Recmmended package f practices: Pearl millet Preparatin f land Pearl millet can be grwn in different sils. It des nt grw well in sils prne t waterlgged cnditins. The field shuld be plughed nce r twice fllwed by harrwing t create fine tilth Selectin f high yielding hybrids and varieties Mst f the pearl millet area is grwn with hybrids while the varieties are preferred in drught prne eclgies. The latest list f hybrids and varieties f pearl millet is given belw. Regin/ State Recmmended Hybrid Recmmended Variety Rajasthan Kharif KBH 108, GHB 905, 86M89, MPMH 17, MP 7792, 86M86, 86M66, RHB-173, MBC 2, PC 443, JBV 3, PC 383, ICMV 221, Raj 171 HHB 67 Summer Nandi 70, Nandi 72, 86M64 Kharif arid parts HHB 234, Bi 70, HHB-226, RHB-177 CZP 9802 Gujarat Kharif KBH 108, GHB 905, 86M89, MPMH 17, MP 7792, 86M86, 86M66, RHB-173, HHB 67 Summer Nandi 70, Nandi 72, 86M64 Kharif arid parts HHB 234, Bi 70, HHB-226, RHB-177 CZP 9802 Haryana Kharif KBH 108, GHB 905, 86M89, MPMH 17, MP 7792, 86M86, 86M66, RHB-173, HHB 67 Kharif arid parts HHB 234, Bi 70, HHB-226, RHB-177 CZP 9802 Punjab Kharif KBH 108, GHB 905, 86M89, MPMH 17, MP 7792, 86M86, 86M66, RHB-173 Delhi Kharif KBH 108, GHB 905, 86M89, MPMH 17, MP 7792, 86M86, 86M66, RHB-173 Uttar Pradesh Kharif KBH 108, GHB 905, 86M89, MPMH 17, MP 7792, 86M86, 86M66, RHB-173 Madhya Pradesh Kharif KBH 108, GHB 905, 86M89, MPMH 17, MP 7792, 86M86, 86M66, RHB-173 Maharashtra Kharif Kaveri Super Bss, Pratap, PKV Raj, Shine, MP 7792, 86M86, PAC 909, 86M64, 86M53 MBC 2, PC 443, JBV 3, PC 383, ICMV 221, Raj 171 MBC 2, PC 443, HC 20, JBV 3, PC 383, HC 10, ICMV 221, Raj 171 PCB 164, ICMV 221, Raj 171 JBV 3, PC 383, ICMV 221, Raj 171 JBV 3, PC 383, ICMV 221, Raj 171 JBV 4, JBV 3, PC 383, ICMV 221, Raj 171 ABPC-4-3, PC 612, Parbhani Sampada, Samrudhi, ICMV 221, Raj 171, ICMV 155 Page 1 f 9
Summer Nandi 70, Nandi 72, 86M64 Tamilnadu Kharif Kaveri Super Bss, Pratap, C 9, Shine, MP 7792, 86M86, PAC 909, 86M64, 86M53 Summer Nandi 70, Nandi 72, 86M64 Andhra Pradesh Kharif Kaveri Super Bss, Pratap, Shine, MP 7792, 86M86, PAC 909, 86M64, 86M53 Karnataka Kharif Kaveri Super Bss, Pratap, Shine, MP 7792, 86M86, PAC 909, 86M64, 86M53 PC 612, CCu 9, Samrudhi, ICMV 221, Raj 171, ICMV 155 PC 612, Samrudhi, ICMV 221, Raj 171, ICMV 155, Ananta PC 612, Samrudhi, ICMV 221, Raj 171, ICMV 155 Methd f swing Three systems f pearl millet swing are fllwed: (1) n a flat surface, r (2) using ridge and furrw system, r (3) n a brad-bed and furrw system The seed shuld be swn at 2.5 cm 3 cm depth Time f swing Swing f kharif pearl millet shuld be dne with the nset f mnsn i.e. first frtnight f July in nrth and central parts f the cuntry. First frtnight f Octber is apprpriate time fr rabi seasn in Tamil Nadu. Gap filling shuld be dne by transplanting seedlings after 2-3 weeks f swing if scanty ppulatin exists. In Marathwada area f Maharashtra, dry swing prir t first mnsn rains is recmmended. Summer pearl millet shuld be swn frm 4th t 5th Standard Meterlgical Week (SMW) i.e. last week f January t 1st week f February t btain higher prductin f summer pearl millet in zne B. Seed treatment Seed treatment with bipesticides (Trichderma harzianum @ 4g kg -1 ) r thiram 75% dust @ 3 g kg -1 seed will help against silbrne diseases. Seed treatment with 300-mesh sulfur pwder @ 4 g kg -1 seeds cntrls the smut disease. Fr remving ergt affected seeds, they are saked in 10% salt slutin. Seed treatment with metalaxyl (Aprn 35 SD) @ 6 g kg -1 seed cntrls dwny mildew. Seeds are treated with Azspirillum (600 g) and Phsphbacterium t enhance the availability f nitrgen and phsphrus. Seed rate, Spacing and Plant ppulatin Seed rate: 3 kg/ha Spacing: Fr arid-western plain f Rajasthan, Haryana and Kutch f Gujarat (A1 zne), pearl millet shuld be planted in rws 60 cm apart, maintaining lw plant ppulatin f 1.00 t 1.25 lac/ha. Fr the area receiving rainfall mre than 450 mm (zne A & B), the crp shuld be Page 2 f 9
