Kodo millet, also known as Arikelu in Telugu India and West Africa are the major growers of kodo millet. It is one of the small millets which are indigenous to Indian subcontinent and domesticated with a cultivation history of more than 3,000 years. The cultivation of kodo millet in India is quite wide spread stretching to many stress in south, west, central and north India.
In India, this crop grows well in shallow as well as drained soils in 18 states which cover 549 districts. Kodo millet is grown predominantly as sole crop or mixed with other similar crops. Medicinally, kodo millet is used in curing inflammation, diseases of liver, dysentery and considered to keep the body warm.