Coix: an underutilized functional food crop of Mizoram

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2430692/v1

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Research Article

Coix: an underutilized functional food crop of Mizoram

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2430692/v1

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published 01 May, 2023

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Coix (Coix lacryma-jobi) comes under underutilized crops as it is neither cultivated commercially on a large scale nor widely traded. The Northeastern region of India harbours a rich diversity of Coix. This crop has diverse varieties from food to ethnic ornaments worn by the Mizo people. The soft-shelled types (var ma-yuen), locally called ‘Mim’ have been an important cereal crop among the Mizo rural communities since a long time. The grains are highly nutritious and its exceptional medicinal aspects have been extensively researched. While the seeds of wild types (var lacryma-jobi) are excellent beads for ornamental purposes and are key components in making traditional head gear ‘Vakiria’ worn by Mizo ladies in festive occasions. It is recently gaining importance as a ‘functional food’, due to its rich source of nutrients and bioactive compounds. The grains of Coix are gluten free which benefit people with celiac disease. It is used for preparing flour, soups, porridge, gruels, salads, desserts, snack, wine, sweets, etc. It is found to have diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, antioxidant, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, analgesic, hypotensive, and sedative properties. Coix germplasm are rapidly disappearing from wild and jhum lands and without conservation a large population of genetic diversity will be lost from Northeast India. Mizoram also possesses a wide array of germplasm which could potentially contribute to research priorities due to the wide variability that exists in the region. However, the ignorance on nutritional value of the crop, lack of standard agronomic practice, unavailability of high yielding quality seeds and potential varieties suitable for Mizoram condition, processing infrastructures and marketing have diminished the interest of farmers in popularizing this crop. So, forty-four Coix genotypes were evaluated owing to their agronomic characteristics to identify stable and promising genotypes suitable for Mizoram condition. Based on stability analysis, two genotypes RJT-1 (39.74 q/ha) and RJT-2 (35.27 q/ha) were identified as most stable genotypes for seed yield and other yield-related traits under Mizoram condition. The high yielding unstable genotype like RJTGP-53 (58.43 q/ha) can be considered for use in crop improvement programme with the help of a stable genotypic background. In addition, the occurrence of invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda(J.E. Smith) on Coix was observed and the damage incidence ranged between 7.23 to 10.86% in the vegetative growth stages (45 to 75 days crop) from the last week of August to the end of September. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of fall armyworm occurrence on Coix crop from India.

Job’s tears

stable genotypes

importance

cultivation

Spodoptera frugiperda

Researchers are exploring alternate food sources which have the potential for human nutrition as a result of expanding population, increasing hunger, limited food supply, malnutrition and climate change. Around 3 billion people worldwide still cannot pay for healthy diets owing to the high cost due to high levels of poverty and income inequality (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO 2021). The transformation of food systems for food security, accessible healthy diets and better nutrition has become the primary concern of food production in recent years, rather than simply increasing food grain yield. Crop diversification towards the cultivation of a variety of nutrient-rich foods is needed to ensure food and nutritional security (Mustafa et al. 2019). Indigenous food systems are a reservoir of underutilized food crops which possess rich biodiversity, ensuring better impacts on human health from a diversified diet (Singh et al. 2022). These underutilized crops are mostly rich in nutrients, climate-resilient, widely adaptable, used medically and play an important role in local cultures and rituals (Mabhaudhi et al. 2019; Mustafa et al. 2019). These crops require more attention in conservation and research and their boosted production can bring better nutritional security by providing balanced diet, battling micronutrient deficiencies and preventing hunger (Singh et al. 2022). Northeast India is a hotspot of biodiversity and endowed with diverse species of underutilized crops (Arora 1977). The varied topography, climatic conditions, and altitude contributed to the occurrence of a variety of crop species and cultivation in the northeast India. Among them, Coix is one of the potential underutilized crops of North-eastern India, from food to ethnic ornaments of Mizo tribe.

Coix is generally called Job’s tears, adlay, adley, tear grass, adley millet, or coix millet, gurgur (Bengali), samkru (Hindi) and pingpih (Mizo). This crop has a hard shiny tear-shaped fruits which bear seeds that resulted in recognition with the name “tear”. It has potential to be utilized as a staple food to ensure food security and improve human health in the region (Laxmisha et al. 2022; Devaraj et al. 2020). The nutrient profiling of Coix suggested that the grains are rich in proteins, minerals like iron, zinc, calcium and crude fat which are beneficial for health. The biochemical parameters such as starch, phenol, sugar, moisture and antioxidants primarily contribute for the diversity of Coix germplasm found in Northeast India (Laxmisha et al. 2022). Currently, Coix remains underutilized and unexploited due to rising popularity of maize and other cereals in the region (Roder 2006). However, before the adaptation of these crops in the cropping system, it was a major food crop in various Asian nations, such as Bhutan (Roder 2006). The major reasons of Coix being underutilized are the predominance of local types and non-availability of proper agronomic practices resulting in lower crop yield, despite the fact that Coix are highly nutritious, climate-resilient, less prone to insects/diseases, locally available and have medicinal importance (Devaraj et al. 2020). The limited and sporadic cultivation of local types and wild relatives of Coix in rural areas are now majorly concentrated only for medicinal and ornamental purposes. Considering the nutritional and medicinal value of Coix, this crop shares equal importance to major crops for exploitation in crop breeding program to improve production, so that processing and value addition of this crop can be realized at industrial level.