planted at the spacing f 45 x 10-15 cm keeping plant ppulatin f 1.75 t 2.0 lakhs/ha. Seed rate fr the crp shuld be taken @ 3 t 4 kg/ha fr btaining required plant stand. Plant ppulatin: The recmmended plant stand fr pearl millet under nrmal cnditins is 180,000 plants ha -1 r 72,000 plants acre -1. Under irrigatin r high levels f management n highly prductive sils, a ppulatin f 225,000 plants ha -1 (100,000 plants acre -1 ) is recmmended. On extremely sandy, drughty sils, a ppulatin f abut 90,000 plants ha -1 (40,000 plants acre -1 ) is desirable. Nutrient management Applicatin f 40 kg N + 20 kg P2O5/ha fr arid regins and 60 kg N/ha + 30 kg P2O5/ha fr semi-arid regins is recmmended fr sle pearl millet as well as intercrpping system. In light sils (sandy lams) the applied nitrgen may be lst due t leaching with heavy rains. S, nly abut half f the recmmended nitrgen dse shuld be applied at seedbed preparatin. The remaining half f nitrgen dse is side-dressed when the crp is 25 days ld. On sils which d nt leach easily like black sils, all f the nitrgen may be applied during seedbed preparatin. Pearl millet seeds are sensitive t fertilizer burn. D nt apply fertilizer in the furrw with the seed r very near the seed in the rw after swing. It shuld be applied as side dressing Use f bifertilizer (Azspirillum and PSB) can ecnmize the N and P fertilizer applicatin. In zinc deficient sils f the pearl millet grwing area f the cuntry, applicatin f 10 kg ZnSO4/ha is recmmended. T crrect the zinc deficiency in standing crp, spray f 0.2% ZnSO4 at tillering t pre-flwering stage is recmmended. Under prlnged dry spell, skip tp dressing f N and spray 2% urea. Under excessive rain situatin during vegetative phase, additinal dse f nitrgen @ 20 kg/ha shuld be given. Intercultivatin and weed cntrl Tw heings and weedings at 15 and 30 DAS are sufficient fr cntrlling weeds effectively which is cmparable with the herbicidal weed cntrl thrugh pre-emergent applicatin f atrazine @ 0.5 kg/ha superimpsed with ne hand weeding. Secnd weeding helps t cnserve sil misture. Pearl millet-based crpping systems in kharif Rtatin f cultivars als shuld be adpted t avid dwny mildew disease prblem. Pearl millet hybrids and pen-pllinated varieties shuld be used in alternate years/seasns. It is advised nt t grw the same hybrid r pen pllinated variety cntinuusly n the same piece f land. Rajasthan Haryana Gujarat Uttar Pradesh Pearl millet + cluster bean/ cwpea/ green gram/mthbean/ sesame Pearl millet + Green gram/ sesame / cluster bean/ cwpea Pearl millet + Green gram/ sesame/cwpea Pearl millet + Green gram/ sesame/cwpea Page 3 f 9
Madhya Pradesh Pearl millet + Black gram/ sybean/ Pigenpea/cwpea Delhi Pearl millet + Pigenpea/ grundnut / castr Punjab Pearl millet + Chickpea/fdder srghum/wheat Maharashtra Pearl millet + Mth bean / Pigenpea/sybean/blackgram, greengram/cwpea/sunflwer Karnataka Pearl millet + Pigenpea greengram/sunflwer/sybean Tamil Nadu Pearl millet + Pigenpea greengram/sunflwer/sybean/cwpea Andhra Pradesh Pearl millet + Pigenpea/ greengram/sunflwer/sybean/grundnut Irrigatin: Under prlnged dry spells, irrigatin shuld be applied at critical stages f crp grwth i.e. tillering, flwering and grain develpmental stage, if water is available. In summer, pearl millet shuld be irrigated at regular intervals (0.75-1.0IW/CPE with 40 mm) as per need f the crp. Harvesting: The best stage t harvest pearl millet is when the plants reach physilgical maturity determined