• High yielding (1.1 – 4.9 metric tons per ha^-1 depending on environment);
• Resistant - to Blast disease, Striga weed, and lodging;
• Tolerant to drought.
• Adapted to low and medium altitudes upto 1,500 meters above sea level with R/F  of 600-900mm annually.
• Has purple pigmentation and fist heads

• Late maturing (88 – 138 days).
• High yielding (1.14 – 6.67 metric tons per ha^-1 depending on environment).
• Resistant to blast disease, Striga weed, and lodging.
• Tolerant to drought.
• Has wide adaptability - can grow upto 2,500 meters above sea level with R/F of 600-900mm annually.
• Has purple pigmentation, thick stem, and large open heads.

Kak-Wimbi 4

• Late maturing (87 – 130 days);
• High yielding (1.4 – 5.5 metric tons depending on environment);
• Resistant to Striga weed and lodging.
• Tolerant to blast disease and drought.
• Has wide adaptability and can grow up to 2,500 meters above sea level and R/F of 600-900mm annually.
• Has large open incurved heads.

P-224

• Medium in maturity (95 – 125 days);
• High yielding (1.2 - 4.9 metric tons depending on environment);
• Moderately susceptible to blast disease and susceptible to Striga weed;
• Prone to post maturity lodging;
• Has wide adaptability and can grow up to 2,500 meters above sea level and R/F of 600-900mm annually;
• Has large open heads with prominent grains.

Kak-Wimbi 5 (KACIMMI 49)

• Medium in maturity (86 - 135 days).
• High yielding (1.25 - 5.68 metric tons per hectare depending on environment).
• Tolerant to Striga weed, blast disease and drought.
• Well adapted to low to medium altitudes up to 2,000 meters above sea level and R/F of 600-900mm annually.
• Has medium size twisted finger heads

Kak-Wimbi 6 (KACIMMI 65)

• Early maturing (87 – 118 days).
• High yielding variety (1.34 – 4.01 metric tons per hectare depending on environment).
• Resistant to blast disease, Striga weed, and lodging.
• Tolerant to drought.
• Well adapted to low to medium altitudes up to 2,000 meters above sea level and R/F  of 600-900mm annually.
• Has medium size and open heads.

Nakuru FM-1

• Late maturing (120 – 210 days).
• High yielding (1.2 - 3.5 metric tons per hectare depending on environment).
• Tolerant to cold and drought.
• Well adapted to cool highlands and can grow up to 2,500 meters above sea level and R/F  of 600-900mm annually;
• It has purple pigmentation and medium to large size open heads.

KAT FM 1

• Early maturing (80 – 115 days);
• Moderate yield (1.0 – 2.5 metric tons per hectare depending on environment);
• Drought tolerant.
• Susceptible to blast disease and prone to post maturity lodging.
• Well adapted to low altitude dry environments up to 1,200 meters above sea level and R/F of 400-700mm annually.
• It has medium to large open heads.

MSU FM 60D

• Early maturing (80-90 days).
• Moderate yield (average 3.12metric tons per hectare).
• Drought tolerant.
• Susceptible to blast disease and prone to post maturity lodging.
• Well adapted to low altitude dry environments up to 1,500 meters above sea level and R/F of 400-700mm annually.
• It has medium to large open heads.

EUFM-401

• Very early maturing (65-75 days).
• Moderate yield (1.0 – 1.40 metric tons per hectare depending on environment).
• Drought tolerant/ escaping.
• Well adapted to low altitude dry environments up to 1,500 meters above sea level and R/F of 400-600mm annually;
• It is heat tolerant.

EUFM-502

• Medium maturing (100-120 days).
• Moderate yield (1.4 – 2.0 metric tons per hectare depending on environment).
• Well adapted to medium to high altitude environments up to 2,200 meters above sea level and R/F of 500-700mm annuall
• Has high tillering capacity.

