Economic Botany of Bajra
Origin of Bajra:-
1. Introduction:-
· Common Name:- Pearl millet
· Botanical Name:- Pennisetum glaucum
· Family:- Gramineae or Poaceae
· Chromosome Numbers:- 2n = 2x = 14
2. Species:-
3. Center of Origin:- Sahel zone of Africa
Cultivation of Bajra:-
1. Season:-
> It is grown during summer season in the month of February-May in parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
> It is also grown post rainy season also known as Rabi season in the month of November-February at a small scale in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
2. Climate:-
> It grows best in warm and dry conditions.
> It is a drought tolerant crop which requires low annual rainfall of 40cm-60cm.
> Optimum temperature for its cultivation is 20°c-30°c.
> During its vegetable growth, moist weather is very beneficial.
> Bajra is grown as Kharif crop in North India and in southern parts it is known as Summer crop under irrigation.
3. Soil Requirement:-
> It is grown in wide variety of soil.
> It grows best in black cotton soil, sandy loam soil which has good drainage system.
> Acidic and water logging soil is not preferred.
> For its cultivation, avoid saturated soil.
> The crop grows well in soil with low pH range.
> It is sensitive to acidic soil.
4. Land Preperation:-
> The field should be finely tilled by 2-3 harrowing followed by a plowing.
> Weeds should be destroyed if any during the land preparation.
5. Sowing Time:-
> In India, it is grown in three seasons
i. Kharif- June-October (rainfed)
ii. Winter- November-February (rainfed)
iii. Summer- March-June
> It is grown in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab and Gujarat during summer as an irrigated crop.
> Sowing should be done with onset of monsoon i.e. first fortnight of July in North and central parts of the country.
> To obtain higher production of summer pearl, it should be sown in the last week of January to 1st week of February.
> For rabi season, first fortnight of October is appropriate in Tamil Nadu.
> The optimum time to sow Bajra is middle to last week of July.
6. Seed Rate:-
> For dibbling method seed rate should be 3-3.5kg/ha.
> For drilling method seed rate should be 4-5kg/ha.
7. Spacing:-
> Row spacing of 40-45cm should be maintained.
> Plant to Plant spacing of 10-12cm should be maintained.
> Depth should be 2-3 cm.
8. Irrigation:-
> It is a highly drought tolerant crop and water requirement is 300-350mm.
> Irrigation at available soil moisture of 50% or ideal IW/CPE ratio 0.4 is sufficient.
> Tillering and flowering are critical stages.
> For panicle initiation three irrigations can be recommended, flag leaf and flowering in addition to sowing irrigation under limited moisture conditions.
> Normally 5 irrigations are recommended.
> Summer irrigated pearl millet requires 6 irrigations for high yields.
9. Plant protection measures:-
a. Insect pests:-
> Stem bores and grasshoppers are serious pests of bajra controlled by two sprayings with 2 litres of Eldrin 20 c.c and grasshoppers may be controlled by dusting the crop with BHC 5 percent.
b. Diseases:-
> Downy mildew- for controlling this disease seed treatment with fungicide like Dithane Z-78 or M-45 @ 2.0kg/ha in 800-1000 lit. of water.
> Smut- Treatment with Ceresan or Thirum @ 1-2 g/kg seeds is effective.
> Ergot- Seed treatment with 20% common salt solution followed by washing with fresh water and then treating with Ceresan or Thirum @ 1-2 g/kg seeds is effective
10. Manures & Fertlizers:-
> If one is cultivating commercial hybrid Bajra, even Bajra needs few nutrients.
> Application of 10-15 tonnes of compost or farm yard manure per hectare is required for requirement of fertilizer of local varieties of Pearl millet.
> For maximum profit on the basis of soil test value, fertilizer should be given.
> Almost 3-5cm below the seed, half dose of nitrogen and full doses of phosphorus and potassium should be applied.
> Foliar spray of 3% urea is also recommended in barani conditions.
11. Harvesting:-
> When grains become hardy and also contain moisture, the crop is ready to harvest.
> Cutting earhead or cutting entire plants by sticks are 2 methods that can be followed in harvesting.
> For 4-5 days in the sun stalk the cut plants for drying grains.
> By beating the earheads, grains can be separated.
12. Yield:-
> Grain-23-35 qtl/ha, Fodder-100-120 qtl/ha, Under Irrigated condition.
> Grain-12-15 qtl/ha, Fodder-70-75 qtl/ha, Under rainfed condition.
Improvement of Bajra:-
1. Pollination:-
Ø Due to the presence of protogyny in bajra, about 80% cross pollination and the remaining 20% self-pollination takes place. Thus bajra is a cross-pollinated crop.
Ø Flowering start from the 1/3 part below of the top of the panicle and progresses on both the upper and the lower directions.
Ø In bisexual flowers, the stigma comes first and the flowering is completed in 2 - 3 days. After this, the anther comes out and it is called the first male phase.
Ø On the 5th day of flowering, the anthers of the stamens come out and this is called the secondary male phase.
Ø The flowering time is between 8pm to 2am.
2. Breeding Objectives:-
a. Higher Yield:- Yield in bajra depends on the following factors-
i. Length of panicles
ii. Compactness of panicle
iii. Weight of 1000 grains
b. Early maturation
c. Photoinsensitivity
d. Higher Forage Yield:- The yield of fodder in bajra depends on the following factors -
i. Leafyness
ii. Digestibility
iii. Forage Quality
e. Disease Resistance:- Several types of diseases can occur in the bajra crop which can cause economic loss. Developing resistance against these diseases is also objective of plant breeding.
i. Downy mildew
ii. Ergot disease
iii. Green Ear disease
iv. Rust disease
Note:- There is no problem of destructive insects in bajra crop.
f. Grain Quality:- Large, shiny, pearl-like amber grains are desirable for human consumption.
3. Breeding Methods:-
a. Introduction:-
· Jamnagar Giant
· Babapuri
· Pusa moti
b. Mass Selection:-
· NO – 37, 54, 59
· CO – 2, 3
· AKP – 1, 2
c. Synthetic and Composite Varieties:-
· Synthetic:- ICMS – 7703
· Composite:- ICMV – 1
d. Variety Hybridization:- AF-3 and S-530 varieties have been developed by hybridising Indian varieties with African varieties.
e. Distant Hybridization:-
· Perennial varieties of fodder have been developed by hybridisation of Pennisetum perpureum (Napier grass) with cultivated bajra.
· Perennial and frost resistant varieties have been developed by hybridisation of Pennisetum squamulatum with cultivated bajra.
· Apomictic varieties have been developed by hybridisation of Pennisetum orientale with cultivated bajra.
f. Hybrid Varieties:- 5 hybrid varieties of millet were developed by hybridizing CMS - line Tift - 23A (as a female parent), with different male parents.
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· The above five varieties are sensitive to downy mildew.
· The above five varieties were released between 1965 and 1972.
· Of these, the HB-3 variety became quite popular.
· Other varieties:-
i. NHB – 3
ii. NHB – 4
Both of the above are downy mildew resistant varieties.