by the black spt at the bttm f the grain in the hilar regin. When the crp matures, the leaves turn yellwish and present a nearly dried up appearance. The grains are hard and firm. The usual practice f harvesting pearl millet is cutting the earheads first and the stalks later. The stalks (straw) are cut after a week, allwed t dry and then stacked. Grain at r belw 14% misture is cnsidered dry. Fr lng-term strage (mre than 6 mnths), grain misture cntent shuld be less than 12%. Majr Insect Pests Insect pests are cnsidered t be relatively less imprtant in mst f the pearl millet grwing areas in India. The mst imprtant insect pests f pearl millet are white grub, sht fly and grey weevil. White Grub: A cmmn pest in Gujarat and Rajasthan States. The grubs attack the rt f the grwing seedlings and cause cmplete withering f the plants. Patchy gaps are frmed due t death f plants which result in pr r uneven plant stand. Grubs cause maximum damage during July-August. The adults emerge frm May t July with the pre- mnsn/mnsn shwers and feed n pearl millet flwer and grains in the milky stage. The extent f damage ranged frm 5-25% in Rajasthan. Cntrl Inter-crpping with Sunflwer and Pigen pea reduces the incidence f white grub Cllect and destry the adult beetles immediately after first shwers when they visit Neem/ Acacia trees mating Mixing f Carbfuran 3 G @ 12 Kg/ha with Bajra seed and applicatin in seed furrws at the time f swing is effective Spray hst trees with Carbaryl 0.2 % r Chlrpyriphs 0.2% with nset f mnsn and the spraying within 2-3 days after receipt f first shwers. Page 4 f 9
Sht fly: A cmmn pest f Gujarat and Tamilnadu State. Larvae cut the grwing pint causing dead heart during the seedling stage whereas in advance stage, they feed n ear heads and cut dwn panicles. Infestatin is mre n late swn crp. Cntrl The crp shuld be swn with the nset f the mnsn r latest within 10-15 days f first shwer f mnsn; Staggered swing t cntain the buildup f sht fly ppulatin Transplanting is suggested fr late swn crp. In case direct seeding, a seed rate f 4 Kg per ha is recmmended and the affected seedlings are thinned within 15 days after swing In case f heavy incidence f sht fly in endemic areas, spray the crp with 0.07 % Endsulfan at 10 and 20 days after germinatin. In places where water is a prblem, 4 % dust f Endsulfan can be used. Grass Hppers : Eggs are laid in the sil 75-200 mm deep; hppers and adults feed n fliage, at times causing severe defliatin f the crp; adults are shrt winged and can fly shrt distances nly. Cntrl: weed free cultivatin; deep summer plughing after harvest f the crp t expse egg pds in sil scrapping f bunds and clean cultivatin dust the crp with 4 % Endsulfan r Fenvalerate dust @25 Kg/ha r spray the crp with 0.07% f Endsulfan. Termites: A scial insect that live undergrund in clnies, attack yung seedlings as well as grwn up plants. Infested plants wither and ultimately die. Cntrl: Deep plughing after harvesting f the crp fllwed by cllectin f stubbles/plant refuge and burning theref Use well decmpsed FYM Irrigate the crp timely Apply Chlrpyriphs 20 EC @ 1.25 litre/endsulfan 35 EC @ 2.5 litres alng with irrigatin water in standing crp as a last resrt. Grey Weevil: A plyphagus insect. Adult beetles feed n green leaves, cause serius damage when seedlings are infested. Page 5 f 9
