© 2023 Ashirbachan Mahapatra, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License -NonCommercial- ShareAlike Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/). Review and outlook of weed management in millets Ashirbachan Mahapatra 1 , Rajesh Shriram Kalasare 1 *, Jnana Bharati Palai 1 , Swarnali Duary 1 , Chandrasekhar Sahu 2 , Dwity Sundar Rout 3 1 Department of Agronomy and Agroforestry, Centurion University of Technology and Management, R. Sitapur, Odisha, India. 2 Department of Biochemistry and Crop Physiology, Centurion University of Technology and Management, R. Sitapur, Odisha, India. 3 Department of Agricultural Extension Education, Centurion University of Technology and Management, R. Sitapur, Odisha, India. ABSTRACT Since ancient civilization millets have been traditionally cultivated as a staple food in Asia and Africa. After the popularization of fine cereals such as rice and wheat, the millets lost their popularity and remained confined to a limited area and production. However, when we talk about nutritional security, millets have immense potential as they are rich in different amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Therefore, they are considered “Nutri-Cereals.” Nature has also equipped them with a high potential to thrive well in resource constraint situations. Hence, considering the growing ill effects of changing climatic scenarios, their demand is going to be high in the future. As far as the cultivation of millets is considered, their yield is compromised by several biotic and abiotic stresses. Among the biotic stresses, weed infestation is one of the most important ones, which drastically reduces the yield of millets. Millets are slow growers at the early stages of their growth. Hence, if proper and timely weed management strategies are not taken then weeds deprive the crop of different growth resources such as nutrients, soil moisture, light, and space which ultimately hamper the yield. Several weed management strategies, namely, pre-emergence herbicides, and herbicide mixtures have been standardized for weed control in millets. However, limited kinds of literature are available suggesting the weed management options in millets, post-emergence herbicide options, and integrated weed management options. Post-emergence herbicides along with other methods of weed control can provide a season-long competition-free environment to the millet crops which will increase millet productivity. The available weed management options from different works of literature have been discussed in this article. 1. INTRODUCTION The first green revolution in our country was concerned with food security, whereas the second green revolution will be concerned with nutritional security. Millets are the most important component of the nutritional security program, which are therefore called “Nutri- Cereals.” Millets have been cultivated for more than 5000 years in many parts of Asia and Africa [1]. In addition to being a staple diet in Northern Africa for thousands of years, millets were also popular in China and India before fine cereals such as rice and wheat gained widespread. They are among the earliest cultivable food grains that humans have been able to identify. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), little millet (Panicum sumatrense), barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) which are minor cereals of the small seeded-grass family (Poaceae) mainly *Corresponding Author: Rajesh Shriram Kalasare, Department of Agronomy and Agroforestry, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha, India. E-mail: rajesh.kalasare @ cutm.ac.in grown in semi-arid regions [2]. These have amazing nutritional value and are 3 to 5 times more nutritious than rice and wheat in terms of protein, minerals, and vitamins. They also have a short growing season (70–80 days), are well suited to multiple cropping systems under both irrigated and rainfed conditions, and can survive in unusually infertile soil [3-5]. Within a short time, they can offer highly desired nutrients in the form of grain and fodder. They are also known as “famine reserves” because to their improved capacity under normal storage circumstances. Despite all the amazing qualities and capacities of millet farming systems, the area and production of millets in the country have been drastically reduced over the past five decades from 1955–56 to 2013–14. Over the past six decades from 1950–51 to 2011–12, the contribution of millets in total food grain production of the country declined from 22.17% to 6.94%. Out of many factors for the declination of millet production in the country, weed infestation is one of the most important factors. The growth of millets is slow at first and they are weaker than weeds in crop-weed competition in the first few weeks of their growth. Weeds compete for different growth resources, namely, nutrients, soil moisture, light, and space. with the crop and the competition starts when the growth resources fall below their combined demand. Due to the slow growth of millets Available online at http://www.jabonline.in ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received on: September 29, 2022 Accepted on: May 07, 2023 Available online: *** Key words: Crop-weed competition, Millets, Striga, Weed diversity, Weed management. Journal of Applied Biology & Biotechnology Vol. X(XX), pp. 1-10, 2023 DOI: 10.7324/JABB.2023.118222