Urochloa ramosa

It has glabrous (hairless) spikelets, are about {{cvt|3.3|mm|1}} long, the upper of each pair on a pedicel (stalk) about as long as the spikelet. The spikelets are more often slightly or distinctly puberulent and pedicels are often shorter. Plants found in Malesia and Australia always have shorter spikelets (only up to 3 mm long).{{cite web |title=Urochloa ramosa |url=https://alienplantsbelgium.myspecies.info/content/urochloa-ramosa |access-date=4 October 2023}}{{cite journal |last1=Veldkamp |first1=J.F. |title=Brachiaria, Urochloa (Gramineae-Paniceae) in Malesia. |journal=Blumea |date=1996 |volume=41 |pages=413–437}}

Seed germination can happen in up to 5 days and the rapidly growing crop can then be harvested in the next two months. Its fine stems and leaves allow the plant to dry sufficiently to be used as a dry hay product.

It was originally published as Brachiaria ramosa {{au|(L.) Stapf}} in D.Oliver & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Trop. Afr. 9: 542 in 1919, before being renamed and published and described by botanist T.Q.Nguyen in Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 3: 13 in 1966.{{cite journal |last1=Faccenda |first1=K. |title=Updates to the Hawaiian grass flora and selected keys to species: Part 2. |journal=Bishop Museum Occasional Papers |date=2023 |volume=155 |pages=83–156}}{{cite journal |last1=Knapp |first1=W.M. |last2=Naczi |first2=R.F.C. |title=Vascular plants of Maryland, USA. A comprehensive account of the state's botanical diversity. |journal=Smithsonian Contributions to Botany |date=2021 |volume=113 |pages=1–151}}

The specific epithet, ramosa, is a Latin adjective meaning "branched" which describes the plant as bearing branches.{{Cite web |title=ramosus,-a,-um |url=http://www.plantillustrations.org/epithet.php?id_epithet=203164 |access-date=2021-08-06|website=www.plantillustrations.org}}

The reconstructed Proto-Dravidian name for Brachiaria ramosa is *conna-l.Southworth, Franklin C. 2005. [https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~fsouth/from_ccat/Proto-DravidianAgriculture.pdf Proto-Dravidian Agriculture]. Paper presented at the 7th ESCA Round Table Conference, Kyoto, June 2005.

It is named differently in Indian languages such as “korale” and “kadu-baragu” in Kannada, “andakorra” and “pedda-sama” in Telugu.{{cite journal |last1=Fuller |first1=D. Q. |title=Agricultural origins and frontiers in South Asia: a working synthesis. |journal=J. World Prehistory |date=2006 |volume=20 |pages=40–51 |doi=10.1007/s10963-006-9006-8}}

It is found in Afghanistan, Andaman Islands, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, China, Djibouti, East Himalaya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf States, Hainan, India, Ivory Coast, Java, Kenya, Lesser Sunda Islands, Liberia, Malawi, Malaya, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Nicobar Islands, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Provinces (South Africa), Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, (island of) Socotra, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

It has been introduced to parts of the United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia), South America (Peru), Africa (Madagascar, Mauritius, the island of Réunion), and parts of Australia,{{cite web |title=Urochloa ramosa {{!}} AusGrass2 |url=https://ausgrass2.myspecies.info/content/urochloa-ramosa |website=ausgrass2.myspecies.info |access-date=5 October 2023}} (Christmas Island, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia).

