Here is more info on the upcoming Millets Webinar on finger millet (Thursday, May 15, at 11 am EDT/8 am PDT), including presenter bios and Zoom details. Juan Di Salvo and Srikanth Panthulugiri, doctoral students in plant breeding, will discuss their research and findings on finger millet at Iowa State University, where they work in Prof. Asheesh Singh's lab. Finger millet, or "ragi" (Eleusine coracana), is not widely known or researched in the US or its neighbors, nor is it grown in this part of the world at any scale. It originated in East Africa, and is a staple in parts of Africa and Asia. Globally, India is the largest producer (and exporter) of this grain. What could be the future of finger millet in North America? What does research in Iowa tell us? Presenter bios: * Juan Di Salvo is a PhD Student in Plant Breeding under Dr. Asheesh Singh at Iowa State University. He holds a B.S. in Agronomy from Universidad Nacional de Rosario and a MSc. in Integrated Crop and Soil Sciences from University of Kentucky and MSc in Plant Breeding at Iowa State University. During his Master's Juan worked in the description and identification of current finger millet accessions in the USDA germplasm collection for cultivation in the Midwest U.S. region and selection of parental candidates to develop new finger millet varieties. He also used the standardized BBCH chart as the baseline, to describe eight main stages of development and provided a simplified and user-friendly phenological growth staging scale for finger millet. * Srikanth Panthulugiri is a Ph.D. student in plant breeding at Iowa State University working in Dr. Asheesh Singh’s lab. Srikanth’s research focuses on mutation breeding in finger and proso millets to generate genetic variation and select superior mutants suited for Iowa and the Midwest. He is also exploring various emasculation techniques to make crosses in Finger millet. Prior to his Ph.D., he worked as a Research Fellow in the finger millet breeding program at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) from 2021 to 2022, where he contributed to the development of breeding and mutant populations. Topic: NAMA Monthly Webinar Session Time: Thursday, April 17, 2025, at 11 am EDT/8 am PDT Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86716347793?pwd=Fbp5YT9KNYKcum7obg94cExifEXrDE.1 Meeting ID: 867 1634 7793 Passcode: 340314 --- One tap mobile +19292056099,,86716347793#,,,,*340314# US (New York) +13017158592,,86716347793#,,,,*340314# US (Washington DC) --- Dial by your location • +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) • +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) • +1 305 224 1968 US • +1 309 205 3325 US • +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) • +1 646 931 3860 US • +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) • +1 360 209 5623 US • +1 386 347 5053 US • +1 507 473 4847 US • +1 564 217 2000 US • +1 669 444 9171 US • +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) • +1 689 278 1000 US • +1 719 359 4580 US • +1 253 205 0468 US • +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 867 1634 7793 Passcode: 340314 Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/keg1tuTYWl -- Don Osborn, PhD (East Lansing, MI, US) North American Millets Alliance