Economic importance and agrotechnical features of millet cultivation

Millet is one of the main cereal crops, providing a stable grain harvest for the production of millet groats. This crop is characterized by high drought resistance and versatility of use in agriculture. Agronomists value it for its reliability in difficult weather conditions and high productivity potential.

• Yield potential — 2 times higher than wheat
• Actual yield in the Russian Federation — 8–14 dt/ha
• Average global yield — about 20 dt/ha
• Harvest in a mixture with carrots — 16.8 dt/ha of millet and 81.8 dt/ha of carrots

Nutritional and feed value of millet in crop rotation

Millet grain is distinguished by its high nutritional value. The millet groats obtained from it contain 12% protein, 81% starch, 3.5% fat, 0.15% sugar, and 1.04% dietary fiber. In terms of protein content, millet groats surpass most cereal crops, second only to oat groats.

For comparison, protein content in major grains is as follows:

• in rice — 6%;
• in pearl barley — 9.6%;
• in buckwheat — 10%;
• in oats — 16%.

In its unprocessed form, the grain is used as feed for poultry and in the fattening of pigs, and is also used in the brewing industry for making malt. When grown for green fodder and hay, millet is capable of producing two cuts when mown. Millet straw and chaff possess high feed qualities, containing 0.51 and 0.42 feed units per 1 kg, respectively.

With wide-row sowing, millet serves as a good row-crop predecessor for spring cereal crops. It is also effective in mixed sowings with other crops. For example, joint sowing with carrots ensures a harvest of 16.8 dt/ha of millet grain and an additional 81.8 dt/ha of carrots.

Geography of cultivation, yield, and cultivars

The term "millet" refers to several species of the Poaceae family. In addition to common (proso) millet, agriculture also includes the cultivation of foxtail millet (chumiza, mohar), proso millet, African millet, crabgrass, and teff. For the conditions of Russia and Ukraine, cultivars with high grain quality are recommended: Saratovskoye 853, Kazanskoye 506, Podolyanskoye 24/273, Kinelskoye 2462, Kharkovskoye 436, and Uralskoye 1419.

In Belarus, both grain cultivars (Gomelskoye, Minskoye) and grain-forage cultivars (Bystroye, Volnoye, Galinka, Mirskoye, Nadezhnoye, Slavyanskoye) are sown. In 2005, the Bystroye cultivar occupied the main areas under the crop — 52.7% of the area, while the Minskoye cultivar accounted for 3.4%. The average highest yield of cultivars at experimental stations confirms the high potential of the crop with the correct selection of seed material.

During the variety testing of promising cultivars at experimental stations, the following results were obtained:

In 2003, the global sown area of millet exceeded 36.3 million hectares with an average yield of about 20 dt/ha. The leader in production is India (18.7 million hectares), and in Pakistan, 911 thousand hectares are allocated to the crop. In Africa, joint sowings of millet and sorghum occupy 15.8 million hectares (of which 4.0 million hectares are sown with pure millet with a yield of 6.7–11.1 dt/ha). In Russia, the main areas are concentrated in the Volga region, Rostov Oblast, the Central Black Earth Region, Western Siberia, and the North Caucasus.

Millet is one of the oldest crops domesticated 4–3 thousand years BC. Central and Western China, as well as mountainous Mongolia, are considered the primary centers of its cultivation, where the maximum diversity of the Panicum miliaceum L. species has been discovered. From here, nomadic peoples spread it throughout Asia and Europe during the Neolithic era. In the Caucasus, the crop was grown since the 2nd millennium BC, and in Kazakhstan, it served as the only sown cereal since ancient times.

Biological characteristics and heat requirements

Common millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is the oldest cereal crop. Mentions of its cultivation in the territory of modern Russia and Ukraine date back to chronicles from the year 1095, and during excavations near Minsk, archaeologists find ancient grains of this crop. The genus of millet (Panicum L.) combines more than 400 species, but in the CIS agriculture, mainly four species are cultivated, the key of which is common millet. This plant does not occur in the wild today.

Based on the type of panicle, common millet is divided into five subspecies: spreading (patentissimum), loose (effusum), compact (contractum), oval or semi-compact (ovatum), and compact (compactum). These subspecies differ not only in the structure of the inflorescence but also in their biological properties. Semi-compact and compact millet are more thermophilic and drought-resistant, which is why they are cultivated in the southeast of Russia. The spreading and loose subspecies belong to the northern ecotype, and their growing zones extend to the Non-Chernozem region. Within the subspecies, varieties are distinguished by grain color (yellow, cream, red) and the presence of anthocyanin on the glumes.

The plant forms a simple or branched stem 45–150 cm high with pubescent or glabrous leaves 18–65 cm long. Millet is capable of producing shoots from both the underground tillering node and the above-ground stem nodes. With standard row sowing, 2–3 productive stems are formed, bearing from 2 to 10 nodes. When increasing the growing area, the number of shoots per plant increases from an average of five to twenty.

For uniform emergence, the soil temperature at the seeding depth should be at least 10–12 °C, and in the initial growth stage, the optimal range is 18–25 °C. Millet is distinguished by its outstanding heat resistance among cereal crops. When the air temperature rises to 38–40 °C, the stomata of the millet leaves continue to evaporate moisture and function for 48 hours. For comparison, in winter wheat, paralysis of the stomatal apparatus in such conditions occurs in just 15–25 hours.

