Some hybrids of napier grass and pearl millet is a perennial forage crop. ICRISAT and ILRI tested six dual purpose varieties of pearl millet and growth performance of sheep fed their residues in Niger and the study proved that the stover of the dual purpose varieties are of better quality compared to local varieties.
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Does pearl millet come back every year?
Pearl millet is commonly planted after a spring small grain or vegetable crop. It will re-grow after cutting to 6– 8 in and may be cut up to twice during a growing season (Banks and Stewart, 1998).
Is pearl millet annual or perennial?
Growth Habits and Requirements Pearl millet is a summer annual crop well-suited for double cropping and rotations. It germinates well at soil temperatures of 75 to 90 degrees F. Emergence occurs in 2 to 4 days under favorable conditions.
Will pearl millet regrow after cutting?
Pearl Millet will regrow following cutting or grazing and can be used in a multi-harvest scenario. Pearl Millet is drought hardy and grows well in light or sandy soils.
Will millet reseed itself?
Browntop millet is a good reseeding plant and the seed may remain viable in the soil for many years. It can become a pest in cultivated crops.
Does pearl millet need a lot of water?
Pearl millet crop need 25 to 30 cm ( 10 to 12 inches) of water over the season for a high-yielding crop. This can come from either rain, irrigation or stored soil moisture.
How late can you plant pearl millet?
Planting Date For economical grain production, pearl millet can be planted in the Piedmont area from May 1 to July 15. In the Coastal Plain, planting can be extended to August 10 under ideal conditions.
Is pearl millet good for birds?
A hand picked collection delicious Pearl Millet (Bajra) seeds to meet daily nutrition requirement of your Finches, Budgies, Lovebirds, Cockatiels, Conures etc. Helps in maintaining a healthy plumage and intensifies feather colours. Stimulates the natural foraging instinct to keep your birds energized and happy.
Do ducks eat pearl millet?
Pearl millet is the food source for quail, turkey, doves, and ducks and can be used in waterfowl planting and for birdseed mixes. There are several pearl millet varieties on the market, with some able to produce 9,000 lb/ac of dry matter, and 3,500 lb/ac of seed.
Where does millet grow best?
Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics of Asia and Africa (especially in India, Mali, Nigeria, and Niger), with 97% of millet production in developing countries. This crop is favored due to its productivity and short growing season under dry, high-temperature conditions.
Is millet invasive?
Weedy or Invasive: Wild-proso millet is the escaped form of the cultivated proso millet, and can be weedy or invasive throughout the United States. It is considered a noxious weed in Colorado and Oregon. It is a rapidly growing, vigorous, prolific seed producer that has developed some herbicide resistance.
Will millet grow in winter?
Common cereal grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats grow best in the cooler weather of fall and spring while millets are warm season plants that do best in the heat of summer. Two exceptions to this seasonal growth pattern are the cereal grains corn and rice, which like millets are warm season plants.
Can you broadcast millet seed?
Seed can be broadcast and cultipacked, planted with a grain drill into a firm, well-prepared seedbed, or seeded using a no-till drill. The suggested seeding rate for pearl millet is 15 to 20 lbs. per acre when broadcast and 8 to 10 lbs per acre when drilled. Foxtail millet suggested seeding rate is 20 to 30 lbs.
Is pearl millet good for birds?
A hand picked collection delicious Pearl Millet (Bajra) seeds to meet daily nutrition requirement of your Finches, Budgies, Lovebirds, Cockatiels, Conures etc. Helps in maintaining a healthy plumage and intensifies feather colours. Stimulates the natural foraging instinct to keep your birds energized and happy.
Which type of crop is pearl millet?
Pearl millet is a robust annual grass, usually 1.2–3.5 m tall. It is a staple cereal in India, and in some countries of west and southern Africa, such as Senegal and Namibia. The stems are 1–3 cm or more in diameter. The plant can tiller from few to as many as 20 culms based on spacing, management, and the cultivar.
Which millet crop is highest drought tolerance?
Pearl Millet As A Drought Tolerant Cereal. Drought is the major constraint to pearl millet as it is grown in the drier semiarid and arid regions. However, adaptive evolution and natural selection made pearl millet relatively the most drought and heat tolerant among other cereals.
In which season does Bajra grow?
Sowing Time and Method : For grain Bajra should be sown from july to mid august and for fodder purpose it can be sown from last week of june to first week of july'. Bajra should be sown at the depth of 4cmin lines with a spacing of 45cm.
Common Name (s)
Pearl Millet is an ornamental grass native to Africa with very showy flowers that produce a highly nutritious edible seed called millet. It is well adapted to drought conditions and poor soils making it a crop we will look to in the future.
Previously known as
Pearl Millet is an ornamental grass native to Africa with very showy flowers that produce a highly nutritious edible seed called millet. It is well adapted to drought conditions and poor soils making it a crop we will look to in the future.
How tall is pearl millet?
Pearl millet is a robust annual grass, usually 1.2–3.5 m tall. It is a staple cereal in India, and in some countries of west and southern Africa, such as Senegal and Namibia. The stems are 1–3 cm or more in diameter. The plant can tiller from few to as many as 20 culms based on spacing, management, and the cultivar.
