Pearl millet is the most widely grown type of millet. The millet is a small-seeded grass crop, grown around the world for food and fodder. It's well adapted to environments that endure drought conditions, low soil fertility and high temperature, and performs well in high salinity or low pH soils. Because of its tolerance to difficult growing conditions, it can be grown in areas where other cereal crops–such as corn or wheat–might struggle.
Today, Pioneer has three research stations focused on the development of industry-leading hybrids for key markets in India and Pakistan that offer higher value to our customers. Researchers work on yield improvement, disease resistance, stalk lodging resistance and heat tolerance.
At a glance...
Pearl millet is grown on more than 26,000 hectares and accounts for about 50 percent of millet production worldwide.
India is the largest producer of pearl millet. It is known locally as bajra.
The protein content in millet is very close to that of wheat; both provide about 11 percent protein by weight.
Germplasm Enhancement, Inbred Development and Hybrid Evaluation – The research program in India is designed to enhance existing germplasm for key traits using exotic germplasm from various parts of the world. A major focus of the breeding program is to develop inbred parents that can be used to produce superior hybrids, and to test experimental hybrids in the major millet-growing regions of India. Hybrids are evaluated for yield, standability and disease resistance.
