Among other things, I've been looking for more information about millets and sorghum in Mexico - species, production, and uses, A while ago I came across a publication in English giving a useful overview of these crops in Mexico, even though it's already two decades old. I'll quote or summarize important points below, following the citation (with notes) and abstract: Williams-Alanís, Héctor, "Sorghum and Millet in Mexico," Chap. 75 (pp. 457-463) in John F. Leslie, ed. Sorghum and Millets Diseases (Iowa State Press, 2002) https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470384923.ch75 [NB- this is a compilation of articles presented at a 2000 conference, which was the third in a series on sorghum & millets diseases; there appears to also be a 2003 edition under the Wiley label, with 2008 date also seen; I'm working off a PDF of the 2002 ed. Héctor Williams-Alanís is or was a researcher at Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP) in Mexico] ABSTRACT "Sorghum is one the most important crops in Mexico and is cultivated on the third largest area, after maize and dry beans. The area planted to sorghum and the amount of grain produced have generally increased over the last 40 years. Sorghum grain is used mainly for animal feed, but 44% of the national production is imported to satisfy annual demand. In contrast, millet is an almost unknown crop in Mexico. However, there are excellent prospects for millet production, primarily in arid and semi-arid regions. Any millet grain produced probably would be used to supplement sorghum in animal feeding, as millet has a higher nutritional value. Both sorghum and millet could be, but have not been, used for human food." SORGHUM (my notes, unless in quotes) "Sorghum was originally introduced to dry land regions of Mexico because of its drought tolerance. However, it has been adapted to all irrigated and dry land areas in the country." First publication about sorghum in Mexico was in 1882. "... sorghum production in Mexico began to be successful following the first use of hybrids in Texas in the late 1950s. After discovering the potential of these hybrids, farmers in both northern and central Mexico adopted them quickly. At the same time, there was great demand for grain sorghum by the livestock feed industry." "Sorghum research in Mexico has been partially responsible for one of the most successful episodes in Mexican agricultural history and is sometimes termed the 'Second Green Revolution.' Measured in terms of adoption and yield increments, sorghum has been more successful in Mexico than wheat, the major crop of the Green Revolution." List & brief explanations of constraints and problems in production of sorghum. Discussion of sorghum cultivation and uses by region of the country. Mexico is among the top 5 producers of sorghum in the world, accounting for 10% of total production, but at the same time it is also the biggest importer of sorghum, Sorghum accounts for the "third largest in cultivated area (1.8 million hectares) and the second largest in grain production (5.8 million tons per year)" "Forage sorghum is cultivated in 137,000 ha averaging 24.3 tons of forage per ha" (note that this area is <10% of the total under sorghum cultivation) "*Sorghum uses in Mexico*. Grain sorghum is used directly for animal feed and for feed manufacture. Sorghum grain comprises 60-80% of the total material in poultry and pork diets. Maize is more expensive than sorghum and is used primarily for human consumption and not for animal feed. The basic food commodities consumed by the Mexican people-eggs, milk, and beef-are all produced primarily with sorghum. An undetermined amount of grain sorghum is utilized as malt for beer production. Sorghum also may be used directly as human food in combination with maize to make tortillas." "*The future of sorghum in Mexico*. In recent years, Mexico has been increasing sorghum production. Drought, high temperature tolerance, and adaptation to diverse soil types make sorghum a good option for farmers. Sorghum’s future in Mexico is in rain fed regions where both the grain and the forage can be used in livestock production. The current high demand for grain sorghum by feed manufacturers requires importation of sorghum grain equivalent to 44% of national production. Research in sorghum breeding for drought tolerance and agronomic practices to conserve soil moisture are important for sorghum’s future in Mexico" MILLETS (my notes, unless in quotes) As with sorghum, there is a lot of information in this section, The author at various times refers to proso, foxtail, and pearl millets, and once to teff, but it is often not clear whether when referring to "millet," he means millets in general or a particular millet from among them. "Millet is an almost unknown crop in Mexico; however, it has great potential for establishment in the country because of the available climate(s). In the past, small areas of millet have been cultivated for grain, forage and bird seed. There are no statistics available on production area and yield for millets in Mexico." Research on millets in Mexico began about 1967, but has tended to be dispersed among different entities in various locations. "Several different millet species have been evaluated, including pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) and the minor millets - teff (Eragrostis tef), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum)." Some discussion of specific research trials. Discussion of millets in northern and southern Mexico. Wrt forage, this finding"from northern Mexico is interesting: "Millet also has higher water, soil, and time efficiency than either maize or sorghum. Millet can produce almost a ton of protein per hectare in only 51 days, while maize and sorghum require twice this time. "*Human consumption*. *Millet bread*. Bread and cookies can be baked when flour from foxtail millet is mixed 15:85 mi1let:wheat. The composite flour yielded a bread with a volume and texture similar to that of whole wheat bread. Good quality cookies with a 40:60 millet:wheat composite flour. Both the bread and the cookies made with millet had good acceptance. "*Millet tortillas*. Maize tortillas are a staple food in Mexico. In 1983, the food technology laboratory at CIFAP Mexico (Centro de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias del Valle de México), evaluated millet grain as tortilla ingredient. Millet has excellent organoleptic characteristics when a 10:90 millet:corn composite flour is used to make tortillas. Tortillas made solely from minor millet grain by using a maize recipe had good appearance and taste. Millet grain is acceptable for human consumption due to its low tannin and phenol content." Mention of significance for Mexico of US research on millets. "*Future of Millet*. Millet has excellent prospects in Mexico, primarily in arid and semi-arid regions, and in areas with poor soils. The most important features for millet in Mexico are drought tolerance, early maturity, and adaptation to a variety of soil conditions. Millet grain can complement or replace sorghum in animal feed, and producing the grain locally would help to decrease the grain sorghum deficit in Mexico that requires the annual importation of ≥ 2.8 million tons of grain sorghum. Demand for millet also might increase when industry begins to exploit millet's increased nutritive value relative to sorghum." CONCLUSION (mine) I found this to be a great introductory article on millets and sorghum in Mexico. It is well referenced, and anyone doing research on this topic would likely find the sources of interest. Am assuming that any more detailed or extensive treatment of this topic (broadly or focused on specific crops) would be in Spanish. Any further info would be appreciated. That said, it was not easy to get a copy. I was able to scrounge up a PDF of what is apparently the first edition of the whole book compilation (cited above), and have extracted the pages of this chapter. I believe it would be consistent with fair use to share that with anyone who is interested (you may contact me off-list at the email in the sig). Don Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance don@milletsalliance.org