In the Northeast India, particularly in Mizoram, farmers have been cultivating Coix (C. lacryma jobi var ma-yuen), locally called ‘Mim’ for centuries. They would gather the seeds from wild and nurture them on jhum fields. This was a crucial crop during the Mizoram famine when the supply of major food grains was limited and Coix grains were mixed with rice and cooked to meet the food requirement of the family. In recent years, the grain consumption is rare due to sporadic cultivation in the rural areas of Mizoram, despite the fact that the grains possesses greater protein-to-carbohydrate ratio as compared to any other cereals, the extraction of flour is quite challenging due to its hard seedcoat (Corke et al. 2016). Coix has spread widely in tropical and sub-tropical regions and considered as an invasive weed in several countries. Yet, it is cultivated as annual crop or perennial in frost-free areas because of the nutritional quality as food and medicinal value. Thus, realizing the benefits and importance of this underutilized crop in the region, it could be used as potential food crop through crop improvement. Currently, the proper collection, documentation on this crop is lacking and also the scientific cultivation practice for the region is not standardized. In such scenario, the research priorities should focus on developing high yielding hybrids, more branching, high shelling percentage, soft-shelled, more grain filling, early maturing, lodging resistant, uniform maturing, highly nutritious genotypes with disease and insect resistance. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to review its taxonomy, geographical description and habitat, diversity of local genotypes, selections of suitable germplasms for this region, its importance, and scientific cultivation practices which will help to stimulate its importance at the regional and national level as well as boost research interest in this underutilized crop for further utilization.

Taxonomy

Coix lacryma-jobi L. is a tetraploid (2n = 20), quantitative short-day plant belonging to the family Poaceae having C₄ photosynthetic pathway. Coix greatly vary in terms of shape, colour, size and hardness of involucres. The botanical varieties of C. lacryma jobi can be generally distinguished based on the hardness and shape of the involucres, four varieties are described such as C. lacryma-jobi var lacryma-jobi L. (bony involucres, glossy, globose to ovoid), C. lacryma-jobi var stenocarpa Oliv. (hard involucres, elongate, bottle-shaped), C. lacryma-jobi var puellarum (hard involucres, globose, very small) and C. lacryma-jobi var ma-yuen (Rom. Caill.) Stapf. (soft involucres, elliptical, striate). The variety that has been most widely naturalized and most popular is variety lacryma-jobi. As a food grain, the variety ma-yuen is frequently grown (Jain and Banerjee 1974; Shouliang and Phillips 2006). It is likely that cultivation over thousands of years selected the soft-hulled forms (var ma-yuen) due to its suitability for food (Jansen 2006).

Geographical distribution and habitat

It is a tall grain-bearing tropical crop that can be grown all around the world in tropical to sub-tropical regions. This annual grass has been widely cultivated for several thousands of years in Southeast Asia and is native to Malaysia, China, India, and Burma (Corke et al. 2016). Northeastern India and Myanmar, which is thought to be a potential site of origin for this crop, have been observed to have the largest diversity of wild forms and where it is cultivated for food and fodder (Arora 1977). It has been introduced for its attractive grains and as a cereal and forage crop in tropical and warm temperate regions. It has become naturalized and escaped cultivation in many countries (more than 90), frequently assumed as a weed in disturbed and humid sites, forest borders and nearby waterways, swamps and wetlands (Areces-Berazain and Rojas-Sandoval 2017). The rich germplasm collections of C. lacryma jobi are available in ‘The Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines’ at Los Banos, Philippines and ‘The Institute of Crop Germplasm Resources (ICGR)’ in Beijing, China (Jansen 2006).

The most widespread variety is ‘lacryma-jobi’, which may be found in most of America, Africa, and Oceania. The Northeastern part of India, Southern China, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea are all home to the ‘stenocarpa’ variety. The variety 'ma-yuen' naturally grows in India, Myanmar, Bhutan, China, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and has also been brought to Honduras and Ecuador (Zuloaga et al. 2003; Shouliang and Phillips 2006), while the variety ‘puellarum’ is distributed in Myanmar, Malaysia, and Indo-China (Bor 1960). Wild hard-shelled types (C. lacryma-jobi var lacryma-jobi) are found scattered near riverbanks, roadside and watershed areas and commonly used for ornaments. Further, this crop has tolerance to several factors such as low pH, low photoperiod variation, lateritic soils, waterlogging and less prone to viral attacks, it has been regarded as an excellent potential genetic resource for crop improvement (Corke et al. 2016). Coix usually grow in rural regions and are also found wild in remote areas, riverbanks, waterways and nearby water sources in Mizoram.

Botanical description

Coix is propagated by seeds exhibiting a hypogeal type of germination. The seeds are pear or tear-shaped shining capsules 7-13 mm long. Seed propagation provides deeper rooting. It can also be propagated through rhizome fragmentation and cuttings and these methods are more preferred for producing fodder (Schaaffhausen 1952). Coix plant shows close resemblance with maize, sorghum and foxtail millet. It is an herbaceous tillering plant that grows up to a height of 2 m. The leaves of Coix are glossy deep green with narrowly lanceolate having 25-65 cm length and 1.5-5.0 cm width. Leaves are having slightly wavy edges with pinkish to red colour leaf margins having prominent midrib. The stems are erect and have white powdery deposition. The internode of culms is solid. It has seminal roots and lower nodes consists of prop-roots (Fig. 1). It is a unisexual plant and bears a monoecious flower where both male and female flowers can be found on the same plant. All the spikelets remain fertile. Spikelets are terminal and in the upper axils. The glumes of the fertile spikelet are several-nerved that are enclosed in a bony bead-like involucre. Involucre contains two sterile flowers and a fertile female flower. From the fertile flower, two feathery stigmata (thrumb) protruded to collect pollen produced from the male spikelet. Male spikelets are formed on a slender stalk that extends from a tiny pore of bead (Fig. 2). Flowering occurs during September – October. Generally, pollination takes place with the help of wind. The fruit of mature plant is hard and colour varies from white, grey to black or light brown. Some of its selective cultivars are used as edible grains and others are used as beads and for other decorative purposes.

