Scientific name(s)

Pennisetum glaucum

Strengths

• Annual.
• Large seed.
• Easy to harvest, handle and sow.
• Can be drilled into moist soil.
• Good emergence from depth, to 50 mm.
• Relatively easy to establish on black cracking-clay soils.
• Vigorous seedlings.
• High growth rate.
• Salt tolerant.
• Drought tolerant.
• Suitable for silage.
  

Limitations

• Needs moderate to high fertility.
• Seedlings slow in early stage below 20oC.
• Intolerant of watelogging.
• A little coarse for hay.
  

Plant description

Plant: A robust, multi-stemmed annual grass.

Stems: Stems erect, 150-300 cm long, 10-20 mm diameter. Nodes are bearded and slightly swollen. Nodes can produce adventitious roots. Above each node is a shallow groove containing a bud.

Leaves: Ligule is a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades are flat, 50-100 cm long and 8-70 mm wide.

Seedhead: Seedhead is a compact, cylindrical spike-like panicle.

Seeds: Wedge-shaped seeds are 3-4 mm long and colour depends on variety. About 187,000 seeds/kg.

Pasture type and use

It is used as an annual summer forage crop for cattle.

Where it grows

Rainfall

Rainfall greater than 500 mm/yr and soil moisture stored during fallow are required for satisfactory forage crop production.

Soils

It is adapted to fertile loams to heavy cracking clays.

Temperature

It grows during the warm season and tops are killed by heavy frost.

Establishment

Companion species

Legumes: lablab, cowpea.

Sowing/planting rates as single species

6-15 kg/ha.

Sowing/planting rates in mixtures

3-7 kg/ha.

Sowing time

It is sown from spring to late summer.

Inoculation

Not applicable

Fertiliser

Fertiliser application of 15-20 kg/ha P, 50-100 kg/ha N and 50-100 kg/ha K, if grown for hay, may be used to produce satisfactory forage crops.

Management

Maintenance fertliser

100 kg N/ha after grazing will increase late season production.

Grazing/cutting

20 t/ha DM has been produced from good stands with sufficient moisture and fertiliser.

Seed production

600-800 kg/ha.

Ability to spread

There is little chance of spread.

Weed potential

It has negligible weed potential.

Major pests

Helicoverpa spp. can damage developing heads and should be controlled in seed crops.

Major diseases

Head mould and ergot can reduce seed yield.

Herbicide susceptibility

It is killed by glyphosate and is tolerant of atrazine.

Animal production

Feeding value

Forage quality depends on soil type and fertility, fertilisers applied, rainfall and age of the crop.

Palatability

Reduced palatability is sometimes observed in droughted crops.

Production potential

At Katherine NT wet season grazing by beef cattle at a stocking rate of 2.5 beasts/ha produced a liveweight gain of 102 kg per head in 20-24 weeks. Cattle grazing standing pearl millet in the dry season made an average liveweight gain of 269 kg/ha over 16 weeks during a period when animals grazing natural pasture lost weight.

Livestock disorders/toxicity

No known problems except unpalatability in some droughted crops.

Cultivars