Where is pearl millet found?
It is believed that pearl millet reached Southern Africa by 900 to 800 BCE. The primary centers of diversity for pearl millet are in Africa where cross-fertile wild species exist. Pennisetum violaceum (Lam.) Rich.—also referred to as Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. subspecies monodii (Maire) Brunken—a wild relative and perhaps the progenitor of cultivated pearl millet, is well distributed along the margins of the southern Sahara in West Africa.
What is the name of the grass that is pearl millet?
Pearl millet is the most important member of the genus Pennisetum in the tribe Paniceae. It has received a variety of taxonomic treatments, and its scientific binomials have been frequently shuffled by a variety of taxonomists. Consequently, it has had many Latin names, perhaps more than any other grass.
What is millet used for?
In west African countries, e.g., Senegal, millet is used for making couscous, pap, and fritters. In Cameroon, pearl millet-based gruels and steamed cakes are prepared for feeding infants and preschool children.
How much precipitation does pearl millet need?
The optimal annual precipitation for growing pearl millet lies between 200 and 600 mm, making it one of the most drought-resistant species of grain in existence. Malt made from pearl millet is used in some African countries to create opaque beers, as they are known. Germination is complete after 24 h.
How much rainfall does pearl millet produce?
Pearl millet, for example can produce a crop where the seasonal rainfall is as little as 300 mm.
Who gave the pearl millet the name Pennisetum typhoides?
Stapf and Hubbard (1933, 1934) gave the name Pennisetum typhoides (Burm.) Stapf et Hubb., which was accepted by several modem taxonomists, including Bor (1960), and used by most pearl millet workers outside the United States. In the 1960s, American workers joined the rest of the world in calling pearl millet Pennisetum typhoides ( Burton and Powell, 1968 ). The name Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br., based on Panicum glaucum (L.) R. Br., was adopted by Hitchcock and Chase (1951) in Manual of the Grasses of the United States. Consequently, American scientists currently engaged in research on pearl millet use this name.
Uses
Forage: Pearl millet is used primarily for grazing, green chop and silage.
Description
Pearl millet is an erect, annual grass that can grow over 8 feet tall. Seed is produced on a thick cylindrical spike. Leaves are long and pointed with finely serrated margins. Pearl millet does not produce prussic acid, however; nitrate poisoning can be a concern under certain conditions. There are approximately 60,000 seeds per pound.
Adaptation and Distribution
Pearl millet is adapted throughout the United States and southern Canada but it is grown primarily in the South due to its tolerance to pathogens, acidic soils and high humidity. Pearl millet performs best in moderate to well drained soils with a soil pH between 5.5 and 7.5. Drought tolerance is high.
Establishment
Planting rates vary from 15 to 25 pounds per acre depending on whether the seed is broadcast or planted in rows. Planting dates are usually from May to July but can be earlier in the deep South. Soil temperature needs to be a minimum of 65 degrees Fahrenheit for germination. Seeding depth should be 1/2 inch.
Management
For optimum forage production, moderate fertility is suggested although pearl millet will grow on lower fertility soils. Fertilize using soil test recommendations. If a soil test is not available, fertilize at similar rates to other annual grass crops.
What are perennial grains?
Perennial grains include cereals (grass seeds), legumes (dry beans), and oilseeds. In this article I’m focusing just on what’s happening with perennial grass seeds, though in the book I’ll be addressing all three categories and many more.
What is the perennial parent of Job's tears?
Thinopyrum species are also used as the perennial parent in attempts to develop perennial wheat. Job’s Tears ( Coix lacryma-jobi ). Wild Job’s tears is a perennial from South and Southeast Asia. The seeds of the wild forms ( var. stenocarpa and var. monilifer) have thick, hard shells that are often used as beads.
What is intermediate wheatgrass?
Intermediate Wheatgrass ( Thinopyrum intermedium ). The Land Institute has been working for several decades to domesticate this perennial wild grain. They have had relatively rapid success, and intermediate wheatgrass is currently undergoing a 30-acre field trial. The research fields are burned annually to control weeds, and apparently the crop can also be grazed to provide a non-seed yield. Production is still low, though researchers aim to see it reach one ton per acre. Thinopyrum species are also used as the perennial parent in attempts to develop perennial wheat.
Is corn a perennial?
Corn or Maize ( Zea mays) is one of the most important staple crops on the planet. Perennial corn could slow or reverse the degradation of sloping lands around the world that are inappropriately used to grow annual maize. Scientists and backyard breeders have been working toward this goal for many years, and have made some limited progress. Diploid perennial teosinte ( Z. diploperennis) is a wild relative which is crossable with annual corn. Several other wild corn relatives have recently been found by scientists. Maize can also be crossed with more distantly related hardy perennials including Eastern gammagrass ( Tripsacum dactyloides) and the related dwarf Fakahatchee grass ( T. floridanum ).
Is perennial grain still a thing?