Diversity in Mizoram

Mizoram harbours a great variability of wild types and cultivated varieties of Coix. A wide diversity of wild types occurs in the Northeast hill tracts and Myanmar (Hore and Rathi 2006). The wild types ‘Coix lacryma-jobi’ vary from 150-360 cm in height with 4.5-6.0 branchings bearing as many as 250-550 seeds/plant. The genotypes vary from branching inflorescence in every node to bearing inflorescences in the upper axils of the plant. The seed of wild types vary from white to greyish to greyish-black while cultivated genotypes have creamish-white, greyish, purplish or black colour seeds. The shape of the involucres also varies from roundish to tear drop to elongated shapes with smooth or striated surfaces. It is also important to investigate whether this variation contributes to the different chemical compositions of Coix. Coix lacryma-jobi var ma-yuen, locally called ‘Mim’ is widely consumed by the local people of Mizoram in recent past (Fig. 3). Population genetic analysis found wild and cultivated accessions could be clearly distinguished, and a strong bottleneck during domestication resulted in a loss of half the genetic diversity present in the wild population (Liu et al. 2020). Due to their significance as an important genetic resource, these landraces need to be conserved for use in future crop improvement programmes. The ignorance among the people for great nutritional properties of Coix, lack of standard agronomic practices, unavailability of high-quality seeds and high yielding varieties suitable for Mizoram conditions, processing infrastructures and marketing have diminished the interest of farmers in popularizing this crop. So, an investigation on Coix genotypes collected from different regions was carried out to identify stable high yielding genotypes for cultivation in Mizoram.

Field study

Thirty-nine genotypes of Coix were evaluated at the experimental farm of ICAR-Research Complex for NEH Region, Mizoram Centre, Kolasib, Mizoram (92°40’52’E longitude and 24°12’77’N latitude; MSL 650–700 m) during Kharif, 2022. Among them, the RJTGP and RJT series were collected from Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India and IC series from ICAR RC NEH Region, Umiam, Meghalaya, India. The research area has a temperature ranging from 22.43–29.29℃ with 90.28% relative humidity and a total rainfall of 1573 mm during the cropping period. The soil is slightly acidic pH (5.0-5.5) and clayey loam with 1.2–1.4% organic carbon content. The genotypes were sown in randomised block design with three replications during the first week of July at a spacing of 45 × 15 cm accommodating 33 plants per plot. Five uniform plants were randomly selected from each plot and recorded for growth parameters.

Observation and data collection

Observations were taken for plant height-PH (cm), number of leaves/plant-NLPP, leaf area-LA (cm²), leaf area index-LAI, number of tillers/plant-NTPP, number of seeds/plant-NSPP, 100 seed weight-HSW (g) and seed yield-SY (q/ha) at maturity. The LAI was calculated by dividing the one-sided green leaf area per unit of ground cover as per Yoshida (1976). General surveillance on pests and diseases were carried out through on-site visits of crop fields at weekly interval starting from crop emergence till crop maturity. The incidence of insect pest was recorded at weekly intervals from each plot. The percent incidence was calculated based on the number of plants damaged to the total number of plants in each plot. For identification of insect pests, the feeding larvae were collected and reared on the host plant to confirm the identity of pest.

Field survey and data collection

Field surveys were carried out in Kolasib district, Mizoram from jhum land, forest and villages. Primary information on its distribution pattern, importance, ethnobotanical details and uses were collected through face-to-face interaction along with structured and unstructured questionnaires. The secondary information related to its taxonomy, geographical distribution, and botanical descriptions was collected from available literature and to supplement the primary information.

Statistical analysis

The descriptive statistics have been carried out through SPSS software version 26. The mean, range, standard error, and coefficient of variation (CV) were calculated for growth and yield traits (Table 1). The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted using the software package FactoMineR (Husson et al. 2014) and correlation analysis using software package Corrplot (Friendly 2002) within the RStudio software (R Core Team). The MTSI index was used to identify stable genotypes with multiple traits. The multi trait stability index (MTSI) and multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index (MGIDI) was performed by functions in the ‘metan’ package (Olivoto and Lucio, 2020) in R version 3.6.1 (http://www.r-project.org/).

