Grass damage has become an important factor restricting foxtail millet production; chemical weeding can help resolve this issue. However, special herbicides in foxtail millet fields are lacking. Penoxsulam has a broad weed control spectrum and a good control effect. In this project, Jingu 21 was used as the test material, and five different concentrations of penoxsulam were used for spraying test in the three-five leaf stage. In this experiment, the effects on the growth of foxtail millet were discussed by measuring the agronomic characters and antioxidant capacity of foxtail millet after spraying penoxsulam. The results showed that: (1) penoxsulam is particularly effective in controlling Amaranthus retroflexus L. (A. retroflexus) and Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv. (E. crus-galli), but is ineffective in controlling Chenopodium album L. (C. album) and Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. (D. sanguinalis); (2) the stem diameter, fresh weight, and dry weight of the above-ground parts decreased with the increase in spraying amount; (3) as the spraying dosage increased, the superoxide (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities in the foxtail millet initially increased and subsequently decreased; the malonaldehyde (MDA) content increased. Our experiment found that 1/2X and 1X spraying dosages had certain application value in controlling gramineous weeds in foxtail millet field. Other spraying dosages are not recommended as they may harm the crops. Our findings provide reference for identifying new herbicides in the foxtail millet field.

The indeterminate domain proteins (IDD proteins) play essential roles in the growth and development of various plant tissues and organs across different developmental stages, but members of this gene family have not yet been characterized in foxtail millet (Setaria italica). To have a comprehensive understanding of the IDD gene family in foxtail millet, we performed a genome-wide characterization and haplotypic variation analysis of the IDD gene family in foxtail millet. In this study, sixteen IDD genes were identified across the reference genome of Yugu1, a foxtail millet cultivar. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Setaria italica IDD (SiIDD) proteins were clustered into four groups together with IDD proteins from Arabidopsis thaliana (dicot) and Oryza sativa (monocot). Conserved protein motif and gene structure analyses revealed that the closely clustered SiIDD genes were highly conserved within each subgroup. Furthermore, chromosomal location analysis showed that the SiIDD genes were unevenly distributed on nine chromosomes of foxtail millet and shared collinear relationships with IDD genes of other grass species. Transcriptional analysis revealed that the SiIDD genes differed greatly in their expression patterns, and paralogous genes shared similar expression patterns. In addition, superior haplotypes for two SiIDD genes (SiIDD8 and SiIDD14) were identified to correlate with traits of early heading date, and high thousand seed weight and molecular markers were designed for SiIDD8 and SiIDD14 to distinguish different haplotypes for breeding. Taken together, the results of this study provide useful information for further functional investigation of SiIDD genes, and the superior haplotypes of SiIDD8 and SiIDD14 will be particularly beneficial for improving heading date and yield of foxtail millet in breeding programs.

The use of nitrogen fertilizer is a crucial agronomic practice to increase crop output and quality. This study investigated the impact of five nitrogen application levels (0, 60, 135, 210, and 285 kg N/hm2) on the physicochemical properties of foxtail millet (FM) starch. Optimal nitrogen application (210 kg N/hm2) significantly increased L*, a*, and b* values, water and oil absorption capacity, water solubility, and swelling power of starch. The number of small starch granules increased as the nitrogen application rate increased, but the granule morphology and typical A-type pattern did not change among the treatments. Nitrogen application increased the relative crystallinity and ordered structure, resulting in a higher gelatinization enthalpy. Compared to the control group (7.02 J/g), the enthalpy increased by 21.94 %, 66.38 %, 73.50 %, and 103.28 % under the nitrogen application rates, respectively. Moreover, nitrogen application greatly increased the percentage of A and B3 chains while it lowered the apparent amylose content, peak viscosity, and final viscosity. The effects of 210 and 285 kg N/hm2 treatments on the water solubility and swelling power, water and oil absorption, and light transmission of starch were greater compared to the 60 and 135 kg N/hm2 treatments. These results indicate that nitrogen fertilization significantly affects the physicochemical properties of FM starch.

