Common Name: Barnyard Millet

General Information

Echinochloa crus-galli is a clump-forming annual grass with ascending or decumbent stems 30 - 120cm long.
The plant is sometimes gathered from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is sometimes cultivated for its edible seed in India[], and is also sometimes grown in soil reclamation projects[].
The plant is considered to be a very serious weed of many cultivated crops[]. It is regarded as the world's worst weed in paddy rice fields[].

Known Hazards

This grass has been reported to accumulate levels of nitrate in its tissues high enough to be toxic to farm animals[]. This problem is most likely to occur when plants are fed with inorganic fertilizers[].

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Native habitat is unknown but it is widespread in warmer regions occasionally introduced in Britain

Habitat

Ditches roadsides and waste places in S. Europe[]. Wet places and rich soils in India[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	1.20 m
Pollinators	Wind
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Barnyard millet is an annual plant that can succeed in a wide range of environments from the temperate zone to the tropics. It can be found at elevations up to 2,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 30°c, but can tolerate 2 - 40°c[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,100mm, but tolerates 310 - 2,500mm[].
An easily grown plant, it is adapted to nearly all types of wet places, and is often a common weed in paddy fields, roadsides, cultivated areas, and fallow fields[]. It succeeds on a variety of wet sites such as ditches, low areas in fertile croplands and wet wastes, often growing in water[]. Tolerant of most soil types, including saline conditions, plants are not restricted by soil pH[]. Prefers a rich moist soil[] but succeeds in ordinary garden soil[]. The sub-species E. Crus-galli zelayensis is often found growing wild in alkaline soils[]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 4.8 - 8.2[].
The plant has a relatively long growing season.

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked[, , , ]. Used as a millet, it can be cooked whole or be ground into a flour before use[, ]. It has a good flavour[] and can be used in porridges, macaroni, dumplings etc[]. The seed is rather small[], though fairly easy to harvest. It has a somewhat bitter flavour[].

Young shoots, stem tips and the heart of the culm - raw or cooked[, ]. A nutritional analysis is available[].

The roasted seed is a coffee substitute[].

Medicinal

Reported to be preventative and tonic, barnyard grass is a folk remedy for treating carbuncles, haemorrhages, sores, spleen trouble, cancer and wounds[].

The shoots and/or the roots are applied as a styptic to wounds[, ].

The plant is a tonic, acting on the spleen[, ].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is sometimes used, especially in Egypt, for the reclamation of saline and alkaline areas[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
A sowing in situ in late spring might also succeed but is unlikely to ripen a crop of seed if the summer is cool and wet.