**9. Plant protection**

#### **9.1 Insect pests and their management**

Finger millet attracts several pests of which armyworms, cutworms, stem borers, leaf aphids, grasshoppers, gray weevils, shoot flies, and ear caterpillars are major ones (**Tables 5** and **6**).

#### **10. Harvesting and post-harvest management**

When millet grains reach full physical maturity, they should be harvested. Due to quick temperature and humidity changes, late harvesting could result in losses and

grain quality deterioration. Millet can be threshed manually or mechanically, including by pounding the panicles with sticks. When the crop is harvested by hand, the panicle is separated from the upright stalk at a moisture level of approximately 16–20%, and the stalks are used as animal feed. Before threshing, the grain's dryness can be determined by biting into it with the teeth or pinching it between the fingers. A dry glass bottle is filled with dry salt, the grain is added, and the bottle is shaken to test the salt. If, after a few minutes, the salt adheres to the bottle's sides, the grain's moisture content is above 15%; if not, the grain's moisture content is correct. Using the teeth (the grains are brittle when bitten) or pinching with the fingers, one can determine the dryness of the grain prior to threshing [29]. The grain must be dried once more to a moisture content of 13% or less after it has been threshed. The threshed grain should be dried on wire mesh trays, mats, sheets, or tarpaulins made of plastic that have been elevated on a platform. To allow air to travel through the grain while it dries, spread it out thin on the drying surface. Be sure to move the grain frequently to prevent overheating. Keep the grain dry and free from dirt, insects, animals, and rain [46, 47].

#### **11. Utilization of finger millet**

Even though finger millets have a wide variety and excellent nutritional content. The start-up movement of finger millet to increase the availability of nutrient-rich food has recently been steadily fuelled by these grains [48]. Tribal people save 75% of their finger millet harvest for food, therefore eating it every day is a ritual. The availability of finger millet is found to be practically year-round in their homes 65% of households, but we still need to address the remaining 35% of families to ensure year-round availability. Most families believe they eat finger millet because it provides more energy than other foods and makes it easy to carry out daily tasks, and they are least likely to be aware of blood sugar regulation [49]. Processing may be two different types: main processing and secondary processing. Primary processing consists of operations like cleaning, washing (soaking/germination), dehulling, milling (into flour and semolina), and removing the undesirable seed coat and anti-nutritional factors, while secondary processing entails transforming raw materials into "ready-tocook" (RTC) or "ready-to-eat" (RTE) products through flaking, popping, extrusion, and baking [50]. In India, malting finger millet is a common practice that produces ragi malt and a milk thickening practice that is used in baby food and other products. The preparation of products made only of millet and the mixing of millet with other ingredients can be done using a variety of techniques. These techniques can be similar to those used to prepare products from wheat and rice or they can differ because finger millets have different physical-chemical characteristics than the other cereal grains. The grain is also malted, and the flour produced from the malted grain is used to feed newborns and the elderly [51]. The development of a pleasant aroma during the kilning of the germinated grain is an additional benefit of malting ragi. In order to make milk drinks, malted ragi flour, also known as "ragi malt," is utilized. In certain regions of the nation, a fermented beverage called beer is also made from grain [7, 52].

#### **12. Conclusion**

This crop is perfect for dry land farming because of its strong ability for regeneration after the relief of stressful circumstances. The major states in India where

#### *Finger Millet Scientific Cultivation and Its Uses In India DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111391*

finger millet is grown include Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra. Furthermore, finger millet is a crucial component of dietary and nutritionally balanced diets since it is equally rich in carbohydrates, energy, and nutrients. Despite the fact that finger millet is a very healthy grain with a high nutritional value, a high consumption may cause the body to produce more oxalic acid. Compared to other cereals, millets are nutritionally dense, and processing and employing millets in the production of products has undeniable potential in terms of health benefits, nutrition, and quality. By increasing the digestibility of the protein and the bioavailability of the minerals, simple processing methods like soaking, germination/malting, and fermentation may assist address the issue of protein-energy deficiency. In order to increase consumer acceptance of small millets without sacrificing their health advantages, processing procedures for these grains still need to be optimized. Additionally, knowledge must be raised about the effects of processing techniques on millets' nutritional qualities and health advantages at both the commercial and household levels in order to address food poverty and malnutrition.
