New empirical evidence from ancient foxtail millet seeds and panicles reveals phenotype divergence during its dispersal

Foxtail millet is one of the earliest domesticated cereal crops in the world.Its domestication has been traced back to the early Holocene(10,000-8000 cal a BP),first appearing in the basins of the Yellow River and Western Liao River[1].Dryland farming dom-inated by foxtail millet was ultimately established in the Central Plains during the middle Holocene(6000-5500 cal a BP)[2].