Table 1

Performance of Coix genotypes in growth and yield traits under Mizoram condition
Genotypes	Plant height (cm)	No. of leaves/plant	Leaf area (cm²)	LAI	No. of tillers/plant	No. of seeds/plant	100 seed weight (g)	Seed yield (q/ha)
RJTGP-37	204.57	37.74	1757.75	3.04	3.06	53.04	30.20	23.05
RJTGP-41	208.43	55.62	1842.37	3.20	4.12	69.01	26.88	19.04
RJTGP-43	196.77	35.70	1940.60	3.34	4.08	34.68	28.08	9.98
RJTGP-45	196.13	49.44	2447.08	4.19	3.09	58.71	27.46	17.64
RJTGP-48	167.73	27.54	996.41	1.72	3.15	90.79	22.03	21.76
RJTGP-49	162.13	27.81	1157.43	2.01	2.97	25.75	23.79	6.87
RJTGP-50	136.17	64.00	2523.99	4.39	5.20	91.25	26.00	14.84
RJTGP-51	118.63	47.12	2096.62	3.61	4.24	96.00	26.50	27.26
RJTGP-52	177.67	61.80	2493.92	4.32	5.15	75.75	23.43	10.13
RJTGP-53	185.17	24.96	1645.82	2.85	3.03	125.00	32.84	58.43
RJTGP-55	188.07	49.44	1864.72	3.24	4.12	63.86	25.24	13.93
RJTGP-57	207.50	56.56	2676.76	4.61	4.04	36.72	22.50	8.09
RJTGP-58	181.00	61.80	2220.81	3.80	4.12	24.72	29.89	6.86
RJTGP-59	237.33	36.72	1934.31	3.34	4.16	60.78	16.60	10.37
RJTGP-64	196.17	56.65	2487.13	4.32	3.09	23.69	21.42	4.46
RJTGP-65	143.67	67.33	1880.77	3.27	4.20	28.28	19.77	4.49
RJTGP-68	170.83	42.23	1156.36	1.99	3.18	23.69	27.78	6.09
RJTGP-71	186.13	80.00	2045.58	3.54	6.06	183.00	34.60	39.96
RJTGP-74	140.47	26.75	932.18	1.60	4.16	150.00	25.45	31.47
RJTGP-79	190.83	35.02	1580.48	2.73	4.08	50.47	15.90	7.87
RJTGP-81	163.83	61.20	1862.49	3.22	5.15	110.05	27.20	25.87
RJTGP-89	166.50	87.87	2401.17	4.17	6.06	66.95	22.46	10.93
RJTGP-90	206.00	100.00	2742.35	4.72	3.12	98.98	22.50	17.17
RJTGP-92	181.50	51.00	2619.19	4.48	3.03	66.33	26.87	22.49
RJTGP-96	184.50	57.68	1741.20	3.01	3.09	37.09	27.80	12.79
IC-540173	136.17	51.00	685.92	1.19	6.20	125.32	16.67	11.26
IC-416868	169.50	33.99	1715.72	2.98	4.24	55.00	15.44	7.68
IC-416831	150.00	45.90	936.28	1.61	4.12	116.15	23.84	24.53
IC-540222	140.77	46.35	1585.23	2.71	5.20	120.00	28.33	18.94
IC-89384	150.17	57.57	986.23	1.71	5.10	30.00	19.59	3.28
IC-540256	195.17	34.00	1391.85	2.42	5.15	245.00	15.04	26.12
IC-12703	160.17	27.54	988.77	1.70	3.06	22.22	17.78	4.71
IC334314	191.17	36.05	1090.44	1.87	3.09	41.00	17.20	4.88
IC-540279	158.73	28.56	1743.04	3.01	2.10	24.16	12.96	3.51
IC-417053	156.83	30.90	1189.32	2.06	3.09	40.17	17.90	9.52
IC-419466	204.47	42.00	1824.92	3.17	4.16	62.00	16.74	11.77
RJT-1	179.80	71.71	1780.75	3.09	3.06	103.94	29.90	39.74
RJT-2	164.67	77.24	2009.18	3.46	2.08	146.92	30.30	35.27
RJT-3	151.53	32.00	1465.43	2.51	2.08	65.92	25.25	16.03
Mean	174.54	49.15	1754.89	3.03	3.91	75.45	23.59	16.64
Range	118.63-237.33	24.96–100.00	685.92-2742.35	1.19–4.72	2.08–6.20	22.22–245.00	12.96–34.60	3.28–58.43
SEM	22.15	1.05	41.27	0.15	0.09	1.78	0.55	0.49
CV (%)	22.1	3.79	4.1	8.38	3.87	4.12	4.02	5.05

The Thirty-nine genotypes of Coix showed high variability in terms of yield and yield related traits. Characterization and evaluation of germplasm are crucial for producing improved varieties (Nelson 2011; Andini et al. 2013). Thus, evaluation of germplasm to identify potential genotypes for cultivation was done for eight traits. The descriptive statistics have been demonstrated in our present study for eight traits and are presented in Table 1.

