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Assignment 7: Revised Wikipedia Assignment (12/6/15) added to Digitaria exilis page.

Digitaria exilis is a crop that has not been pursued for domestication worldwide, but actually has many qualities that make it a good crop candidate. Digitaria exilis is a perennial plant that has a C4 metabolism and is medium in height. It can be planted alone or among other crops in the marginal land. Farmers value how quickly Digitaria exilis comes to maturation. In as little as six to eight weeks the crop reaches maturity.

The crop is an important part of cooking in West Africa. Digitaria exilis is a grain traditionally used for porridges and steamed cooked food. The species is known to have high carbohydrate and protein levels. These protein levels are seen with Digitaria exilis being rich in essential amino acids like methionine compared to other cereals like wheat, rice, and maize. These qualities show that Digitaria exilis could be a good source of food and if the right characters are selected for it could turn into a useful crop. 

Digitaria exilis has also good sustainability qualities and can survive in difficult environments. The crop maintained germination rates after being exposed to washing and scarifying treatments. Also Digitaria exilis germinated well in various soil types like sand and loam. The crop requires little input with surviving just on rain. It is adapted to marginal land doing well in poor soil and being drought resistant. All these characteristics make Digitaria exilis a possible good crop candidate. 

Digitaria exilis can be harvested in many ways. Some farmers just uproot them to get the seeds, but other methods may be more effective. People use sickles to cut the region with seeds instead of destroying the whole plant. Another process is threshing which can vary by region. One way of threshing is beating the straw to extract the grain or it can be done by trampling the straw to extract the seeds. After the grains must be dried usually for a few days. The crop has very small seeds surrounded by tough kernels so they are ground into a fine powder to be incorporated in cooking.

On the other hand, Digitaria exilis does have some implications with regard to its ability to be a crop candidate. One thing the crop struggles with is competing with weeds. So farmers are required to remove weeds after sowing. Another thing is that fields after planted with Digitaria exilis require time to regain nutrients in the soil. Usually a field must fallow for 1-2 years. These are some qualities that need improvement and through artificial selection can be achieved.   

Digitaria exilis is the oldest native cereal crop in West Africa at around 5 millennia BC. For that region, Digitaria exilis is vital for food security. Farmers emphasize the crop’s cooking ability, growth cycle, productivity, and size. Regardless, the crop is facing difficulties with keeping diversity and production up because of lack of harvest and lack of technologies for processing. With that in mind, it is important to maintain and develop the fonio for producers and consumers. Digitaria exilis has many potential future uses such as cooking or technological purposes so it is necessary to select for good kernel properties to develop it into a new food source as a crop for the world.

[1] Haq, N (1995). Fonio (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua). London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 2–6.

[2] Arueya, G., & Oyewale, T. (2015). Effect of varying degrees of succinylation on the functional and morphological properties of starch from acha (Digitaria exilis Kippis Stapf). Food Chemistry 177, 258-266.

[3] Jideani IA (2000) Traditional and possible technological uses of Digitaria exilis (acha) and Digitaria iburua (iburu). Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 54: 363-374.

[4] Jideani IA (1990) Acha-Digitaria exilis–the neglected cereal. Agric Int 42:132–143

[5] Elberse W and Breman H (1989) Germination and establishment of Sahelian rangeland species. Oecologia 8: 477-484.

[6] Adoukonou-Sagbadja H, Wagner C, Dansi A, Ahlemeyer J, Daienou O, Akpagana K, Ordon F, Friedt W (2007) Genetic diversity and population differentiation of traditional fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) landraces from different agro-ecological zones of West Africa. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 115(7): 917-931.

[7] Adoukonou-Sagbadja H, Dansi A, Vodouhè R, Akpagana K (2006) Indigenous knowledge and traditional conservation of fonio millet (Digitaria exilis, Digitaria iburua) in Togo. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 2379-2395

[8] Dansi A, Adoukonou-Sagbadja H, Vodouhè R (2010) Diversity, conservation and related wild species of Fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) in the northwest of Benin. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 57: 827-839.

Digitaria exilis is a crop that has not been pursued for domestication, but actually it has many qualities that make it a good crop candidate. Digitaria exilis is a perennial plant that has a C4 metabolism and is medium in height^[6]. It can be planted alone or among other crops in the marginal land. Farmers value how quickly D. exilis comes to maturation. In as little as six to eight weeks the crop reaches maturity^[3].

