RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

69-188 mm for total seedling lengths. In the field, planting at a depth of 3.2 cm showed few differences due to
mesocotyl length. However, emergence from a 6.4 cm depth was excellent for long mesocotyl lines and poor
for short lines.
Materials are being identified that tolerate temperatures below 13.9° C, a threshold level at which disruption
of meiosis occurs. However, our procedures and techniques require further modification for effective
screening.
Stalk breakage and lodging is a severe constraint for mechanized harvest. Several causes have been
identified and progress is being made to reduce the incidence and severity of lodging.
Strategy to Raise Pearl Millet Productivity through Intensive Agriculture
(Strategies pour augmenter la productivite du mil par la culture intensive)
K.R. Chopra
Director, Research and Production, Mahendra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd., Post Box No. 52, Mahavir
Marg, Jaina, Maharashtra 431 203, India
In India, pearl millet is usually cultivated in semi-arid and sub-humid regions on marginal lands and average
yields are low. During the past decade, high-yielding hybrids and varieties became popular due to their high
yield potential, and ability to respond to improved cultivation practices and to light irrigation under drought
stress. Improved varieties are early maturing so they are adapted not only to irrigated areas but also to dry
lands with moderate rainfall. Hence pearl millet is becoming a dominant crop in intensive agriculture in many
parts of Maharashtra and other millet growing states. National policy with regard to crop planning needs to be
reexamined in view of the water use economy and overall production and productivity of various food crops.
Efficient use of land and water is essential in dry zone irrigation schemes. High priority needs to be given to
increased cultivation of crops such as pearl millet which respond remarkably to a few light irrigations.
Agroclimatologists should assist in the formation of research and development strategy by mapping zones
where millets could be grown with assurance. Breeding objectives of millets need to be redefined. The purpose
should be improved yield stability, resistance to major diseases, pests and drought conditions, and adaptability
to specific agro-environments. Cultivation technology should also be developed to suit specific conditions,
crop rotations and mixed cropping patterns.
Extension efforts need to be strengthened to make farmers aware that it pays to use seed of recommended
improved varieties, and to adopt improved production technology to realize their yield potential.
Agronomy for the Realization of Yield Potential of Pearl M i l l e t — a
Speculation
(Methodes agronomiques pour la realisation du potentiel de rendement du
mil—une conjecture)
Chong Woon Hong
Project Scientist, IFDC-ICRISAT Cooperative Fertilizer Nitrogen Research Project, ICRISAT, Patancheru,
Andhra Pradesh 502 324, India
Modern cereal crops cultivars generally possess high yield potentials. The realization of these potentials
requires improved agronomic management, most notably with the increased application of plant nutrients as
fertilizers. This fact has been convincingly demonstrated in the success stories of the green revolution with rice
317