In parts of America, it is considered an invasive weed, as it has been found to reduce yield and lower quality of cotton in the

southeastern United States.Molin, W.T. 2008. Browntop millet: an emerging weed problem. Proc. Beltwide Cotton Conf., Nashville,

Tennessee. 8–11, Jan. 2008. http://ncc.confex.com/ncc/2008/techprogram/P8095. HTM (accessed 19 Aug. 2014)

In South Asia, it is traditionally cultivated as a cereal crop.{{cite book|last=Fuller|first=Dorian Q.|title=Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology|chapter=Millets: Origins and Development|publisher=Springer New York|publication-place=New York, NY|year=2014|doi=10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2181|pages=4945–4948|isbn=978-1-4419-0426-3 }} It is used because it has potential to give high yield in resource-poor and fragile ecological conditions.{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=Shivani |last2=Suri |first2=Sukhneet |last3=Singh |first3=Ranjana |title=Potential and unrealized future possibilities of browntop millet in the food sector |journal=Front. Sustain. Food Syst. |date=12 September 2022 |volume=6 (Sec. Sustainable Food Processing) |doi=10.3389/fsufs.2022.974126 |doi-access=free }} In the southern parts of India, the grains of browntop millet from non-shattering varieties are consumed as boiled whole grain (like rice), porridge, kheer or unleavened bread and dosa.{{cite book |last1=Nesbitt |first1=M.G. |editor1-last=Prance |editor1-first=G. |editor2-last=Nesbitt |editor2-first=M.G. |title=The Cultural History of Plants |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge Press |location=New York |pages=45–60}}

The grain is also used as a birdseed, and forage crop (in the US) for domestic animals and game animals (such as deer and rabbit) and for birds such as turkey, duck, dove, quail and pheasant. Browntop millet can represent up to 10–25% of the

diet of terrestrial and water birds.{{Cite PLANTS |symbol=URRA |taxon=Urochloa ramosa |access-date=19 August 2014 }} Also 50% of ingested seed found in mourning dove's crops was browntop millet.Futch, W. J. Duguay, and K. M. Tolson. 2013. Seed selection by mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) in northeastern Louisiana. LA Assoc. of Prof. Biolo. and The Wildlife Soc. LA Chap., 2013, Baton Rouge, LA. 15–16 Aug. 2013. Waddill Outdoor Education Center, Baton Rouge, LA.

Urochloa ramosa is also used to suppress root-knot nematode populations in tomato and pepper crops in south-eastern states of America.{{cite journal |last1=McSorley |first1=R. |last2=Ozores-Hampton |first2=M. |last3=Stansly |first3=P.A. |last4=Conner |first4=M. |title=Nematode management, soil fertility, and yield in organic vegetable production. |journal=Nematropica |date=1999 |volume=29 |pages=205–213}}

Urochloa ramosa also has the ability to accumulate significant amounts of metals such as lead and zinc in its shoot and root tissues making it an important plant for remediation of contaminated soils (Lakshmi et al., 2013).{{cite journal |last1=Lakshmi |first1=P.M. |last2=Jaison |first2=S. |last3=Muthukumar |first3=T. |last4=Muthukumar |first4=M. |title=Assessment of metal accumulation capacity of Brachiaria ramosa collected from cement waste dumping area for the remediation of metal contaminated soil. |journal=Ecological Engineering |date=1 November 2013 |volume=60 |pages=96–98 |doi=10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.07.043}}

It is affected by insect pests such as:{{cite book|last=Kalaisekar|first=A|title=Insect pests of millets: systematics, bionomics, and management|publisher=Elsevier|publication-place=London|year=2017|isbn=978-0-12-804243-4|oclc=967265246}}

• shoot flies Atherigona oryzae, Atherigona pulla, and Atherigona punctata
• caseworm Parapoynx stagnalis
• red hairy caterpillars Amsacta albistriga and Amsacta moorei

Within the US, army worms (Mythimna unipuncta) and grasshoppers are the common insect problems.

{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q21304257}}

Category:Flora of West Tropical Africa

Category:Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa

Category:Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa

Category:Flora of East Tropical Africa

Category:Flora of Zimbabwe

Category:Flora of the Northern Provinces

Category:Flora of the Arabian Peninsula

Category:Flora of the Indian subcontinent

Category:Flora of Indo-China

Category:Flora of Hainan

Category:Millets

Category:Plants described in 1966

Category:Panicoideae