Tapovan School

1. TAPOVAN SCHOOL
Learn Life Skills

2. Learning Science in Scientific Way

3. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
MILLETS
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown
around the world for food and fodder. Their essential similarities are that they are small-
seeded grasses grown in difficult production environments such as those at risk of
drought.
The millets include species in several genera, mostly in the subfamily Panicoideae, of the
grass family Poaceae. The exceptions, finger millet and teff, are in the subfamily
Chloridoideae. The most widely cultivated species in order of worldwide production are:
• Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) (Also known as Bajra in India, and as Kambu in
Tamil)
• Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) (Also known as Thinai in Tamil)
• Proso millet, common millet, broom corn millet, hog millet or white millet (Panicum
miliaceum)
• Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) (Also known as Ragi or Mandwa in India, and as
Kezhvaragu in Tamil)
Comtinued

4. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
MILLETS
We have taken a few students , mostly from
class 8 to show a few avilable fields where
millets are grown .
In this experiment, students thoroughly enjoyed
the visit to the fields. Some of the fields to
which they were taken are where millets like
Paddy, Ragi, Maize, Bajra etc are grown.
Ensuing videos will show their visits to each
field.

5. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
MAIZE
Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays, pronounced /ˈ meɪz/; from Spanish:
maíz after Taino mahiz,) known in many English-speaking countries as
corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in
Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which
contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels
are used in cooking as a vegetable or starch. The Olmec and Mayans
cultivated it in numerous varieties throughout central and southern
Mexico, cooked, ground or processed through nixtamalization. Between
1700 and 1250 BCE, the crop spread through much of the Americas. The
region developed a trade network based on surplus and varieties of
maize crops. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th
and early 16th centuries, explorers and traders carried maize back to
Europe and introduced it to other countries.
Comtinued

6. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
MAIZE
Maize spread to the rest of the world due to its ability to grow in diverse
climates. Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for
human consumption, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed
and as chemical feedstocks.
Maize is the most widely grown crop in the Americas with 332 million
metric tons grown annually in the United States. Approximately 40% of
the crop - 130 million tons - is used for corn ethanol. Transgenic maize
(Genetically Modified Corn) made up 85% of the maize planted in the
United States in 2009. While some maize varieties grow to 12 metres (39
ft) tall, most commercially grown maize has been bred for a standardized
height of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft). Sweet corn is usually shorter than field corn
varieties.

7. Visit to Maize Field

8. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
RAGI (FINGER MILLET)
Eleusine coracana, commonly Finger millet
Marathi) Kannada) Oriya) Punjabi)
Gujarati) Thamizh)(Amharic ˈˈˈ
"Dagusa" or ˈˈˈ tōkūsō), also known as African millet
or Ragi in Tamil in Kannada, in
Oriya) is an annual plant widely grown as a cereal in the
arid areas of Africa and Asia. E. coracana is originally
native to the Ethiopian Highlands and was introduced
into India approximately 4000 years ago. It is very
adaptable to higher elevations and is grown in the
Himalaya up to 2,300 metres in elevation.

9. Visit to Ragi Field

10. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
PADDY
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for
growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields
are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and
southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides
as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped
features such as rivers or marshes. They can require a
great deal of labor and materials to create, and need
large quantities of water for irrigation. Flooded paddies
provide an ideal environment for rice cultivation and
discourage the growth of many weeds. The water buffalo
is one of the most important working animals adapted for
life in wetlands, and is used extensively in paddy fields.
Comtinued

11. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
PADDY
During the twentieth century, paddy field farming became the dominant
form of growing rice.[citation needed] Paddy field farming is practiced in
Cambodia, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Japan, North
Korea, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, as well as
Piedmont in Italy, the Camargue in France, the Artibonite Valley in Haiti,
and Sacramento Valley in California. Paddy fields are a major source of
atmospheric methane and have been estimated to contribute in the
range of 50 to 100 million tonnes of the gas per annum. Recent studies
have shown that this can be significantly reduced while also boosting
crop yield by draining the paddies to allow the soil to aerate to interrupt
methane production.
The word "paddy" is derived from the Malay word padi, rice plant.

12. Visit to Paddy Field

13. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
TOOR DAL (PIGEON PEA)
The pigeon pea (International Feed Number, 5-
03-716), also known as tropical green pea, toor
dāl or arhar dāl (India), kadios (Philippines), or
Congo pea or gungo pea (in Jamaica), pois
Congo (in Haiti), gandul (in Puerto Rico), gunga
pea, or no-eye pea, [Cajanus cajan, synonyms
Cajanus indicus Spreng. (Valder 1895) and
Cytisus cajan (Crawfurd 1852)] is a perennial
member of the family Fabaceae.
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14. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
TOOR DAL (PIGEON PEA)
The cultivation of the pigeon pea goes back at least 3500 years. The
centre of origin is the eastern part of peninsular India, including the
state of Orissa, where the closest wild relatives (Cajanus cajanifolia)
occur in tropical deciduous woodlands. Archaeological finds of
pigeonpea include those from two Neolithic sites in Orissa, Gopalpur
and Golbai Sassan dating between 3400 and 3000 years ago, and
sites in South India, Sanganakallu and Tuljapur Garhi, also dating back
to 3400 years ago. From India it traveled to East Africa and West
Africa. There is was first encountered by Europeans, so it obtained the
name Congo Pea. By means of the slave trade it came to the American
continent, probably in the 17th century

15. Visit to Toordal Field

16. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
BAJRA (PEARL MILLET)
Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is the most
widely grown type of millet. Grown in Africa and
the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times, it
is generally accepted that pearl millet originated
in Africa and was subsequently introduced into
India. The center of diversity, and suggested area
of domestication, for the crop is in the Sahel zone
of West Africa. Recent archaeobotanical research
has confirmed the presence of domesticated
pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern Mali
between 2500 and 2000 BC.
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17. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
BAJRA (PEARL MILLET)
Cultivation subsequently spread and has moved
overseas to India. The earliest archaeological records
in India date to around 2000 BC, and it spread rapidly
through India reaching South India by 1500 BC, based
on evidence from the site of Hallur. Cultivation also
spread throughout eastern and southern Africa.
Records exist for cultivation of pearl millet in the United
States in the 1850s, and the crop was introduced into
Brazil in the 1960s.
Comtinued

18. Exploring Nature
There is no better teacher than Nature
BAJRA (PEARL MILLET)
Pearl millet is well adapted to growing areas
characterized by drought, low soil fertility, and high
temperature. It performs well in soils with high
salinity or low pH. Because of its tolerance to
difficult growing conditions, it can be grown in
areas where other cereal crops, such as maize or
wheat, would not survive.
Today pearl millet is grown on over 260,000 km²
worldwide. It accounts for approximately 50% of
the total world production of millets.

19. Visit to Bajra Field

20. A Presentation By
TAPOVAN SCHOOL
26th September 2011