EUFM-503

• Medium maturing (90-98 days).
• Moderate yield (1.5 – 2.5 metric tons per hectare depending on environment).
• Resistant to blast disease.
• Well adapted to medium to high altitude environments up to 2,200 meters above sea level and R/F of 500-700mm annually.
• Has high tillering capacity

Kis-Wimbi 1

• Very Early maturing (81 - 100 days).
• High yielding (1.1 - 4.27 metric tons per hectare depending on environment).
• Resistant to blast disease, Striga weed, and lodging.
• Drought tolerant / escaping.
• Adapted to low and medium altitudes up to 1,500 meters above sea level with R/F of 600-900mm annually.
• Has large whitish heads with a prominent branching thumb finger

GBK 043254

• A high yielding, early maturing, finger millet variety

• Striga resistant, Blast and Drought tolerant
• Whitish Brown grain color; light purple pigmentation; medium height; medium size open panicles with finger spikelet discontinuity.
• Optimal environmental conditions: Rainfall (600-900mm annually), altitude (0 – 2,000 m.a.s.l.) and soils (well-draining loams).
• Whitish brown grain color; no pigmentation; medium height; medium size open panicles with gapy spikes

Agro-ecological requirements

It is a long to medium day length plant with optimal photo period of 12 hours.

Rainfall: Finger Millet grows well under moderate rainfall of 500-1000 mm annually. With good distribution, Finger millet can tolerate rainfall as low as 130mm; but performs best at 900mm.

Temperature: Finger millet grows best where average maximum temperatures exceed 27°C and the average minimum do not fall below 18°C, but can grow in temperatures as high as 35°C.

Altitude: Most of the world's finger millet is grown at intermediate elevations, between 500 and 2,400 m a.s.l., but the crop can grow from sea-level to over 2,400 m.a.s.l.

Soils: Finger millet can grow on a variety of soils, but does well on well-drained silt loam soils - reddish brown earth, calcic red yellow latasols and sandy regosol

Pre-planting

Seeds and fertilizers should be obtained from reliable sources.  In the absence of certified seed, farmer saved seeds are alternatives

Planting Finger Millet

• Plant at the start of the seasonal rains by opening shallow furrows (5cm deep) spaced 30cm (1ft.) apart.
• In furrows apply basal compound NPK 20:20:0 fertilizer (one 50 kg bag/acre).
• A handful of fertilizer should cover 10 steps (10m) along the furrow.
• Drill very little seed at a rate of 1 kg/acre uniformly in each furrow.
• A handful of seed is adequate to plant 100 steps (100m) along the furrow.
• Cover the furrows with loose soil

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) -Fertilizer in finger millet cultivation

ISFM is a set of soil fertility management practices that include the use of fertilizers, manure and improved seed combined to adapt practices to local conditions.

• Applying fertilizer on finger millet doubles yield.
• Fertilizer rates: 100kg per hectare 20:20:0 NPK at planting and 100kg ha^-1 CAN at top-dressing after first weeding.
• Also practice soil erosion control and Water harvesting (SEWHA) to conserve soil fertility for sustainable productivity of finger millet crop.

Weeding, thinning gapping, and top Dressing

• First Weeding two weeks after crop emergence.
• After the first weeding, thin (reduce) and gap (fill gaps) within the row to approximately 15cm (½ft.) from plant to plant when soil is wet.
• After thinning and when soils are moist, apply top dress fertilizer (50kg bag/acre CAN) thinly along and close to the upper slope side of the row.
• Do second weeding two weeks after first weeding or when weeds appear to compete the crop.
• Subsequently keep fields weed free

Army worm

Aphids

Plant parasite pest

The methods are in various categories:

• Cultural e.g sanitation, tillage, Intercropping, weed Control.
• Mechanical e.g. collection and destruction
• Physical - e.g. setting up of light traps
• Host Plant Resistance (HPR) e.g. resistant varieties
• Chemical Control - involves use of contact, gut, or systemic chemicals.
• Biological Control.
• For important insect pests of finger millet, chemicals are commonly used according to manufacturer specifications.

Striga is controlled through HPR, mechanical, and cultural methods; blast disease is mainly managed through HPR; and birds through physical, mechanical, and HPR.

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) -Fertilizer in finger millet cultivation

ISFM is a set of soil fertility management practices that include the use of fertilizers, manure and improved seed combined to adapt practices to local conditions.

• Applying fertilizer on finger millet doubles yield.
• Fertilizer rates: 100kg per hactare 20:20:0 NPK at planting and 100kg ha^-1 CAN at top-dressing after first weeding.
• Also practice soil erosion control and Water harvesting (SEWHA) to conserve soil fertility for sustainable productivity of finger millet crop.

