + . { non-waxy + Taiwan waxy + + + + Batan Islands + Halmahera Islands + India + + + + Afghanistan + + Caucasia + + Turkey + Bulgaria + + + Romania + + Italy + France + subcategories have been recorded, namely boiled To shed light on this problem, comparative stu· grain, gruel, mochi (cake made from waxy starch), dies of common millet using 43 samples from Af. porridge and dumplings (dango), flour porridge and ghanistan (15 samples). Romania (8), Turkey (2), bread. It is interesting to note, as seen in Table 1, Greece (2), Bulgaria (1), Czekoslovakia (2), Central that in East Asia preparation of boiled grain, gruel, Asia (7) and Japan (6), and 70 samples of foxtail mochi and alcoholic drinks is popular, while in the millet from Afghanistan (25), Europe (8), Central area from Southeast Asia and India to Europe, por Asia (7), India (4), Taiwan (2), Korea (6) and Japan ridge, flour porridge, bread and non-alcoholic (18), were carried out in Kyoto in 1981 10>. drinks are prevailing. All European and Central Asiatic strains of com· mon millet were very early varieties, while the 3) Morphological variation and its distri Afghan strains include both intermediate and late bution varieties. The Afghan strains showed a wide vari· No comparative studies of the characteristics of ation in plant height, the number of tillers and the these two millets covering all of Eurasia have been length of panicle in addition to the number of days made so far. There is only the taxonomic study on from sowing to heading and the number of leaves. common millet from European parts of USSR, Romanian strains were intermediate between Cen· Caucasia, Central Asia, Siberia, Mongolia and tral Asiatic and other European strains. Manchuria made by Lyssov6>. He lists 78 varieties Field observation of foxtail millet in Afghanistan classified into five subspecies.

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