RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

919.0
1212.0,
Total area: 11.19 m i l l i o n ha
4993.0
17.0
1733.5
9.3
989.0
218.7
456.6
430.0 144.5
Soil and Climatic Characteristics of
Pearl Millet Growing Regions
In India, pearl millet is extensively grown in the
northwestern, western, south central, and southern
parts of the country (Fig. 1). Soils range from sandy
to loamy sands in the alluvial regions of the west and
northwest, but are sandy clay in the central, south
central, and southern regions. Rainfall in these arid
and semi-arid climates ranges between 190 mm a -1
(at Jodhpur in western India) to 1000 mm a -1 (at
Nandyal in south central India).
Although the total rainfall in some pearl millet
growing areas may appear to meet the moisture
requirement of the crop, the intensity and duration
of precipitation is often highly skewed so the crop
may suffer from a water deficit at critical growth
phases. If the monsoon rains start late and sowing is
delayed, then critical moisture is often not available
at the grain-filling stage because the rains stop early
relative to the crop growth period.
Preparatory Tillage
9.5
0.6
F i g u r e s in '000 ha
per S t a t e
Figure 1. Pearl millet distribution in different states
in India.
The water holding capacity of both the coarsetextured
desert soils in western India, and the red
sandy-loam soils of southern India is extremely low.
Subramaniam et al. (1973) reported that materials
such as rice husks or F Y M (251 ha -1 ) incorporated to
a depth of 20-45 cm 8 weeks before sowing improved
the water-holding capacity of a red sandy-loam soil
and thereby the yield of pearl millet.
Plant Population
In a situation of limited moisture, the productivity of
a crop is governed by the balance that may exist
between the total quantity of available soil moisture
and the plant population that it can sustain. Even a
modification of the crop geometry may be able to
optimize soil-moisture use. In a 2-year experiment at
Coimbatore, India, on a laterite-loam soil, Gautam
(1975) found that at a population of 1.3 x 10 5 plants
ha -1 , the best results were obtained when rowspacing
was maintained at 50 cm rather than at 25,
75, or 100 cm (Table 1). In an earlier experiment,
Gautam (1970) found that for a loamy-sand soil of
Delhi, the optimum planting geometry was 45 cm
between rows and 15 cm within the rows at a population
of 1.41 x 10 5 plants ha -1 (Table 2). Patil and De
(1978) noted that widening the row distances in a
rainfed situation decreased the preflowering moisture
use. The conserved water was utilized at the
grain-filling stage.
Weed Management
As a crop grown predominantly in the hot and moist
rainy season, weeds deprive pearl millet of vital nutrients
and moisture. Gautam and Kaushik (1980a)
estimated that competition from weeds could reduce
Table 1. Effect of row spacing on grain yield of pearl
millet.
Row
spacing (cm)
25
50
75
100
C D 5%
Plant population
observed
('000 ha -1 )
1972
142
135
136
128
Source: Gautam (1975).
1973
133
126
101
99
Grain yield
(kg ha -1 )
1972
1630
2000
1610
1250
520
1973
1560
1960
1760
1700
270
248