Descriptive statistics

Significant variations were observed among genotypes for different traits. The highest coefficient of variation was reported in plant height (22.10%) followed by LAI (8.38%) and seed yield (5.05%). The plant height among the genotypes varies from 118.63 cm (RJTGP-51) to 237.33 cm (RJTGP-59), with a mean value of 174.54 cm. A key factor in determining the appropriate shoot character is plant height. In many cereal crops, like rice, wheat and maize, shorter stem contributes to higher yield through improved resistance to lodging (Chairi et al. 2020; Chen et al. 2018; Su 2018; Cooper et al. 2003; Cooper et al. 1995). At present, the optimum height of Coix for ideal shoot architecture is yet to be exploited to develop high yielding varieties. The number of leaves/plants varies from 24.96–100.00, with a mean value of 49.15 leaves/plant. Number of leaves is an important parameter to be considered for fodder purpose. RJTGP-90 has the maximum number of leaves followed by RJTGP-89 (87.87) and RJTGP-71 (80.00). Leaf area was ranging from 685.92-2742.35 cm² with a mean value of 1754.89 cm². RJTGP-90 exhibited maximum leaf area while IC-540173 exhibited minimum leaf area. The LAI was ranging from 1.19–4.72, with a mean value of 3.03. LAI helps in understanding photosynthesis, light interception, nutrient and water utilization, growth of crop and potential of yield (Smart 1974; Williams 1987). The highest LAI was exhibited by RJTGP-90 followed by RJTGP-57 (4.61). The number of tillers/plant varies from 2.08 (RJT-2) to 6.20 (IC-540173), with a mean value of 3.91. The number of seeds/plant varies from 22.22–245.00. The maximum number of seeds/plant was reported in IC-540256 (245.00) followed by RJTGP-71 (183.00) and RJTGP-74 (150.00) while the minimum was reported in IC-12703 (22.22). The maximum 100 seed weight was reported in RJTGP-71 (34.60 g) followed by RJTGP-53 (32.84 g) and IC-417053 (30.91 g), while the minimum was reported in IC-540279 (12.96 g) with a mean value of 23.59 g among the genotypes. As seed is the economical part of the crop, the selection of genotypes with high seed yield will be beneficial. The variation in seed yield ranges from 3.28–58.43 q/ha with a mean value of 16.64 q/ha. Four genotypes viz., RJTGP-53 (58.43 q/ha), RJTGP-71 (39.96 q/ha), RJT-1 (39.74 q/ha) and RJT-2 (35.27 q/ha) were found to contribute maximum for seed yield while the minimum seed yield was reported in IC-89384 (3.28 q/ha). Hore and Rathi (2006) characterized 29 genotypes of Coix collected from Northeast India and found great variability with respect to yield and nutritional content and suggested genotypes IC-012703 (31.8 q/ha), IC-089391 (30 q/ha) and IC-521338 (29 q/ha) were promising for cultivation.

Principal component analysis (PCA)

The purpose of this analysis was to determine the factor dimension of the data, which was used to simplify varietal information into a smaller number of factors and selecting the genotype(s) that would perform best for eight yield and yield-related traits. With eigen values greater than one, the first three principal components (PCs) explained 75.78% of the total variance, with PC1 accounting for 33.60% and PC2 accounting for 24.54% (Fig. 4). From the biplot figure, traits like PH, NLPP, LA and LAI were found to have high positive association with PC1 whereas SY, HSW and NSPP exhibit positive association with PC2. NTPP was positioned close to the center of the biplot, which showed relative similar performance by the genotypes. Among those genotypes, RJTGP-90, RJTGP-50, RJTGP-89, RJTGP-92 and IC-540279 were identified as superior genotypes in PC1. In contrast, RJTGP-53, RJTGP-71, RJT-1, RJT-2, RJTGP-51, and RJTGP-81 were identified as superior genotypes in the PC2.

Correlation analysis

The correlation analysis determines the degree of character association between the various traits and sgenerate information that are needed to be considered in selection programme as selection of one or more traits affects the expression of several other traits. Pearson correlation coefficients among eight traits in the current study were shown in Fig. 5. The highest correlation coefficient was observed between LA and LAI (0.99**), followed by NSPP and SY (0.73**) and LAI and NLPP (0.56**). For yield traits, NSPP and HSW showed highly significant correlation with SY while traits like PH, LA, LAI and NTPP showed negative correlation with SY, however, exhibited insignificant values. Selection of genotypes which possess high NSPP and HSW will be beneficial for improving yield of crop.

Stability analysis

The multi-trait stability index (Olivoto et al. 2021) has been successfully used to select genotypes for multiple traits based on mean performance and stability. To choose the stable genotype, most plant breeders used traditional stability criteria such the mean, regression, and deviation from regression parameters (Abdelmohsen 2021). However, these statistical tools are inconsistent to identify strengths and weaknesses of a genotype and aid in selection of those with desired mean performance and stability (Olivoto et al. 2021). Based on MTSI analysis, out of forty-four genotypes, six genotypes, RJTGP-71, RJT-2, RJT-1, RJTGP-90, RJTGP-81 and RJTGP-50 were found most stable with desired mean performance under Mizoram condition for representing a selection intensity of 10% for yield and yield related traits. These genotypes cross the cut-off point (red circle) as presented in Fig. 6(a).

The MGIDI index representing strengths and weaknesses view of the selected genotypes was given in Fig. 6(b) & Table 2. Each factor contribution to the MGIDI index is ranked from the most contributing factor (near to plot center) to the less contributing factor (near to the plot edge). The first factor FA1 (NLPP, LA, LAI) has smallest contribution for genotypes RJTGP-90 and RJTGP-57 indicating that these genotypes presented higher values in terms of number of leaves/plant, leaf area and LAI. While considering these genotypes in FA2, they had higher contribution to MGIDI which resulted from their poor performance for seed yield/plant, number of seeds/plant and 100 seed weight. On the contrary, genotypes like RJTGP-53, RJT-1 and RJT-2 performed well for these traits in FA2 (Fig. 7). The FA3 (PH, NTPP) has smallest contribution for genotypes like RJTGP-71, IC-540256 and RJTGP-50, indicating their better performances for plant height and number of tillers/plant.

