Millet fodder

1. Millet (as a Fodder )

2. Taxonomy of Millet
• Pennisetum glaucum (Pearl Millet)
• Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
• Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular
plants
• Super division: Spermatophyta - Seed
plants
• Division: Magnoliophyta –
Flowering plants

3. Conti……
• Class: Liliopsida - Monocotyledons
• Subclass: Commelinidae
• Order: Cyperales
• Family: Poaceae - Grass family
• Genus: Pennisetum - fountaingrass
• Species: Pennisetum glaucum- pearl
millet

4. Millet Fodder
Topics under discussion;
A) Apparent characteristics (Anatomical features)
B) History and importance
C) Varieties
D) Climate end soil condition
E) Seed rate,method of sowing and manuring
F) Sowing time
G) Irrigation
H) Pests and diseases
I) Time of Harvesting

5. Topics under discussion
J) Yield
K) Nutritive profile
L) Cultivars
M) Antinutritional factor

6. A) Apparent Characteristics
( Anatomical features)
• Pearl millet is a
• Tall
• Robust
• Erect
• Annual bunchgrass.

7. A) Apparent Characteristics
( Anatomical features)
 Its height varies depending upon the variety
and environment, but plants are generally 6-
15 ft in height.
Leaves are
• Grass-like
• Numerous and slender
• Measuring about an inch wide and up to more
than 6 feet long

8. B) History and importance
There are different views about its origin:
• Africa
• Indo-Pakistan sub-continent
• South-East Asia

9. Importance
• Dual purpose crop
• Grown throughout the country both for grain
and fodder.
• It has good tolerance for drought.
• It has minimal input requirements and
therefore gives a reasonable return of fodder
and hence reasonable income on medium as
well as light soil(not very fertile land)

10. Importance
• Staple food
• Rich in vitamin B
• Digestible
• Nutritious
• High in minerals and essential amino acids

11. C) Varieties
• There are dozens of species of Millet grown
worldwide. However there are only five
species of millets of commercial importance.
These include
1- Proso Millet

12. 2.Foxtail millet

13. 3.Finger millet

14. 4.Browntop millet

15. 5.Pearl millet

16. D) Climate and Soil
• Warm weather crop
• It is preferred in areas where water scarcity is often
experienced.
• It is extensively sown in dry and arid areas of Pakistan.
• In Punjab its cultivation is concentrated in the barani
areas of Pothwar and the dry regions of Bahawalpur.
• In Sindh, the areas known for millet cultivation are
Tharparkar, Hyderabad, Nawab Shah and Dadu.
• In NWFP it is largely sown in Kohat, D.I Khan.
• It is cultivated in almost all the districts of Balochistan.
It grows best in light sandy loam soils.

17. E) Seed rate(Seed requirement)
10-15 kg seed/hectare
F) Sowing period
For fodder purpose, millet is sown in March-July.

18. G) Irrigation
• Two or three irrigations are sufficient for
fodder purpose.
• The first irrigation should be applied three
weeks after sowing and subsequent irrigations
should be applied as needed.

19. H) Pests and disease
• It usually remains free of insects and pests.
Sometimes under humid conditions it is
slightly or moderately affected by leaf spot,
green ear or grain smut.

20. I) Time of harvesting
The Millet for fodder purpose is harvested at the
ear-initiation or 25% heading stage.

21. J) Yield
• In all over Pakistan, millet production is
230000,258000,230000 & 290000 MT in year
2013,2014,2015 & 2016 respectively.
(One MT=9070000000 Kg)
• Average per Hectare production is nearly 800
Kg annually.

22. K) Nutritive Profile(on dry matter
basis)
CP 19.82%
CF 4.72%
Ash 8.00%
NDF 41.42%
TDN 67.13%
Ca 0.54%
P 0.50%
K 0.31%

23. L) Cultivars
• Two cultivars are recommended by the
department of Agriculture ; A 1/3 and 18-BY
MB-87 is another promising Line which
besides grain gives three cutting of fodder
when planted in March in irrigated areas. It is
the final stage of testing.

24. M) Anti-nutritional factor
• Oxalic acid in millet reduces bioavailability of
Calcium and hence reduces milk production
and Fat content.

25. Caution
Feeding Millet to horses should be avoided as
millet contain a sugar named Setarian. If a horse
consumes feed with this sugar, it will cause
serious kidney irritation and result in excessive
urination.

26. Reference
“Crop Production”
Shafi Nazir,Managing Author
Elena Bashir, Robyn Bantel,Editors.
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