How to grow FINGER MILLET in Uganda

Finger millet is an annual cereal crop widely grown in the arid areas of Africa.
The crop grows to about 1.25m and produces tillers.
Each tiller produces ahead with up to 9 fingers containing small grain.

Finger millet varieties in Uganda

The most indigenous types in East Africa include Gulu E, Engeny, Serere 1, Seremi 2,etc. average grain yields of these varieties range from about 2000-3500kg/ha with the recent releases yielding closet to 3500kg/ha under good management and mature between 100-110days.

Land requirements for growing finger millet

Finger Millet requires a seed bed owing to the small size of its seed.

Finger millet is grown following other crops in a rotation program such as cotton, sorghum, maize.

This is done to allow finger millet to take advantage of the already fine seed bed created after these crops.


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How to Plant Finger Millet in Uganda

Traditionally finger millet is broadcasted, the recommended practice is however to plant the crop in rows.

The spacing for the crop is 30cm between rows and continuous within rows.

The depth of plating should not exceed 5cm otherwise the grains will be buried too deep for them to geminate.

Finger millet can be dry planted too.

The seed rate of the crop is about 4-8kg/ha.


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How to weed finger Millet

Finger Millet easily gets out competed by weeds if the weeds are not cleared early enough.

This is because grassy weeds are difficult to differentiate them from millet in the early growth stages of the crop.

Weeding should be done when the crop is about2.5cm high and is done by hand with in the row and with hand hoes between rows.

A second weeding is usually done a month after the first weeding.

How to Thin Finger Millet Plants

Thin during the first weeding; excess finger millet plants may be uprooted to leave millet spaced at 3-5cm between plants.

The uprooted plants may be used to fill gaps where germination may have been poor.


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How to harvest Finger Millet in Africa

Finger millet matures between 100-110 days depending on the variety.

Harvesting should be done when the grains are hard but before they dry so much.

Delayed harvesting results in the shattering of the finger millet heads, and therefore a huge loss of grain.


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Quick Tips for planting finger millet in Uganda

• Winnow the millet grains meant for planting if you are to use home kept grains.


• The alternative would be washing the seeds in water and sieving off the floating seeds. After, ensure to dry them.


• Finger millet production is more on fine seed beds.


• Open up a shallow trench on a well prepared land. The trenches can be dusted with germinating inoculants or fertilizers.


• Then spread the seeds thinly along the trench.


• Cover the seeds with soils to protect them from the external surface.

Contact the plant guide to buy Finger Millet grains in Uganda

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