Cntrl: Dusting f Quinalphs 1.5% r Methyl Parathin 2% r Malathin 5% @ 25 Kg/ha n appearance f the pest. Ear head bug: A cmmn pest in Suthern parts f the cuntry. Nymphs and adult bugs suck the sap frm tender grains at the milk stage, making them chaffy/shriveled. Cntrl: early planting reduces the infestatin f the pest, applicatin f Carbaryl 50 SP @ 3 Kg in 500 litre f water/ha r Endsulfan 4D @ 20 Kg/ha n panicles. Stem brers: A ncturnal mth, dirty brwnish in clur. Caterpillars feed n fliage and bre in t the stem causing Dead heart, als tunnel the stem and bre int ear heads. Cntrl: Release f Trichgramma chilnis @ 75, 000 per ha/week; and spray Endsulfan 35 EC @ 0.1%. Hairy caterpillars: It attacks the crp spradically. The larvae cause heavy defliatin f the plants. Pest is cmmnly fund in Gujarat and Semi-arid regin f Rajasthan. Cntrl: Release f Trichgramma chilnis @ 75, 000 perha/week; and spray Endsulfan 35 EC @ 0.1%. Majr Diseases Althugh mre than 50 diseases caused by different bitic factrs have been reprted in pearl millet in India but nly few are imprtant. These are dwny mildew, smut, ergt, rust and blast. These diseases directly reduce grain yield by affecting grain frmatin. In additin ergt can als reduce grain quality. Use f resistant cultivars is the mst cst-effective methd f the cntrl f pearl millet diseases. Dwny mildew: Dwny mildew is widely distributed in all the pearl millet grwing areas in the wrld. Systemic symptms as chlrsis generally appear n the secnd leaf and all the subsequent leaves and panicles f infected plant shw symptms. Leaf symptms begin as chlrsis at the base f the leaf lamina and successively higher leaves shw a prgressin f greater leaf area cverage by the symptms. Infected chlrtic area prduce massive amunt f asexual spres, generally n the lwer surface giving the leave a dwny appearance. Systemically infected plants remain stunted either d nt prduce panicle r prduce malfrmed panicles. In many affected plants green ear symptms appear n the panicles due t the transfrmatin f flral parts int leafy structure that may be ttal r partial and such plants d nt prduce seed r prduce very few seeds. The infected leaves prduce sexual spres (spres) in the necrtic leaf tissue late in the seasn. Currently in India abut 50% f the 9 millin ha under pearl millet cultivatin is grwn with mre than 70 hybrids in which DM incidence has been highly variable, with sme hybrids shwing mre than 90%incidence at farmer s field. This disease can assuming alarming levels when a single genetically unifrm Page 6 f 9
pearl millet cultivar is repeatedly and extensively grwn in a regin. Yield lsses within the regin can reach 30-40%. Management: The diseases f pearl millet can be best cntrlled by integrating methds f chemical r bilgical cntrl, and cultural practices. Use f resistant cultivars Rtate hybrids with variety alternately t keep sil inculum under cntrl. Seed treatment with Aprn 35 SD @ 6g/kg seed Seed treatment with Bacillus pumulis (INR7) Seed treatment with Chitsan 10g/kg seed Fliar spray f Ridmil 25 WP (100 ppm) after 21 days f swing if infectin exceeds 2-5 % Rgue ut infected plants and bury r burn Seed treatment with Ridmil MZ-72 @ 8g/kg seed and a fliar spray f Ridmil MZ-72 2g/l. Rust: Rust symptms first appear n lwer leaves as typical pustules cntaining reddish brwn pwder (uredspres). Later, dark brwn telispres are prduced. Symptms can ccur n bth upper and lwer surface f the leaves but mstly n upper surface and als n stem. Highly susceptible cultivars develp large pustules n leaf blades and sheaths. Rust has generally been cnsidered as a relatively less imprtant disease in mst f the pearl millet grwing areas than dwny mildew, ergt and smut because f its appearance, generally after the grain-filling stage, causing little r n lss in grain yield. Wrldwide this disease is prbably f greater imprtance f multicut frage hybrids where even lw rust severities can result in substantial lsses f digestible dry matter yield. Management: Use f resistant hybrids/verieties. Sw the crp with the nset f mnsn. Destructin