Table 2

Factors linked to correlated traits, selection differential, selection differential percentage and indicators for Job’s tears traits.
Traits	Factor	Indicator	Xo	Xs	SD	SDperc
NLPP	FA1	increase	49.90	75.70	25.80	51.60
LA	FA1	increase	1789.00	2161.00	372.00	20.80
LAI	FA1	increase	3.09	3.74	0.65	21.00
NSPP	FA2	increase	79.90	122.00	42.50	53.10
HSW	FA2	increase	24.20	28.40	4.26	17.70
SY	FA2	increase	18.20	28.80	10.60	58.40
PH	FA3	increase	173.00	173.00	-0.43	-0.25
NTPP	FA3	increase	3.99	4.11	0.12	3.00
Xo: original value; Xs: selected value; SD: selection differential; SDperc: selection differential in percentage.

Based on MTSI and MGIDI analyses, these genotypes RJT-1 and RJT-2 gathered desirable overall performance and stability of several traits such as seed yield, number of seeds/plant and 100 seed weight. The higher seed yield/plant of these genotypes are the result of higher number of seeds/plant and 100 seed weight due to the highly significant positive association between the traits. It is imperative to select genotypes stable in performance with acceptable yield than genotypes with high yield and low stability for varietal recommendation. The high yielding unstable genotype like RJTGP-53 can be considered for location specific adaptation and can used in crop improvement programme with the help of stable genotypic background.

Importance Of Coix

Coix has multiple uses such as food, medicinal and traditional as follows:

Coix as an important food source

Coi x can be used in multiple forms viz., as a pseudo cereal, as a rice substitute in all dishes, and in cakes, bread, and pastries when the grain is roasted before being husked. The gluten-free nature of Coix flour makes it significant in bakery products to be used along with wheat flour (Keeratibunharn and Krasaekoopt 2013). Gluten-free products prepared from Coix grains will benefit people having celiac disease (Comino et al. 2013). It can also be prepared as soups, porridge, gruels, salads, desserts, eaten like peanuts and used for the preparation of sweets. Matured dehulled seeds can also be cooked and consumed along with rice. They can be used as snacks of different flavours by cooking, drying, deep frying and baking. It is utilized by the Japanese and Nagas to make alcoholic beverages like a beer called ‘Zhu’ or ‘Dzu’ by fermenting whole seeds (Hore and Rathi 2006). Coix seeds along with glutinous seeds can additionally be used to make fermented glutinous wine (Wu 2010). It is also consumed as a drink or as a tea by grinding the seeds and mixing or boiling with water. Vinegar can also be prepared from coix seeds. Coix is also found to be a nutritious feed for animals. Poultry is given the entire grain, bran, and flour as poultry feed in the replacement of maize. Growing in the wild, its leaves are highly preferred and consumed by wild elephants. Coix is used as feed for cattle, buffaloes and horses as a fodder crop and has better potential to be used in both summer and dry winter seasons with proper management strategies since the grass can be used to produce silage (Jain and Banerjee 1974). In addition, the seeds can improve performance in growth and productivity by lowering gut pH and regulating the gut microbiota of post-weaning pigs when fed as a feed supplement (Li et al. 2019). This crop can be harvested in a short duration, easy to cultivate and need fewer requirements as compared to other cereal crops.

Coix - an excellent source of nutrients

The grains of Coix are found to be higher in protein, fat and fibre as compared to many other cereal crops. Coix grain contains 62.0% total starch content, 15.9% protein, 4.66% crude fat, 5.53% dietary fibre, 1.52% total soluble sugar, 0.73% GAE total phenol content, 0.24% phytate, 0.47% GAE antioxidant activity, and also 0.80 mg/100 g, 146 mg/100 g, 3.61 mg/100 g, and 13.60 mg/100 g of copper, calcium, zinc and iron, respectively (Laxmisha et al. 2022). It contains 100.25, 80.68, 50.00 and 44.55% higher protein than rice, maize, wheat and pearl millet, respectively. When compared to rice, it contains a calcium level that is twelve times higher. It also has 96.80% more dietary fibre than rice. It is also an excellent source of iron as compared to rice (0.65 mg/100 g), maize (2.49 mg/100 g), wheat (3.97 mg/100 g) and pearl millet (6.42 mg/100 g) (Longvah et al. 2017). As far as the nutrient composition is concerned, we can clearly conclude that Coix is a rich source of nutrients as compared to many staple food crops of the world and the inclusion of these healthy grains in our diet can address the nutrient deficiency problem around the globe. In the Philippines, the government is promoting Coix because of its high protein content and other nutrients including calcium, phosphate, iron, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin (Magpantay et al. 2021).

Coix for medicinal uses

Coi x plant has been used for a long time and is documented in Indian Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine. It consists of many miraculous medicinal properties. It is known to be useful in removing kidney and bladder stones (Hore and Rathi 2006). Furthermore, it is taken due to its effectiveness in treating respiratory tract infections, appendicitis, and allergic disorders. Its use for women as a remedy to a menstrual disorder such as excessive bleeding or irregular menstruation along with its effect in stimulating ovulation and inducing fertility is also reported. Recent research studies on the anti-cancer properties of Coix have shown encouraging results against cancers of the blood, breast, colon, liver, lung, and pancreas (Kumar et al. 2014). From the seed oil of Coix, ‘Kanglaite’ an anticancer medication, was developed. The drug is currently being investigated in the USA as a possible treatment for prostate and pancreatic cancers. It is already approved in China to treat a number of cancers (Xi et al. 2016). Coixenolide, a fatty acid ester having anticancer action, is the main bioactive component (Ukita and Tanimura 1961). Several studies have demonstrated that regular intake of grains of Coix balances human blood cholesterol levels and lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction (Zeng et al. 2021). It is also reported to have diuretic and blood-purifying properties (Schaaffhausen, 1952). Its demand has been rising day by day as a result of its high medicinal properties as an ideal ‘functional food’.

