Pearl millet as a postrainy cool season crop: case studies from Gujarat and Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Case studies of winter season (rabi) pearl millet cultivation conducted in 2007–09 in Junagadh, Gujarat, and Jalgaon, Maharashtra states of India showed increasing interest of farmers in this cropping system because of the importance of the crop in sustaining farmers’ household requirements of nutritious food and fodder. A major constraint faced by farmers in these areas is the changing growing conditions such as low temperature of 10–15°C, which reduces plant growth, delays maturity, and leads to a reduced biomass yield. The existence of genetic variation for this trait can effectively address this issue. The farmers’ practice of adjusting sowing time largely overcomes the problem of poor seed setting at low temperature. However, genetic improvement of this trait is needed to allow flexible sowing time. Employing other cultural management practices, such as crop rotation juxtaposed with the adherence to a cropping calendar of pearl millet, yields economic benefits to farmers. Results showed that winter season pearl millet cultivation resulted in a benefit-cost ratio of 3.62 in Junagadh and 3.12 in Jalgaon. These attributes of pearl millet combined with high water-use efficiency under water limiting environments make it a potential replacement crop in the global scenario of climate change with bright prospect for developing hybrids suited to winter season environments