f cllateral hsts like Ischaemum pretsum and Panicum maximum n the field bunds. Dusting f fine sulphur @ 17kg/ and tw sprays f 0.2% Manczeb at 15 days intervals Smut: Smut disease is f greater imprtance in India especially with the adaptatin f hybrids. The disease is mre severe in CMS-based single-crss hybrids than in pen-pllinated varieties. The infected flrets prduce sri that are larger than grains and appear as val t cnical, which are initially bright green but later turn brwn t black. The estimated grain yield lss due t smut is 5-20%. The disease ccurs during the mnth f September/ Octber. Early swn crp generally escapes frm the smut infectin. Management Use f resistant cultivars. Page 7 f 9
Spray with Captafl fllwed by Zineb n panicle at bt leaf stage which reduces infectin. Remve smutted ears frm the field. Ergt: The disease is easily identified as a hneydew substance f creamy t light pinkish ze ut f the infected flrets which cntains numerus cnidia. Within tw weeks these drplets dry ut as hard dark black structures larger than seeds, prtruding ut frm the flrets in place f grain, which are called sclertia. Here the lss in grain yield is directly prprtinal t the percentage f infectin as the infected seed is fully transfrmed int sclertium. The disease ccurrence and spread is highly influenced by weather cnditins during the flwering time. It became mre imprtant due t cultivatin f genetically unifrm single-crss F1 hybrids based n cytplasmic male-sterility system in India. Management Mechanical remval f sclertia frm seed and washing f seed in 2% salt water. Adjust swing dates s that ear emergence des nt ccide with mre rainy days. Plugh the field sn after harvest s that ergt is buried deep. Three fliar applicatin f Thiram 0.2% r Cpper Oxychlride 0.25% r Ziram @ 0.2% starting frm 50% flwering. Blast: The disease is knwn as leaf spt f pearl millet caused by Pyricularia grisea (Cke) Sacc [telemrph: Magnaprtha grisea (Herbert) Barr.] has becme a serius disease during the past few years. The disease affects bth quality and prductin f frage and grain. The symptms appear as distinct large, indefinite, water saked, spindle shaped, grey centred and purple grey hrizn with yellw margin, resulting in extensive chlrsis and premature drying f yung leaves. Cntingency Planning T cnserve in situ rainwater, deep plugh the field during summer n heavy sils f Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Eastern Rajasthan. A wider rw spacing f 60 cm is advcated where rainfall is less than 400 mm. Adpt suitable intercrpping system select early maturing hybrids/cmpsite f pearl millet under late nset f mnsn. Keep the crp weed-free by timely weeding. If dry spell ccurs immediately after swing, replant pearl millet in between the existing rw r relay crpping may be practiced including shrt duratin ilseed/pulse crps. Under nrmal nset f mnsn and ccurrence f prlnged dry spell during grand grwth perid f the crp, reduce plant ppulatin t the extent f 25 t 40%. Skip tp dressing f nitrgen and spray 2% urea. If drught prevails fr 2-3 week during pre-flwering t grain setting stage, ne life saving irrigatin may be given if water is available. Under excessive rains during vegetative phases, additinal dse f 20 kg N/ha shuld be applied. Page 8 f 9
Surces: 1. AICRP n Pearl millet (http://www.aicpmip.res.in as n 25-02-2016) 2. Khairwal IS, Rai KN, Diwakar B, Sharma YK, Rajpurhit BS, Bindu Nirwan and Ranjana Bhattacharjee. 2007. Pearl millet: Crp management and seed prductin Manual. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India: Internatinal Crps Research Institute fr the Semi-Arid Trpics. 104 pp. 3. Cntingency planning in crp plants (http://www.crida.in) Page 9 f 9