In Mizoram, the rural communities have been using decoctions of roots as well as leaves for treating urinary tract infections. Reports show that decoction of the roots is being used to treat dysentery, gonorrhoea and as a vermifuge. The sap from the stem is utilized to treat insect bites, while a decoction of the leaves is used to treat rheumatism, headache and diabetes. The seeds of coix can revitalize the spleen, expel mucus and pus, drains dampness, clear heat, get rid of edema, and decrease body weight (Yu et al. 2011). The seeds are additionally reported to be used in treating arthritis, neuralgia, warts and chapped skin (Shih et al. 2004). The fruits have diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheal, anti-oxidant, antipyretic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, analgesic, hypotensive, and sedative properties. Contrary to its multiple health benefits, caution is advised during pregnancy and breastfeeding as the seeds of the plant have abortifacient activity (Patel et al. 2017).

Coix as traditional items and other uses

Coi x gives the most perfect beads for various ornamental purposes. The seeds obtained from wild types have been used by rural folks to make different kinds of ornamentals –earrings, rosaries, garlands, rings, bracelets, belts, photo frames, and curtains (Fig. 7). They are used in fashion apparel by sewing the beads onto bags, jackets and head gears. The traditional head gear of the Mizo women called ‘Vakiria’ is decorated with Coix seeds. The beads of Coix can also be of value in making musical instruments such as a Shaker’s gourd by covering hollow gourds with a loose net strung with beads of coix (Biswas and Das 2022). They may be woven into baskets and vessels to add to their aesthetics. Coix seeds are an excellent source of natural jewellery as it has a hole in the centre through which wire or tread can easily pass from it. The roots are reportedly used for rituals to contain the spread of smallpox (Jain and Banerjee 1974). The stems can also be used to make mattings. A type of compost can also be made from the leaves by leaving them in piggeries, trampling and mixing with mud (Arora 1977). Additionally, its straw and leaves are utilized for thatching purposes. Moreover, this plant is a good choice for wastewater treatment in tropical areas because it is effective at eliminating inorganic nitrogen from polluted waterways (Jampeetong et al. 2013).

Cultivation Practices

Coi x is propagated by seeds and cultivated as an annual crop. It is a macrophyte that prefers soil moisture. Land selection for sowing should be low-lying with proper drainage facilities. In case of moisture stress, supplementary irrigation may be given in the early growth and flowering stage. The climatic requirement for Coix is similar to maize and can withstand wet or waterlogged conditions for a short time span. Sowing was done during monsoon preferably from May to June and sometimes in July at a seed rate of 6–10 kg/ha having a 1000-grain weight of 80–90 g. Seed dibbled 4–5 cm deep with a spacing of 60 × 60 cm or 60 × 45 cm or 45 × 15 cm. 40 kg N, 20 kg P₂O₅, and 20 kg K₂O are recommended as general dosages of NPK per hectare. From this, 20 kg of nitrogen and a full dose (20 kg) of phosphorus and potassium were applied as basal during land preparation. The remaining dose (20 kg) of nitrogen was top-dressed one month after sowing. The growth of crop during the early stage was slow hence, weeding was necessary up to two months after sowing or up to a crop height of 40 cm. Coix is a tillering crop and all its tillers bear inflorescences two to three months after sowing (Fig. 8).

Pests And Diseases

Coi x also has a few diseases and pests. Among the diseases, the leaf blight caused by Bipolaris coicis is the most devastating disease of coix (Jansen 2006). In addition, the diseases like rust caused by Puccinia and smut by Ustilago and Tilletia have also been reported (Corke and Huang 2016). The Job’s tears smut is caused by Ustilago coicis which infects the ovary of flowers and leaves and is known to cause damage to crops in India, Thailand and China (Titatarn et al. 1983; Zhang et al. 2013). The rust disease is caused by Puccinia operta and leaf spot by Phyllachora coicis to the coix in Iran (Ahmadpour et al. 2013). Recently, the stem rot diseases of Coix lacrymajobi caused by Fusarium incarnatum were reported in China (Hou et al. 2022). Besides, the southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (Pu et al. 2012) and maize chlorotic dwarf virus are viral diseases and the coix also hosts some bacterial diseases like leaf scald of sugarcane caused by Xanthomonas albilineans and gumming disease of sugarcane by Xanthonomas axonopodis pv. vasculorum (Hayward, 1993). Further, Coix is also attacked by number of insect pests such as Asian corn borer Ostrinia furnacalis, Asiatic rice borer Chilo suppressalis and rice skipper Pelopidas mathias (Ahmadpour et al. 2013; Kalaisekar et al. 2017). The infestation of root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita has also been reported in Coix plants (Duke 1983). Recently, the invasive fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda was found ingesting Coix in China (Zhou and Yang 2019).

