Pennisetum glaucum

Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most widely grown type of millet. It has been grown in Africa and the Indian subcontinent since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and suggested area of domestication, for the crop is in the Sahel zone of West Africa. Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern Mali between 2500 and 2000 BC.

Description

Pearl millet has ovoid grains of 3 – 4 mm length, the largest kernels of all varieties of millet (not including sorghum). These can be nearly white, pale yellow, brown, grey, slate blue or purple. The 1000-seed weight can be anything from 2.5 to 14 g with a mean of 8 g.

The height of the plant ranges from 0.5 – 4 m.

Cultivation

Pearl millet is well adapted to growing areas characterized by drought, low soil fertility, low moisture, and high temperature. It performs well in soils with high salinity or low pH. Because of its tolerance to difficult growing conditions, it can be grown in areas where other cereal crops, such as maize or wheat, would not survive. Pearl millet is a summer annual crop well-suited for double cropping and rotations.The grain and forage are valuable as food and feed resources in Africa, Russia, India and China.

Today pearl millet is grown on over 260,000 km² of land worldwide. It accounts for about 50% of the total world production of millets. Pearl millet is the most widely grown millet and is a very important crop in India and parts of Africa.

World production of millets has been stable during the 1980s. According to FAO, 39.4 million hectares of millet were planted in 1987 with an average production of only 704kg/ha.

Structure and physical properties

pearl millet varieties from the world collection probably have more variation in physical characteristics than any other millet. Kernel shape has different classifications: obovate, hexagonal, lanceolate, globular and elliptical. In Africa, pearl millet is classified as either globular or lanceolate and hexagonal. Most of the millets are very similar to each other in basic structures, although there are some very specific differences.

Composition

The mean value in proximate composition of variety Changara of pearl millet are presented in the table below. The proximate composition can be affected by both environment and genetics. Pearl millet usually has higher protein content and fat contents than sorghum or other millets because the kernel is a naked caryopsis.

All means values are expressed on dry matter basis

N*6.5

Culinary use

Pearl millet is commonly used to make ''bhakri'' flatbread. It is also boiled to make a Tamil porridge called ''kamban choru'' or "kamban koozh".

In Rajasthani cuisine is a traditional dish made with pearl millet flour and yogurt. It is usually made in summers to be served along with meals.

Around the world

India

India is the largest producer of pearl millet. India began growing pearl millet between 1500 and 1100 BCE. It is currently unknown how it made its way to India. Rajasthan is the highest-producing state in India. The first hybrid of pearl millet developed in India in 1965 is called the HB1.

Sajje is the local name of the Pearl Millet in Karnataka and is mostly grown in the semi-arid districts of North Karnataka. Sajje is milled and used for making flatbread called 'Sajje Rotti' and is eaten with Yennegai (stuffed brinjal) and yogurt.

Kambu is the Tamil name of pearl millet and is an important food across the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second important food for Tamil people consumed predominantly in the hot humid summer months from February through May every year. It is made into a gruel and consumed along with buttermilk or consumed as dosa or idly.

Pearl Millet is called Bajra in Northern Indian states. There was a time when pearl millets along with finger millets and sorghum were the staple food crops in these states but it reduced to mere cattle fodder crop after the Green Revolution in the 1960s.

Africa

The second largest producer of pearl millet and the first to start cultivation, Africa has been successful in bringing back this lost crop.

Sahel

Pearl millet is an important food across the Sahel region of Africa. It is a main staple (along with sorghum) in a large region of northern Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso. In Nigeria it is usually grown as an intercrop with sorghum and cowpea, the different growth habits, growth period and drought vulnerability of the three crops maximising total productivity and minimising the risk of total crop failure. It is often ground into a flour, rolled into large balls, parboiled, liquefied into a watery paste using fermented milk, and then consumed as a beverage. This beverage, called "fura" in Hausa, is a popular drink in northern Nigeria and southern Niger. Pearl millet is a food widely used in Borno state and its surrounding states, it is the most widely grown and harvested crop. There are many products that are obtained from the processing of the crop.

Namibia

In Namibia, pearl millet is locally known as "mahangu" and is grown mainly in the north of that country, where it is the staple food. In the dry, unpredictable climate of this area it grows better than alternatives such as maize.

Mahangu is usually made into a porridge called "oshifima" (or "oshithima"), or fermented to make a drink called "ontaku" or "oshikundu".

Traditionally the mahangu is pounded with heavy pieces of wood in a 'pounding area'. The floor of the pounding area is covered with a concrete-like coating made from the material of termite mounds. As a result, some sand and grit gets into the pounded mahangu, so products like oshifima are usually swallowed without chewing. After pounding, winnowing may be used to remove the chaff.

Some industrial grain processing facilities now exist, such as those operated by Namib Mills. Efforts are also being made to develop smaller scale processing using food extrusion and other methods. In a food extruder, the mahangu is milled into a paste before being forced through metal die. Products made this way include breakfast cereals, including puffed grains and porridge, pasta shapes, and "rice".

Research and development

Recently more productive varieties of pearl millet have been introduced, enabling farmers to increase production considerably.

To combat the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in Africa and Asia, a study of serving iron- biofortified pearl millets which is bred conventionally without genetic modification to a control group is proved to have higher level of iron absorbance by the group.

Around 1000 pearl millet genotypes, including 31 wild genotypes are sequenced to grasp the genetic diversity of this staple crop to aid breeding by enriching the genetic material. A reference genotype of pearl millet (Tift 23D2B1-P1-P5) has been fully sequenced, which holds around 38,579 genes. Some of these genes are for wax biosynthesis, which is known to be involved in tolerance to abiotic stresses in pearl millet. ICRISAT is currently evaluatin
crop wild relatives
and will introgress abiotic tolerant traits into cultivated genotypes and make them available for pearl millet improvement.

Pests

Insect pests include:

;Seedling pests
*shoot fly '' Atherigona approximata'' (major seedling pest)
*'' Atherigona soccata'', '' Atherigona oryzae'', '' Atherigona punctata'', '' Atherigona ponti'', and '' Atherigona yorki''
*anthomyiid flies '' Delia arambourgi'' and '' Delia flavibasis'' (Ethiopia)

;Stem borers
*lepidopteran borers: ''Chilo partellus'', ''Chilo infuscatellus'', '' Sesamia calamistis'', '' Sesamia cretica'', ''Sesamia inferens'', ''Diatraea grandiosella'', ''Coniesta ignefusalis'', '' Busseola fusca'', ''Eldana saccharina'', ''Ostrinia furnacalis'', and ''Ostrinia nubilalis''

;Leaf feeders
*lepidopteran caterpillars: '' Amsacta moorei'', '' Mythimna loreyi'', '' Mythimna separata'', ''Cnaphalocrocis medinalis'', '' Cnaphalocrocis patnalis'', '' Spodoptera exigua'', ''Spodoptera frugiperda'', ''Spodoptera mauritia'', '' Autoba silicula''
*grasshoppers: '' Diabolocatantops axillaris'', ''Hieroglyphus banian'', '' Hieroglyphus daganensis'', '' Oedaleus senegalensis'', and ''Schistocerca gregaria''

;Sucking pests
*bugs: '' Blissus leucopterus'', ''Nysius niger

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