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important cereal crop with rich nutritional value. Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS) are the prerequisites for the application of new variety rights for foxtail millet. In this study, we investigated 32 DUS test characteristics of 183 foxtail millet resources, studied their artificial selection trends, and identified the varieties that conform to breeding trends. The results indicated significant differences in terms of the means, ranges, and coefficients of variation for each characteristic. A correlation analysis was performed to determine the correlations between various DUS characteristics. A principal component analysis was conducted on 31 test characteristics to determine their primary characteristics. By plotting PC1 and PC2, all the germplasm resources could be clearly distinguished. The trends in foxtail millet breeding were identified through a differential analysis of the DUS test characteristics between the landrace and cultivated varieties. Based on these breeding trends, the optimal solution types for multiple evaluation indicators were determined; the weight allocation was calculated; and a specific TOPSIS algorithm was designed to establish a comprehensive multi-criteria decision-making model. Using this model, the breeding potential of foxtail millet germplasm resources were ranked. These findings provided important reference for foxtail millet breeding in the future.

Plant height (PH) is a crucial trait for strengthening lodging resistance and boosting yield in foxtail millet. To identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) and candidate genes associated with PH, we first developed a genetic map using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from a cross between Aininghuang and Jingu 21. Then, PH phenotyping data and four variations of best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) were collected from nine environments and three development stages. Next, QTL mapping was conducted using both unconditional and conditional QTL methods. Subsequently, candidate genes were predicted via transcriptome analysis of parental samples at three developmental stages. The results revealed that the genetic map, based on re-sequencing, consisted of 4,360 bin markers spanning 1,016.06 cM with an average genetic distance of 0.23 cM. A total of 19 unconditional QTL, accounting for 5.23%-35.36% of the phenotypic variation explained (PVE), which included 7 major and 4 stable QTL, were identified. Meanwhile, 13 conditional QTL, explaining 5.88%-40.35% of PVE, including 5 major and 3 stable QTL, were discovered. Furthermore, four consistent and stable QTL were identified. Finally, eight candidate genes were predicted through RNA-seq and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Those findings provide a crucial foundation for understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying PH development and facilitate molecular marker-assisted breeding of ideal plant types in foxtail millet.

The excessive accumulation of Cd and Zn in soil poisons crops and threatens food safety. In this study, KMnO4-hematite modified biochar (MnFeB) was developed and applied to remediate weakly alkaline Cd-Zn contaminated soil, and the heavy metal immobilization effect, plant growth, and metal ion uptake of foxtail millet were studied. MnFeB application reduced the phytotoxicity of soil heavy metals; bioavailable acid-soluble Cd and Zn were reduced by 57.79% and 35.64%, respectively, whereas stable, non-bioavailable, residual Cd and Zn increased by 96.44% and 32.08%, respectively. The chlorophyll and total protein contents and the superoxide dismutase (SOD)activity were enhanced, whereas proline, malondialdehyde, the H2O2 content, glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) activities were reduced. Accordingly, the expressions of GR, APX, and CAT were downregulated, whereas the expression of MnSOD was upregulated. In addition, MnFeB promoted the net photosynthetic rate and growth of foxtail millet plants. Furthermore, MnFeB reduced the levels of Cd and Zn in the stems, leaves, and grains, decreased the bioconcentration factor of Cd and Zn in shoots, and weakened the translocation of Cd and Zn from roots to shoots. Precipitation, complexation, oxidation-reduction, ion exchange, and π-π stacking interaction were the main Cd and Zn immobilization mechanisms, and MnFeB reduced the soil bacterial community diversity and the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Planctomycetota. This study provides a feasible and effective remediation material for Cd- and Zn-contaminated soils.

Drought stress is a major constraint on crop development, potentially causing huge yield losses and threatening global food security. Improving Crop\'s stress tolerance is usually associated with a yield penalty. One way to balance yield and stress tolerance is modification specific gene by emerging precision genome editing technology. However, our knowledge of yield-related drought-tolerant genes is still limited. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) has a remarkable tolerance to drought and is considered to be a model C4 crop that is easy to engineer. Here, we have identified 46 drought-responsive candidate genes by performing a machine learning-based transcriptome study on two drought-tolerant and two drought-sensitive foxtail millet cultivars. A total of 12 important drought-responsive genes were screened out by principal component analysis and confirmed experimentally by qPCR. Significantly, by investigating the haplotype of these genes based on 1844 germplasm resources, we found two genes (Seita.5G251300 and Seita.8G036300) exhibiting drought-tolerant haplotypes that possess an apparent advantage in 1000 grain weight and main panicle grain weight without penalty in grain weight per plant. These results demonstrate the potential of Seita.5G251300 and Seita.8G036300 for breeding drought-tolerant high-yielding foxtail millet. It provides important insights for the breeding of drought-tolerant high-yielding crop cultivars through genetic manipulation technology.