In our study, no disease incidence was observed on Coix plants. However, we recorded the infestation of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) on Coix at the farms of ICAR-Research Complex for NEH, Mizoram Centre. The damage incidence of fall armyworm ranged between 7.23 to 10.86% in the vegetative growth stages (45 to 75 days crop) from the last week of August to the end of September. Fall armyworm larvae were found feeding on the leaves and leaf whorl of the Coix plants (Fig. 9). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of fall armyworm occurrence on Coix from India. However, fall armyworm infest more than 350 host plants including economically important cultivated grasses such as maize, rice, sorghum, sugarcane and wheat but also other vegetable crops and cotton (Montezano et al. 2018). The occurrence of fall armyworm on Coix was reported in China after its invasion of Asia (Zhou and Yang 2019). Besides, the fall armyworm prefers to feed on maize, however, in the absence of a preferred host, it can feed on other host plants such as Coix due to its polyphagous nature.

Harvesting

Crop usually matures in 4–5 months from the date of sowing depending upon cultivars and climatic conditions of the region. For good harvests, there must be enough rain during the early growth stages and dry weather is required during grain setting (Corke et al. 2016). At maturity, whole plants are cut at the basal region like rice using a sickle or dao and kept for sun drying. The grain is separated from the dried plant by threshing. Large size local wooden mortar (Mizo: sum) and pestle (Mizo: suk) are used to crush the dried seeds to remove the shell. The yield of husked grain generally ranges from 2–4 t/ha having a hulling percentage of 30–50% and fodder yield from 25–30 t/ha. If the stubble is left in the field and new growth and fresh leaves can be excellent fodder. Several cuts are possible if cultivated for fodder purposes. Under humid conditions, it is better to store unhusked grain than husked grain. The seeds of wild types are highly demanded by Art and Culture Department and other cultural clubs to make traditional head gear and other traditional ornaments and are purchased at Rs. 400–500/kg seeds (4.90 to 6.16 USD).

Problems And Prospects Of Coix In Mizoram

Coi x cultivation is very sporadic in Mizoram and its importance has been decreasing day by day and replacing with high-yielding cereals like maize and rice etc. Due to poor market demand, difficulty in processing due to the presence of hard seed coat, lack of knowledge on processing, non-availability of suitable varieties, ignorance on crop value and lack of scientific cultivation practices resulted in poor attention of Mizo farmers towards its cultivation. There is a lack of systemic knowledge on processing and processed products of this crop. Although, Mizoram is blessed with rich biodiversity, collection and proper documentation of genetic diversity are yet to be explored. Coix is closely associated with the socio-cultural importance of the Mizo community. This crop is hardy towards pests and disease attacks and can be grown in a less fertile area where other crops are unable to perform well and require lesser care. It is highly nutritious and promising medicinal properties fetch more research attention. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for Coix grains and products among health-conscious developed countries as a ‘functional food’. Therefore, the collection of germplasm, conservation, evaluation and selection of best performing genotypes are important for improving yield and quality with higher harvest index, dual-purpose types, early maturity, synchronous maturity and lodging-resistant properties. Utilizing genetic resources will also guarantee great productivity and good adaptability to the hilly terrain of the Mizoram ecosystem.

Considering the search for major crop substitutes that can contribute to food and nutritional security under diverse agroclimatic condition, Coix can be popularized as a functional food, both for human and animal consumption. The wide array of wild species of Coix are rapidly disappearing, so, conservation is needed as they constitute an important genetic resource for crop improvement. The non-availability of location specific varieties, quality seeds, lack of knowledge on scientific cultivation practices and processing, ignorance on the importance of the crop, poor market facility, etc. have contributed to lower cultivation and production of this crop. Identification of potential genotypes for cultivation as well as a candidate for crop improvement is important. The genotypes RJT-1 (39.74 q/ha) and RJT-2 (35.27 q/ha) were identified as most stable with higher seed yield and yield components and these genotypes can be recommended to the farmers of Mizoram for cultivation to get higher production. The high yielding genotype RJTGP-53 (58.43 q/ha) with lower stability can be considered for use in crop improvement using a stable genetic background. Although, Coix is naturally hardy towards pest infestation, our pest surveillance recorded infestation of fall armyworm on Coix during the cropping season. To our knowledge, this is the first report of fall armyworm occurrence on Coix from India. Farmers should monitor their coix crop carefully during the months of August and September for potential infestation from Spodoptera frugiperda. Research priorities on this climate resilient crop is necessary to exploit the full potential of the crop to meet food and nutritional demand of the burgeoning population.

Acknowledgements

The authors extend sincere thanks towards AICRN on Potential Crops for providing financial support and Coix germplasms for the experiment.

Author contributions

JKS, BL and LS conceptualized the study, survey and data recording. AK provides germplasms. ON monitoring and identification of pests. BL and LM data analysis. JKS, BL, AM, ON and SD writing of the manuscript, reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Coix: an underutilized functional food crop of Mizoram

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Abstract

Figures

Introduction

Materials And Methods

Field study

Observation and data collection

Field survey and data collection

Statistical analysis

Results And Discussion

Descriptive statistics

Principal component analysis (PCA)

Correlation analysis

Stability analysis

Importance Of Coix

Coix as an important food source

Coix - an excellent source of nutrients

Coix for medicinal uses

Coix as traditional items and other uses

Cultivation Practices

Pests And Diseases

Harvesting

Problems And Prospects Of Coix In Mizoram

Conclusion

Declarations

References

Status:

Journal Publication

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