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Cereal growing guide
Millets are hardy, warm-season cereals that grow on rain and poor soil where other grains struggle. Sow the small seed shallowly into warm, moist soil at the start of the monsoon and keep weeds down for the first month.
For pearl millet, TNAU floats the seed in salt water (1 kg common salt in 10 litres of water) and discards the floating seed and dark ergot bodies, then rinses the good seed two or three times and dries it in shade. Seed can also be mixed with Azospirillum or Azophos biofertiliser just before sowing.
Not needed. Millet seed absorbs water readily.
Not needed. Millets are warm-season grasses that need warm soil, not cold.
Not needed for garden sowing. For rainfed fields TNAU hardens pearl millet seed by soaking it in 2% potassium chloride for 16 hours and drying it in shade for 5 hours before sowing.
Sow only into warm soil: pearl millet needs at least 18 °C (65 °F) and does not germinate or thrive in cold soil. In India the kharif sowing is in June-July with the monsoon; foxtail millet can also be sown as a rabi crop in October-November, and TNAU sows irrigated pearl millet in January-February or March-April.
2-3 cm (about 1 in) for direct sowing. The seed is small, so deeper sowing gives weak, patchy emergence. In a pearl millet nursery make rills no deeper than 1 cm.
Millets tolerate light, poor and dry soils, but a fine, firm, weed-free seedbed is essential for the small seed. ICAR-IIMR works in 5-10 tonnes of farmyard manure per hectare 2-3 weeks before sowing.
Sow into soil moist from the first rains or a pre-sowing irrigation. After establishment millets withstand dry spells; irrigate only during long dry periods.
No light is needed for germination. Grow in full sun.
Seedlings come up quickly in warm, moist soil; cold or crusted soil delays and thins the stand.
Sow in lines rather than broadcasting: it needs less seed and makes weeding easier. ICAR-IIMR sows foxtail millet at 5-6 kg per hectare in lines 25-30 cm apart with plants 8-10 cm apart (8-10 kg per hectare if broadcast).
TNAU raises pearl millet in a nursery near water and transplants seedlings at 15-18 days old, 3-5 cm deep on the side of ridges at 45 x 15 cm. Older seedlings establish poorly and yield less.
Keep the crop weed-free for the first 25-30 days: two inter-cultivations and one hand weeding for line-sown crops. Thin direct-sown pearl millet to 15 cm between plants after the first weeding and fill gaps at the same time. Apply the second half of the nitrogen 25-30 days after sowing.
Tall, drought-hardy grain. Space 45 x 15 cm; varieties take 75-100 days. TNAU feeds 70:35:35 kg N:P2O5:K2O per hectare for varieties and 80:40:40 for hybrids, with nitrogen split over the first 30 days. As green fodder, Ohio State warns of nitrate risk and advises grazing at 60-75 cm (24-30 in).
Rows 25-30 cm apart, plants 8-10 cm apart, sown 2-3 cm deep. Ready in 80-100 days; ICAR-IIMR harvests kharif crops in September-October and rabi crops in January-February.
TNAU spaces kodo millet at 45 x 10 cm (about 100 days) and barnyard millet at 22.5 x 10 cm (about 95 days).
TNAU spaces proso millet at 22.5 x 7 cm (about 70 days) and little millet at 22 x 10 cm (about 80 days). Browntop millet is sown like the other small millets: shallowly, in lines, at the start of the rains.
Harvest when heads are dry and grain is hard, by cutting whole plants or just the heads. Dry the grain to below 10% moisture before storage.
Sow millets at the start of the rains for a hardy grain crop on light soil.
At the onset of the monsoon, in June-July. Foxtail millet can also be sown as a rabi crop in October-November, and pearl millet with irrigation in January-April.
Only 2-3 cm. The seed is small and emerges poorly from deeper sowing or under a crust.
Among the varieties TNAU lists, proso millet is quickest at about 70 days, followed by pearl millet hybrids (75-80 days) and little millet (about 80 days); kodo millet takes about 100 days.
