A heat-loving, water-thrifty potential feed grain alter- native for the Plains or second-crop option elsewhere debuted in a few farm fields last summer.

The newcomer is pearl millet, an ancient tropical cereal grain that University of Nebraska plant breeders adapted for U.S. agriculture.

Pearl millet is grown for food in some countries but is a forage crop in America. David Andrews, an Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources plant breeder, saw its potential as a grain crop for the hot, dry, short-seasoned High Plains where feed grain often is limited and as a fast growing second-crop option in longer-seasoned areas. Pearl millet is adaptable, needs little water and keeps growing in heat that shuts down even sorghum. Yet, traditional pearl millet is tall, weak-stalked and low-yielding by U.S. standards.

NU breeders dwarfed the plant, which can be planted and harvested with sorghum equipment; strengthened its stalks to resist lodging, the tendency for stems to fall or break; bred for early maturity; and improved yields by about 20 percent.

"We increased yields as we've gone along breeding for earliness, dwarfness and lodging resistance," Andrews said.

The resulting improved pearl millet typically yields 50-70 bushels per acre, comparable to early sorghum, and matures at about the same time. It produces multiple seed heads on strong stalks that withstand even snowstorms.

Pearl millet won't replace corn or sorghum but Andrews thinks it would be a good choice for certain situations. It would be a full-season crop in the hot, dry, short-seasoned Plains. In eastern Nebraska, it offers a late planting or replanting option and could follow wheat if harvest is complete by July 2. South and east of Nebraska, it could be a second crop.

"When it starts off in hot weather, it can grow like crazy," Andrews said. "That's important because it means it could be planted after wheat harvest."

Pearl millet's feed value and performance are similar to corn's for swine and cattle. Commercial tests show pearl millet outperforms corn or sorghum in poultry diets.

"It's a good tradeoff in areas where corn is in short supply," he said.

Last summer, about 20 farmers in Nebraska and nine other states planted small plots of NU's improved pearl millet. Two seed companies produced small amounts of hybrid seed for sale this year. Seed parents for those hybrids came from NU's 1998 limited release of seven pearl millet parent lines developed through IANR research.

Andrews expects more farmers to grow pearl millet this year. Some of last year's growers may increase their acreage.

Andrews also is working with Kedar Rai, a visiting scientist from India, on new pearl millet breeding systems, which are faster, easier and more efficient than earlier methods. These systems will help NU and Kansas State researchers more rapidly improve grain pearl millet.

"It's like a log jam has been broken in pearl millet," Andrews said. "I think it's going to improve breeding efficiency by about 10 times."

INTSORMIL, a U.S. Agency for International Development cooperative research project, helped fund this research.

- Vicki Miller

IANR Plant Breeder David Andrews (right) and farmer Warren Christy check feed grain pearl millet on Christy's farm near Modale, Iowa. Christy was among about 20 farmers in several states who planted small plots of the IANR-developed pearl millet hybrids last year.

Developing millet grain heads.