• Sum of active temperatures — 1800–2300 °C
• Growing season — 60–120 days
• Seedling death threshold — minus 2 °C
• Moisture for germination — 25% of seed mass
• Temperature for uniform emergence — 10–12 °C

Development in the field: roots, moisture, and weed control

The root system of millet is fibrous; it penetrates the soil to a depth of up to 1.5 m and spreads radially up to 1 m. However, the bulk of the roots (about 80%) is concentrated in the upper soil layer up to 40 cm. The root apparatus is most actively formed in the period from tillering to heading. On loose and organic-rich lands, roots develop more vigorously than on dense clay soils.

To swell, small millet seeds require only 25% water of their mass, which is extremely important when the top layer of soil dries out quickly. If moisture deficiency occurs immediately after emergence, the nodal roots stop developing, and the plant survives only at the expense of embryonic roots. During prolonged drought, millet rolls its leaves, suspends growth, and spreads its stems along the ground, saving moisture. Such endurance allows the crop to withstand periods without rain with minimal losses.

In the first weeks after emergence, the above-ground part of the millet grows extremely slowly. In cool weather, the tillering phase can drag on for 35–40 days from emergence. If there is enough moisture in the top layer of soil at this moment, weeds begin to quickly outgrow the crop and shade it. An agronomist needs to plan herbicide treatments or mechanical weeding, taking into account this biological weakness of millet.

The optimal seeding depth is 3–4 cm. However, due to the ability of the coleoptile to stretch significantly, millet can successfully emerge even with deep seeding at 10–12 cm. The crop is undemanding to soils and yields from light sandy loams to heavy loams. The best results are obtained on loose chernozems and chestnut soils with neutral acidity (pH 6.5–7.5), avoiding only waterlogged and excessively wet areas.

Millet is demanding of nutrition in the critical phases of its development. At the very beginning of growth, plants need phosphorus, and before the start of tillering — nitrogen. The peak of nutrient consumption occurs in the period from tillering to flowering: at this time, millet takes up 70% of nitrogen, 60% of phosphorus, and all of its potassium. A deficiency in nutrition during this period critically reduces grain yield, as the panicle is being formed right now.

The fertilizer system is designed taking these needs into account. Organic fertilizers are applied at a rate of 40 t/ha under autumn ploughing or before the preceding crop. Phosphorus and potassium are incorporated in the autumn during ploughing or with grain drills to a depth of 3–4 cm before non-inversion tillage. Nitrogen fertilizers are applied before pre-sowing cultivation. At sowing, 10–15 kg/ha of granulated phosphorus or nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers are applied in rows.

Adherence to crop rotation is critical for protecting crops from weeds. Millet grows slowly in the first weeks of its life, so it must be planted after predecessors that are free of weeds. The best options are annual clover, row crops, grain legumes, buckwheat, flax, and winter cereals. The crop can also be sown following the ploughing of perennial grass sod.

Sowing, crop management, and harvesting of millet

Preparation of seed material begins 2–3 weeks before sowing. Seed treatment against diseases with chemical agents is mandatory. To increase emergence and germination energy, a growth regulator called hydrohumate is used together with fungicides.

The following fungicides are used for pre-sowing seed treatment:

• Fundazol (2 kg/t);
• benomyl (2 kg/t);
• fenoram-super (1.5–2.0 kg/t).

Sowing dates are selected by region, focusing on soil warming. Early spring harrowing of the field is carried out immediately as soon as the soil surface dries out. A narrow-row sowing method is chosen primarily.

• Seeding rate — 25–30 kg/ha
• Number of viable seeds — 4–5 million/ha
• Seed burial depth — 3–7 cm
• Row spacing — 15 cm
• Grain humidity before harvesting — 18–20 %

Crop management includes mechanical and chemical weed control measures. The main weeds affecting millet include yellow foxtail (Setaria glauca), green foxtail (Setaria viridis), barnyard grass (Echinochloa crus-galli), and common orache (Atriplex patula). For the protection of wide-row crops, inter-row cultivation is applied.

1. First treatment with cultivator sweeps to a depth of 3–5 cm — performed immediately after the rows of seedlings become visible.
2. Second weeding between rows to a depth of 5–7 cm — carried out 10–15 days after the first one (before the beginning of tillering).

To eliminate annual dicotyledonous weeds, herbicides such as 2,4-D, Agritox, or Luvaram are used. Against creeping thistle, chamomile, and knotweed, the preparation Lontrel-300 is used at a rate of 0.16–0.2 l/ha. If pests appear — such as aphids, thrips, or millet midges — crops are treated by spraying with insecticides during the full panicle emergence phase. For this, BI-58 New (400 g/l), Danadim (400 g/l), or their analogs are used.

Millet harvesting has its own specifics due to the uneven ripening of the panicle. The grain begins to ripen from the top part and sheds easily, while the stems and leaves remain green with a humidity of 50–60 %. Due to this difference in the maturity of plant parts, direct combining leads to large losses.