Unfortunately perennial grains are still a decade or more in the future, though thanks to the visionary work of the Land Institute and others, we are already decades closer to achieving that goal. There are a number of breeding challenges, whether one seeks to “perennialize” existing annual crops or domesticate wild perennials.
Where does pearl millet come from?
Pearl millet, from the African Sahel, a low rainfall area, tolerates dry conditions but also hot and humid conditions, and thus is popular in the southeastern U.S. and southern Plains. All millets were domesticated millennia ago for seed harvest, with the primary use of the seed being for human food.
What is millet in agriculture?
Millets are diverse and broadly adapted crops but also a source of some confusion for both farmers and consumers. The term millet actually covers a wide range of agriculture plants from around the world, all of them grasses. Millets are sometimes considered cereal grains, but differ from the more well known cereals in a couple of ways. Common cereal grains such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats grow best in the cooler weather of fall and spring while millets are warm season plants that do best in the heat of summer. Two exceptions to this seasonal growth pattern are the cereal grains corn and rice, which like millets are warm season plants. Millets also differ from other cereal grains by having small, rounded seed while most cereal grains have the elongated, pointed seeds familiar from wheat or rice grains. The cool season winter cereal grains originated in the Middle East and were commonly used in Europe for thousands of years before spreading to other parts of the worlds. Millets are from many parts of Asia and Africa, but most have not been used in Europe, with the exception of proso and foxtail millet. The primary millets addressed in this publication are listed in Table 1.
How to reduce nitrates in millet hay?
In cases where millets are stressed during growth, such as from drought or cold weather, it may be advisable to have a lab test for nitrate levels in the hay to avoid having toxicity problems with livestock. If moderate nitrates are found, ensiling the millet hay can help reduce nitrate levels, or the hay can potentially be restricted to a small percentage of the diet (be careful to make sure individual animals don’t get too much of the hay at one time). At very high nitrate levels (such as over 1.76 percent for any livestock or 1.54 percent for pregnant animals) the hay should not be used at all.
What millets are grown in Missouri?
Figure 1. Various millets grown by the author in Missouri: foxtail millet on the left, proso millet in the center, and pearl millet on the right. (Photo credit: R. Myers)
Why is browntop millet used for wildlife?
Wildlife use: Because browntop millet produces a large number of small edible seeds (as with other millets), it has been used some for attracting and supporting wildlife. One study showed morning doves eating browntop millet as a significant fraction of their diet. It is reportedly eaten by many other game species, including deer, ducks, turkeys, quail, and pheasants.
Why are millets important?
As a group, the millets in the U.S. have been underutilized. Given their ability to tolerate tough growing conditions, they deserve greater consideration. Certainly they have a potential role as part of an effort to diversify cropping systems, whether as a grain, forage, cover crop or for other conservation use.
How does finger millet get its name?
This crop gets its name from the way the seed heads look like fingers pointing upwards. When the seed heads are first developing, it looks like the several “fingers” of the seed head are pointing straight upwards like an open hand with the palm facing upwards. Then, as the seed head matures, the seed head fingers tend to curl inwards, like a hand starting to close. Finger millet is believed to have first been domesticated in the highlands of Ethiopia and/or Uganda. As an important food crop in parts of east Africa and India, finger millet is grown on an estimated 5 to 10 million acres worldwide. In India, finger millet is also called ragi or sometimes African millet. Unfortunately, because of its more minor status compared to crop such as corn (maize) and rice, finger millet has received very little research or development to advance it as a modern crop.
How deep should pearl millet be planted?
Seeds should be planted ½” to no more than 1” deep. Pearl millet should be allowed to grow to approximately 24” tall before grazing. Grazing to lower than 8” can greatly slow regrowth or cause plant death. Prussic Acid poising is not a concern with pearl millet, but nitrate accumulation can be an issue.
Does millet shade out weeds?
While this is not ideal and will negatively impact days from planting to grazing height and total production, it is still likely that the millet will eventually shade out most of the weeds and produce an appreciable amount of forage in this otherwise wasted area and capture nutrients deposited over the winter.
Can pearl millet be planted in a weed bed?
The soil is already “ prepared ” in hay feeding areas. Pearl Millet can generally be easily established in these otherwise unproductive weed beds (figure 3), after burning off thick hay residue and perhaps some leveling.
Is pearl millet good for nursing calves?
Grazing weaned calves during preconditioning. From a land use perspective, pearl millet is an excellent crop option following cool season annual forages (small grains and ryegrass), since there is no overlap in the seasonality of the two.
Is pearl millet used in cows?
In my opinion, this and the “ something else to do ” factor, associated with planting annual forages are why pearl millet is not more widely utilized on cow-calf operations.
Can pearl millet tolerate standing water?
Pearl millet can tolerate drought, sandy soil, and moderately acidic soils. It will not tolerate standing water.
Can pearl millet be used for pasture?
Pearl millet can also be very useful for pasture renovation projects. When trying to renovate a perennial pasture heavily infested with smutgrass, centipede, or some other unwanted grasses, it is generally advisable to spray non-selective herbicides multiple times.
