Millets contain dietary fiber, minerals (like iron, calcium, zinc), vitamins, and quality proteins, contributing to food and nutritional security. Highly tolerant to drought, heat, and low fertility soils, requiring less water and fewer external inputs (fertilizers/pesticides) than rice or wheat. Their fibrous root systems help improve soil structure, reduce erosion, and increase biodiversity below ground. Excellent companions in mixed cropping systems because they use resources differently and can grow well with other crops. They support sustainable and resilient food systems, especially in dryland and marginal areas. They enhance agricultural diversity, reducing reliance on monocultures and improving ecological stability. Likewise, fruit crops are valuable because they provide high-value nutrition with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and dietary fiber essential for human health. Fruits often fetch higher market prices than staple grains contributing to increased income for farmers. Fruit trees (perennial crops) maintain permanent soil cover, reduce runoff, and act as windbreaks, improving the farm microclimate. Orchards and tree-based systems support diverse flora and fauna compared to annual monocultures. Intercropping — growing two or more crops together on the same land — creates win-win outcomes. Intercropping millets with fruit trees provides dual income streams: millets offer quick seasonal yield and staple food. Fruit crops add long-term value through fruit harvests and can improve farm profitability. Intercropping millets with fruit crops forms a nutrition-dense, sustainable cropping system that harnesses the nutritional strengths of millets and the dietary richness of fruit crops. This system improves land productivity, soil health, resilience against climate risk and economic returns while contributing to food and nutrition security. The success of such systems depends on careful crop selection, planning for complementary growth habits, and managing resources effectively. In this paper, we have reviewed the important factors affecting sustainable millets intercropping with fruit crops.
