BHUBANESWAR: The researchers of Central University of Odisha at Koraput have identified some high yielding finger millet genotypes, traditionally grown in the district, which have shown superior nutritional and yield traits.
Assistant professor in the department of Bio-diversity and Conservation of Natural Resources Debabrata Panda who has been studying the nutritional and climate-resilient traits of local finger millets in Koraput for the last 10 years, did the research on 33 kinds of indigenous finger millet genotypes present in the district and studied their yield and nutritional traits.
His study found that finger millet genotypes like Bhalu, Ladu, Telgu and Bada are better than the improved hybrid varieties like Bhairabi, Chilika and Arjuna. And three varieties Telgu, Bada and Dushera showed better nutritional compositions - high protein, carbohydrate, fibre and energy content - and are exceptionally rich in flavonoid and antioxidants.
The research was carried out at CUO and MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and the findings were published a month back in the journal of Cereal Research Communications, an international peer reviewed Springer Link journal. Panda said the superior indigenous genotypes should be popularised for mass cultivation and consumption.