Weeding, thinning gapping, and top Dressing

• First Weeding two weeks after crop emergence.
• After the first weeding, thin (reduce) and gap (fill gaps) within the row to approximately 15cm (½ft.) from plant to plant when soil is wet.
• After thinning and when soils are moist, apply top dress fertilizer (50kg bag/acre CAN) thinly along and close to the upper slope side of the row.
• Do second weeding two weeks after first weeding or when weeds appear to compete the crop.
• Subsequently keep fields weed free

• Birds can also cause significant losses.
• Keenly monitor grains on head for physiological maturity.
• Physiological maturity - when a pinch of grain does not crush into milky substance when rubbed between thumb and fore-finger.
• Harvest by cutting off the heads using a billhook knife or any appropriate tool.
• Transport the harvest in pore less or tiny pore containers to homestead or dryer for drying to avoid losing grain that rubs off the heads.

Post-Harvest

This is a stage of crop production after harvest, including drying, threshing, winnowing/cleaning, packing, storage etc. It determines the quality of grain.

50. Postharvest loss =degradation in both quantity and quality of grain from harvest to consumption. 
50. Quality losses affect nutrient content, acceptability, and edibility.
50. Stages of post-harvest management

• To reduce spillage, contamination, germination, spoilage, and pests use grain dryer if available.
• Sun drying on clean surface like a cement slab or canvas
• Spread and turn frequently.
• Dry for 4 – 5 days to 12% moisture content and recover all grain.

JKUAT/ Egerton University developed thresher                          

KALRO AMRI developed thesher

Winnowing

Transportation

• Target is to deliver dry grain without spillage, seepage, and spoilage.
• Achieved through right packaging and handling to minimize losses
• Maintain hygiene in carriages; use air-tight, cool, and dry carriers.

in Storage

• Target is short, medium, to long term storage without compromised quantity and quality.
• Achieved through use of traditional well ventilated and kept granaries or tightly closed containers kept in cool, dark and dry rooms e.g Hermetic storage bags/silos (PICS, AgroZ, ZeroFly, Elites, Metal Silos or Plastic Silos).
• Avoid use of pesticides during storage.
• Finger millet grain can stay un spoilt for up to 20 years.

Finger Millet Ugali

Uji (porridge)

A highly nutritious, non-glutinous and none acid forming food

Finger Millet Crackie

- A dry snack made from finger millet, sweet potato, spices and wheat flour

TAMUU Paste Food Product

A paste food product that can be used as bread spread or consumed directly.

Finger Millet Onion Bites

A snack made from finger millet, sweet potato, wheat flour and onions.

Finger Millet Cake

-made from a finger millet – wheat flour composite.

Finger Millet Chapatti

A main meal made from a finger millet – wheat flour composite.

Finger Millet Mandazi

-A snack made from a finger millet – wheat flour blend.

Finger Millet Blended and Composite Flour

Flours made from finger millet – wheat, cassava, or maize flour composites.

Finger Millet Biscuit

-Snack made from finger millet – wheat flour composite.

Tine Harrow.

• Tractor or animal drawn and can be used. for clods after ploughing.
• Stir soil, uproot weeds, level ground, and cover seeds after planting.

Shallow weeder (hoe)

• Used to dig land, shape soil, remove weeds, and clear soil.

Seed drill

• Used to drill or apply seed and fertilizer at planting at predetermined quantities.  Either tractor or animal drawn depending on size

Knapsack Motorized Mist Blower Cum Duster

• An engine driven, and carried on operator back sprayer for spray needs e.g. spraying insecticides against insect pests or foliar fertilizer.

Gasoline Tiller Cultivator Weeder

A small multi-purpose machine for small fields.  It has options for tilling, weeding, cutting etc.

• Some farmers add value (malting, brewing, and processing into snacks such as crackies).
• Finger millet stover and by products of processing may also be sold to supplement incomes.
• Local traders usually aggregate their purchased grain and supply urban traders or processors. 

Revenue

Yield per acre  11 x 90kg bags

11x90-kg bags @ KES.75 per kg

Total Revenue:  74,250/=

Business Costs and Revenue per acre of Finger millet (KES)

Seeds 2 kg @ 350 per acre  360

Land preparation (ox plough)  6,000

Planting cost (10 mandays x 300)  2,500

Fertilizer (basal & top dressing,

1 bag each)   6,000

Weeding twice & thinning

(30 mandays)  9,000

Harvesting & airing (4 Mandays

x 5 days x 300)    6,000

Threshing & winnowing

(10 mandays)                                       3,000

Transport                                   800

Miscellaneous costs                           1,000

Total cost                              34,660

Gross margin/acre

(Revenue – Cost)                 39,590

Contacts

Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization

P.O. Box 57811-00200, Nairobi, Kenya

Call: 0111010100