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Concept
Pearl millet
Summary
Pearl millet (Cenchrus americanus, commonly known as the synonym Pennisetum glaucum) 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. 2023 is the , declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2021.
Pearl millet has ovoid grains of 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 .
Also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Saujalu' in Telugu, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique., 'Baajri' in Marathi, 'Za' in the Dagbani language of Ghana, Mawele in Swahili and mwere in Meru languages of Kenya. Mahangu in Kwanyama of Namibia.
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 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, of millet were planted in 1987 with an average production of only .
Official source
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