*2.5.6 Rye*

Rye is generally a hardy plant and it is wildly cultivated in cool temperature zones, where other cereals can merely survive. Rye can also be grown in semi-arid areas and at high altitudes. It is cultivated as a winter crop, which is sown in early autumn and harvested in early summer [65]. The plant varies in height from 30 cm

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*Utilization of Starch in Food and Allied Industries in Africa: Challenges and Prospects*

to more than 2 m. It is a major crop grown in Russia, Poland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries for crispy bread, alcohol animal feed production [67]. The grain is protected with a bearded *glume* husk, arranged in an alternating pattern along the rachis. Rye is thinner and more elongated than wheat; it possesses a grayish yellow color and varies from 1.5 mm to 3.5 mm in size. The grain comprises of the starchy endosperm, the pericarp and the testa. Other constituents include the bran, accounting for 10% of the grain with the remainder consisting of the germ

Millet is an annually cultivated cereal which possesses different species of small grains [64, 70]. Among the various species of millet, pearl millet is the only one that is mostly of economic concern. Other known species of millet include, finger (or ragi), proso and foxtail, but the minor millets account for less than 1% of the grains produced for human consumption, they are less important in terms of world food production [65, 70]. Cultivation of millet is of utmost importance in certain locations in Africa and Asia where major cereals cannot be solely depended on to provide sustainable yields [73]. The species type influence climatic and soil requirements, length of growing period, grain consistency, size and taste of millet [64].

Sorghum (*Sorghum bicolor* L. Moench) is wild regarded as a warm season crop, intolerant of low temperatures but fairly resistant to serious pests and diseases. The known varieties are great millet and guinea corn in West Africa, kafir corn in South Africa, jowar in India and kaoliang in China. It is one of the staple foods in many parts of Africa, Asia, and parts of the Middle East [65, 70]. However, most of the sorghum grains produced in North and Central America, South America and Oceania are used for animal feed [73]. The grain comprises of a naked caryopsis, which is made up of a pericarp, endosperm and germ. Based on huge range of physical diversities, such as the color of the pericarp (white, yellow or red) and presence/ absence of pigmented testa (with/without tannins), sorghums are classed into one of four groups and these are (1) grain sorghum, (2) forage sorghum, (3) grass

Acha, which is also referred to as "fonio", "findi", "fundi", "pom, and kabug" "hungry rice" and "petit mil", is a small-grained cereal that is native to West Africa, which is generally classified among the millet [74, 75]. It is cultivated in various parts of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea Bissau and Benin Republic on less fertile sandy soils that could not support the growth of other more demanding cereals. There are two known varieties of acha which are *Digitaria exilis Kippis stapf.* and *Digitaria iburua Kippis Stapf.* It is regarded as one of the lost crops in the West Africa sub region. Its production is important to West African Farmers, though hindered by several factors among which are poor agronomic performance because of unimproved seeds and husbandary practices. Its West Africa annual production is about 250,000 tonnes [17]. The annual yields of 3098 metric tonnes, 112,000 metric tonnes and 126,000 metric tonnes of fonio were reported in Nigeria [76]. The economic returns of acha when compared with other crops like rice, sorghum, and cowpea showed that it was profitable to grow the crop on a commercial scale [77]. Fonio are the most nutritious and testiest of all grains [77] and it contains 7%

sorghum or (4) Sudan sorghums and broom corn [70].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95020*

(the embryo and scutellum).

*2.5.7 Millet*

*2.5.8 Sorghum*

*2.5.9 Acha*

#### *Utilization of Starch in Food and Allied Industries in Africa: Challenges and Prospects DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95020*

to more than 2 m. It is a major crop grown in Russia, Poland, Germany and the Scandinavian countries for crispy bread, alcohol animal feed production [67]. The grain is protected with a bearded *glume* husk, arranged in an alternating pattern along the rachis. Rye is thinner and more elongated than wheat; it possesses a grayish yellow color and varies from 1.5 mm to 3.5 mm in size. The grain comprises of the starchy endosperm, the pericarp and the testa. Other constituents include the bran, accounting for 10% of the grain with the remainder consisting of the germ (the embryo and scutellum).
