Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-722
Fonio
Digitaria exilis
Fonio is the smallest cereal grain grown anywhere, a tiny West African staple that ripens faster than any other cereal - some varieties are ready to harvest in as little as six to eight weeks, closing the hungry gap before maize or millet comes in. It thrives on poor, acid, aluminum-toxic soil that stops most other grains cold, needs no fertilizer, and both its straw and its grain make good livestock feed. The catch is processing: getting the grain out of its hull takes several rounds of pounding and up to ten liters of water per kilogram, so anyone growing it at scale needs a plan for dehulling before they need a plan for planting.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 9–11
- Soil
- Sand · Loam
- Moisture
- Dry · Moderate
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 4.5–7.1
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 12–31 in
- Mature spread
- 10 in
- Plant spacing
- 8–10 in
- Root type
- Fibrous-shallow
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
Similar plants
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Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H.Ohashi
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African Eggplant
Solanum aethiopicum
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Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
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Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
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Aloe Vera
Aloe vera
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Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
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The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
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