Nutzung, genetik und zuchtung kleinkorniger hirsegraser: 2. Kolbenhirse [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.]

Foxtail millet is wide-spread in India, Korea, and China, from where it has originated. Setaria was first domesticated approximately 7 to 8.000 years ago. There are many uses in the production of human food. In some countries foxtail millet is also grown for the production of the caged bird seed industry and feed for husbandry. Very recently progress has been made in the establishment of a set of trisomic lines, the construction of an RFLP-based map and the association of the nine linkage groups to the corresponding chromosomes. Several existing wild Setaria species and numerous landraces, partly stored in genebanks, are valuable genetic resources for the improvement of yield, tolerance to diseases and pests as well as nutritional quality of this neglected crop.