Pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.)

Taxonomically pearl millet belongs to family Poaceae sub family Panicoideae section Penicillarium and possesses 2n= 2x=14 chromosomes. It is a cross-pollinated annual C 4 crop species that originated in western Africa and was introduced to eastern Africa and the Indian sub continent some 2000 years ago.

Pearl millet is the fifth most important cereal crop, and most important millet (>55% of global millet production), grown in over 40 countries, predominantly in Africa and Asia, as a staple food grain and source of feed, fodder, fuel and construction material in the hottest, driest, semi-arid and arid regions where rainfed agriculture is practiced. It is cultivated in 29 m ha, supporting >100 m people—the poorest of the poor; most important to national food security in Namibia and Niger; the major producing countries are Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, and India. It is also grown in Oceania and the Americas, predominantly as a forage and/or mulch component of minimum tillage-based cropping systems

India is the largest producer of this crop, both in terms of area (9.1 m ha) and production (7.3 m t), with an average productivity of 780 kg ha –1 during the last five years. Nearly 50% of the millet area is under hybrid cultivars. In Western and Central Africa (WCA), pearl millet open pollinated varieties are cultivated in16 m ha with a production of 11.5 m t and productivity of 800 kg ha -1 .

Downy mildew caused by Sclerospora graminicola (Sacc.) J. Schröt is the most widespread and destructive disease of pearl millet causing severe economic losses. Other major diseases affecting pearl millet are smut ( Moeszimyces penicillariae (Bref.) Vanky), ergot ( Claviceps fusiformis Loveless) and rust ( Puccinia substriata Ellis& Brath.).

Pearl millet improvement in ICRISAT mainly focuses on development of high-yielding downy mildew-resistant open-pollinated varieties (at Africa) and hybrid parents (at India).

Area, Production, Productivity

Pearl millet is annually grown on more than 29 m ha in the semi-arid tropical regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America. India is the largest producer of this crop, both in terms of area (9.1 m ha) and production (7.3 m t), with an average productivity of 780 kg ha –1 during the last five years. As compared to the early 1980s, the pearl millet area in India declined by 26% during the last five years, but production increased by 19% owing to a 44% increase in productivity (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Three-year moving average for pearl millet area, production, and grain yield; and number of varieties (3-year total) based on ICRISAT-bred material in India.

Since 1982 (the year when WC-C75, the first ICRISAT-bred open-pollinated variety (OPV) was released for cultivation) 59 cutlivars (14 OPVs and 45 hybrids) have been released in India that have significant input from ICRISAT. Among the hybrids, 5 were developed by ICRISAT, 28 by NARS and 12 by the private sector; and among the OPVs, 5 were developed by ICRISAT and 9 by NARS. More than 70 hybrids (officially released and truthfully labeled) are currently cultivated on about 50% of the total pearl millet area in India. Together, improved hybrids and OPVs are cultivated on 65% of the total pearl millet area.

In Western and Central Africa (WCA), pearl millet area (currently at 16 m ha) has been increasing since the early 1980s, and so has the production, but there has been an overall decline in productivity (Figure 2). Eighteen OPVs, developed by ICRISAT in partnership with NARS, have been adopted/released in nine countries of the region. The total releases in WCA were 34, as some of these 18 varieties were released in more than one country. For instance, the most popular variety SOSAT-C88 has been adopted/released in six countries, while another popular variety GB 8735 has been adopted/released in four countries. Lack of seed production in the region has been a major bottleneck in cultivar spread.

Figure 2. Three-year moving average for pearl millet area, production, and grain yield; and number of varieties (3-year total) based on ICRISAT-bred material in western and central Africa (WCA).

In Southern and Eastern Africa, 16 OPVs developed by ICRISAT in partnership with NARS, have been released in 10 countries in the region. Of these, ICMV 88908 renamed Okashana 1, has been released in more than one country. Okashana 1 and Okashana 2 have been adopted on a large scale, covering more than 50% of the pearl millet area in Namibia. Okoa is another variety, is released and well adopted in Tanzania.

Finger millet
Eleusine coracana (L.)
Gramineae family
Self-pollinating, 4X, 2n=40, 1C=1593Mbp

Most important minor millet in the tropics (12% of global millet area, similar to area of foxtail millet, which has declined rapidly over the past decade but was the main millet in China)

Grown in more than 25 countries in Africa (eastern and southern) and Asia (from Near East to Far East), predominantly as a staple food grain; major producers are Uganda, India, Nepal, and China

Has high yield potential (>10 t/ha under optimum irrigated conditions) and grain stores very well

Blast, caused by Pyricularia grisea (same pathogen as rice blast), is the major production constraint

In India:
Grown on 1.8M ha, with average yields of 1.3 t/ha, with less than 100,000 ha in Andhra Pradesh