The millet (Setaria italica) SYN.: Buda (ind.), Italian millet (eng.), Turkestan millet/millet capitate (mold.), wild black rice (ROS.), guzza (chin.), saamista (chin.), kung (ind.), ava (Japanese), Gomi (gr.), mchadi (arm.), boron (UK.), Kunak (KAZ.). Chumiza is an annual cultivated plant, a subspecies of the species Italian Bristle. It is one of the oldest cereals ever known to mankind. In modern gastronomy, it is not very common. Chumiza's birthplace is China. It is equally actively used both in the food industry and in animal husbandry as feed for livestock. It remains one of the oldest grain crops in Central Asia. It is not used in official medicine. Chumiza is an annual cultivated plant, is a forage and grain crop. The root system of chumiz is well developed, its roots perfectly penetrate into the soil to a depth of 1.5 m. This plant forms an erect, low-branched stem, the length of which varies from 60 cm to 1.2 m. As a rule, up to 13 large leaves are located on one stem. The average size of such sheets is 26 cm in length and 3.5 cm in width. Chumiz grains have a brick-red hue. They can be either round or elliptical in shape. They ripen evenly, almost without crumbling. The grains of this crop are so light that 1000 pieces of grains weigh only 2.7 g. They germinate perfectly in open soil, but they prefer a warm climate and air temperatures above +7 C. If the ambient temperature falls below the specified limit, the grain will inevitably die.