The crop is an important part of cooking in West Africa. Digitaria exilis is a grain traditionally used for porridges and steamed cooked food. The species is known to have high carbohydrate and protein levels^[8]. These protein levels are seen with D. exilis being rich in essential amino acids like methionine compared to other cereals like wheat, rice, and maize^[7]. These qualities show that D. exilis could be a good source of food and if the right characters are selected for it could turn into a useful crop. 

Digitaria exilis has also good sustainability qualities and can survive in difficult environments. The crop maintained germination rates after being exposed to washing and scarifying treatments. Also Digitaria exilis germinated well in various soil types like sand and loam^[5]. The crop requires little input with surviving just on rain. It is adapted to marginal land doing well in poor soil and being drought resistant^[2]. All these characteristics make D. exilis a possible good crop candidate. 

Harvesting is very important for Digitaria exilis. Farmers harvest D. exilis in many ways. Some farmers just uproot them to get the seeds, but other methods may be more effective. People use sickles to cut the region with seeds instead of destroying the whole plant. Another process is threshing which can vary by region. One way of threshing is beating the straw to extract the grain or it can be done by trampling the straw to extract the seeds. After the grains must be dried usually for a few days. The crop has very small seeds surrounded by tough kernels so they are ground into a fine powder to be incorporated in cooking^[1].

Digitaria exilis does have some implications. One thing the crop struggles with is competing with weeds. So farmers are required to remove weeds after sowing. Another thing is that fields after planted with D. exilis require time to regain nutrients in the soil. Usually a field must fallow for 1-2 years^[1]. These are some qualities that need improvement and through artificial selection can be achieved.   

Digitaria exilis is the oldest native cereal crop in West Africa at around 5 millennia BC. For that region, Digitaria exilis is vital for food security^[2]. Farmers emphasize the crop’s cooking ability, growth cycle, productivity, and size^[4]. Regardless, the crop is facing difficulties with keeping diversity and production up because of lack of harvest and lack of technologies for processing^[1]. With that in mind, it is important to maintain and develop the fonio for producers and consumers. Digitaria exilis has many potential future uses like for cooking or technological purposes so it is necessary to select for good kernel properties to develop it into a new food source as a crop for the world^[8].

[1] Adoukonou-Sagbadja H, Dansi A, Vodouhè R, Akpagana K (2006) Indigenous knowledge and traditional conservation of fonio millet (Digitaria exilis, Digitaria iburua) in Togo. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 2379-239.

[2] Adoukonou-Sagbadja H, Wagner C, Dansi A, Ahlemeyer J, Daienou O, Akpagana K, Ordon F, Friedt W (2007) Genetic diversity and population differentiation of traditional fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) landraces from different agro-ecological zones of West Africa. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 115(7): 917-931.

[3] Arueya, G., & Oyewale, T. (2015). Effect of varying degrees of succinylation on the functional and morphological properties of starch from acha (Digitaria exilis Kippis Stapf). Food Chemistry, 177, 258-266. 

[3] Dansi A, Adoukonou-Sagbadja H, Vodouhè R (2010) Diversity, conservation and related wild species of Fonio millet (Digitaria spp.) in the northwest of Benin. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 57: 827-839.

[4] Elberse W and Breman H (1989) Germination and establishment of Sahelian rangeland species. Oecologia 8: 477-484.

[5] Haq, N (1995). Fonio (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua). London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 2–6.

[6] Jideani IA (1990) Acha-Digitaria exilis–the neglected cereal. Agric Int 42:132–143

[7] Jideani IA (2000) Traditional and possible technological uses of Digitaria exilis (acha) and Digitaria iburua (iburu). Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 54: 363-374.

The crops have C4 metabolisms and are medium in height.[1] The number of chromosomes for the species can be diploid (2n), tetraploid (4n), or hexaploid (6n).[2]

[1] Haq, N (1995). Fonio (Digitaria exilis and Digitaria iburua). London: Chapman & Hall. pp. 2–6. [2] Adoukonou-Sagbadja, H.; Schubert, V.; Dansi, A.; Jovtchev, G.; Meister, A.; Pistrick, K.; Akpagana, K.; Friedt, W. (2007-07-02). "Flow cytometric analysis reveals different nuclear DNA contents in cultivated Fonio (Digitaria spp.) and some wild relatives from West-Africa". Plant Systematics and Evolution 267 (1-4): 163–176. doi:10.1007/s00606-007-0552-z. ISSN 0378-2697.