Agriculture Environmental Renewal Canada Inc.

Canadian Forage Pearl Millet 101 is a high yielding, high protein annual crop of tropical origin. It is drought resistant and allows multi-cuts. The plant grows with a mass of very fine fibrous roots and huge top growth with several tillers. Pearl millet prefers light sandy to loamy soils and if allowed to grow without cutting it can reach heights of over 12 feet. It can be used as a cover crop for soil improvement. The plant is frost sensitive, thus produces no volunteer plants in the following season. There are no toxic components in forage pearl millet (prussic acid or oxalic acid). About 1.5 million acres of pearl millet forage are grown in the US annually. Until recently, there were no varieties of pearl millet suitable for growing in Ontario and Quebec. AERC Inc. has developed a temperate cultivar of forage pearl millet that can be grown in Canada. Forage pearl millet has an excellent feeding quality and farmers have reported that livestock preferred pearl millet to alfalfa-grass silage or pasture.

AERC has selected Canadian Forage Pearl Millet 101 from the breeding program for its ability to produce high yields over a relatively short growing season. It has been tested widely across Canada for several years.

- *mean of 4 years from southern Ontario 1996 to 1999 based on two cuts
- ** corn data from OMAFRA
- *** net energy data from four separate nutrient analysis of Pearl Millet from     Kemptville College feeding trials.
-net energy for corn from National Research Council
- all # based on dry matter   -# cost estimate from Sylvite Agri-Services Norwich, Ontario as of January 2001 for seed, fertilizer and herbicide only

Parameter	Pearl Millet-101	US Sudan
Dry Matter Yield t/ha	1.95	1.72
Crude Protein	17.2 %	13.4 %
Acid Detergent Fiber	26.3 %	29.6 %
Neutral Detergent Fiber	55.5 %	58.4 %
Calcium	0.53 %	0.45 %
Phosphorus	0.30 %	0.26 %
Dry Matter Digestibility	87.1 %	86.0 %

Parameter	Average Data From Quebec and New Brunswick
Dry Matter Yield t/ha	6.37
Crude Protein	15.86 %
Acid Detergent Fiber	33.19 %
Neutral Detergent Fiber	60.40 %
Calcium	0.73 %
Phosphorus	0.35 %
Dry Matter Digestibility	79.44 %

Feeding Trials: Dairy feeding trials at Kemptville College show that feeding the new Forage Millet silage were equal in performance to corn silage in lactating cows. Please click here to see results from the brochure. Beef trials also showed equal gains and performance as compared to corn silage diets.

Planting for forage, plow down or cover crop: Plant in a well-prepared seedbed in late spring, when soil temperatures are above 12 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) with no risk of frost. In a dry season if possible seed after rain to ensure adequate moisture. In light soils use a cultipacker prior to planting to create a flat even seedbed. Best results are achieved when seed is placed at a uniform one half-inch depth at a rate of 4 kgs per acre (8.8 lbs. per acre). Seed in 7.5 inch rows with a spacing of about 3 inches between plants in the row. Plant with a grain drill with a grass seeder, conventional grain drill or a no till drill ( see Seed Equipment Recommendations ). Seed should only be pressed into the ground with a press wheel on a grain drill or a cultipacker. Do not pack the ground with a heavy land packer after planting.

No till recommendations: CFPM-101 can be seeded effectively with no till drills. Care must be taken with the amount of stubble or trash on the surface if no till is to be considered. Excessive amounts will hinder the establishment of juvenile millet plants. No till with conventional drills on sandy soils can also be achieved. Trash levels must not prevent proper disk penetration. Using press wheels on the drill or a light cultipacker is recommended.

Fertilizer: Fertilize according to soil fertility (roughly 70% of forage corn fertilizer or about 90 lbs-N 30 lbs-P 75 lbs-K per acre). Apply half of N and all P and K fertilizer at planting. Apply the remaining N after the first cut. The second N application is very critical to get protein level over 15%.

Weed control: If grass weeds are heavy use GLYPHOSATE (ROUND UP) prior to planting. Broadleaf weeds can be controlled by using BANVEL - 11 at 0.3% L/ha in 225L of water per hectare. Another option is BASAGRAN at 0.7 to 0.9 L /acre in 20 gallons of water. Pardner can be used for broadleaves at 0.4 L/acre in 20 gallons of water. Spray when weeds are one

Herbicide carry over concerns: CFPM-101 is very susceptible to any spray with carry over characteristics. In most cases carry over will not kill off Pearl Millet. It will however cause yellowing, slow down growth and adversely affect yield.

Harvesting & uses: It can be harvested with a regular forage harvester. First cutting would be ready in about 55 to 60 days after planting. Higher proteins are obtained when harvested at 3 feet or lower in height. More bulk and lower protein levels occur if cut above this height. Second harvest is ready in about 30 days later. Remember to leave a good 6 inches of stubble to ensure proper tillering and a faster regrowth. For grazing, allow four to six weeks to establish pasture. Rotate animals by leaving about 6 to 8 inches of stubble for faster regrowth and cut the field level after. Pearl Millet makes excellent silage. It can be fed as green chop also. However due to the length of drying time required wrapping is recommended if baled.

Early growing stages: CFPM-101 is not a strong emerging plant so it is not recommended for heavy clay soils. If conditions are favorable, however, it can emerge just four days after planting. At this point growth is slow and it is important to have low weed pressure. Once the plant is about 6 inches in height, has four to five tillers with several leaves on each tiller it is considered established. At this point the growth rate starts to accelerate rapidly. If for whatever reason, weeds have had a chance to take hold during the early stages of the crop, wait until the field has reached just past the established stage and cut the field. ( refer to Preferred Cutting Methods). Forage Pearl Millet will then quickly outgrow the weeds. It is important to note that most weeds are nematode hosts. Excessive weed pressure can potentially neutralize the suppression benefits of Pearl Millet.

Preferred cutting methods: When cutting for organic matter a rotary mower is preferred. Use full PTO speed and a reasonable ground speed. Rotary mowers have a tendency to deposit more material in the tire tracks. Full PTO speed cuts the material finer to help prevent the smothering out of re-growing plants in the tracts. Do not use a sickle type mower, as it will leave too much bulk covering the regrowth. Multiple cuttings are recommended since more growth and yield can be obtained.

Seeding equipment recommendations: Best results are achieved with a grain drill with a grass seeder attachment at the front of the drill. The tubes from the grass seeder should be placed into the fertilizer holes above the disk openings. Maximum spring pressure should be applied to the disks. Disk drop mechanisms should be fixed to a set one half-inch depth. This is best achieved on hydraulic systems with spacers on the hydraulic shaft to control depth. Mechanical systems should have some type of a stop installed for consistent depth control or converted to a hydraulic system. Some conventional drills can be used on sandy soils with some modifications. For example, an International 510-grain drill can be modified to seed rates as low as 8 lbs per acre. A 14 tooth driven gear can be purchased from dealers and installed in place of the original 7 tooth driven gear. Along with a slightly longer chain it brings the drill into the seeding rates needed.