Echinochloa colona (L.) Link

Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) P.B.

E. crusgalli domesticated in Japan 4000 years ago and E.colona domesticated in India. Barnyard millet is fastest growing of all millets and produces a crop in six weeks. It is grown in India, Japan and China as a substitute for rice when the paddy crop fails. The plant has attracted some attention as a fodder in the United States and Japan.

On the basis of inflorescence morphology, the genus Echinochloa is classified into two species, four subspecies and eight races. The two subspecies are E. colona and E. crusgalli. The subspecies Colona has no races and subspecies frumentacea is divided into races: Stolonifera, Intermedia, Robusta and Laxa. The species crusgalli classified into subspecies crusgalli and utilis. The subspecies crusgalli is divided into races Crusgalli and Macrocarpa, and subspecies utilis is divided into races Utilis and Intermedia.