This research studies experimentally the drying of foxtail millet in a pulsation-assisted fluidized bed. The effects of temperature and pulsating flow frequency on millet drying are examined. The experiments are conducted at temperatures of 40 °C, 50 °C, and 60 °C for three pulsating frequencies of 0.5, 1, and 2.5 Hz and continuous flow. The best result is obtained for drying with a frequency of 1 Hz. It shows that the pulsating flow is more effective at 50 °C as compared to other temperatures. Four reliable semi-empirical models are used for predicting the moisture reduction during drying process. Among the fitted dynamic models, the model that has the maximum correlation coefficient (R 2 ) and minimum sum of squares of error (SSE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) and well able to predict the behavior of millet drying in the whole process was chosen.

CONCLUSIONS: One hundred and fifty-five QTL for trace element concentrations in foxtail millet were identified using a genome-wide association study, and a candidate gene associated with Ni-Co-Cr concentrations was detected. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is an important regional crop known for its rich mineral nutrient content, which has beneficial effects on human health. We assessed the concentrations of ten trace elements (Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn) in the grain of 408 foxtail millet accessions. Significant differences in the concentrations of five elements (Ba, Co, Ni, Sr, and Zn) were observed between two subpopulations of spring- and summer-sown foxtail millet varieties. Moreover, 84.4% of the element pairs exhibited significant correlations. To identify the genetic factors influencing trace element accumulation, a comprehensive genome-wide association study was conducted, identifying 155 quantitative trait locus (QTL) for the ten trace elements across three different environments. Among them, ten QTL were consistently detected in multiple environments, including qZn2.1, qZn4.4, qCr4.1, qFe6.3, qFe6.5, qCo6.1, qPb7.3, qPb7.5, qBa9.1, and qNi9.1. Thirteen QTL clusters were detected for multiple elements, which partially explained the correlations between elements. Additionally, the different concentrations of five elements between foxtail millet subpopulations were caused by the different frequencies of high-concentration alleles associated with important marker-trait associations. Haplotype analysis identified a candidate gene SETIT_036676mg associated with Ni accumulation, with the GG haplotype significantly increasing Ni-Co-Cr concentrations in foxtail millet. A cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence marker (cNi6676) based on the two haplotypes of SETIT_036676mg was developed and validated. Results of this study provide valuable reference information for the genetic research and improvement of trace element content in foxtail millet.

Excessive alcohol consumption has led to the prevalence of gastrointestinal ailments. Alleviating gastric disorders attributed to alcohol-induced thinning of the mucus layer has centered on enhancing mucin secretion as a pivotal approach. In this study, foxtail millet bran polyphenol BPIS was divided into two components with MW < 200 D and MW > 200 D by molecular interception technology. Combined with MTT, cell morphology observation, and trypan blue staining, isoferulic acid (IFA) within the MW < 200 D fraction was determined as the effective constituent to mitigate ethanol-induced damage of gastric epithelial cells. Furthermore, a Wistar rat model with similar clinical features to alcohol-induced gastric mucosal injury was established. Then, gastric morphological observation, H&E staining, and assessments of changes in gastric hexosamine content and gastric wall binding mucus levels were carried out, and the results revealed that IFA (10 mg/Kg) significantly ameliorated alcohol-induced gastric mucosal damage. Finally, we applied techniques including Co-IP, molecular docking, and fluorescence spectroscopy and found that IFA inhibited the alcohol-induced downregulation of N-acetylgalactosamintransferase 2 (GALNT2) activity related to mucus synthesis through direct interaction with GALNT2 in gastric epithelial cells, thus promoting mucin synthesis. Our study lays a foundation for whole grain dietary intervention tailored to individuals suffering from alcoholic gastric mucosal injury.