Hybrid Pearl Millet for High Yields and Grazing

0:00 The most productive of all of the millets is going to be this one right here. This is hybrid pearl millet. And it's a true hybrid—they do a male female cross—and so because of that hybrid vigor and because of some other

0:15 Characteristics of this plant, it's going to have far more yield potential than any of the other millets. In good conditions, if you've got tough conditions, some of the other ones may do just as well at less money because this is a more expensive seed being a hybrid.

0:31 But hybrid pearl millet we really like in the more productive areas because of its potential to produce higher end yields and it's got really good regrowth as well. Dale tell us a little bit more about hybrid pearl millet.

0:43 Well and I'll speak a little bit.

0:45 Specifically to the tiff leaf 3, which is a dwarf pearl millet. And the dwarf gene conveys the same advantages that we have in our dwarf sorghum sedan. It shortens the internodes. You get more tillers, just as many leaves if not more so.

1:04 You get a very leafy plant, and because the growing points are down low, you keep getting flushes of regrowth. The animals aren't removing all the growing points with each grazing, so you just keep getting leaf after leaf after.

1:18 Leaf and so even though it doesn't get as tall as some of the old standard pearl melts we used to have, the realized yield in a grazing situation is so much better. And if cut for hay, the leafiness of this product is exceptional.

1:37 When you compare pearl millet to sorghum sedan grass, there are a couple of advantages and disadvantages. One is that the yield is not usually as good as sorghum sedan in good conditions, but there are some places where millet

2:08 Another one's on very sandy soils. Pearl millet seems to tolerate sand better than sorghum.

2:17 One another drawback other than yield though is once this freezes out, nothing wants to eat it. It has very poor quality after frost strikes it has so.

2:29 Great grazing during the growing season. Don't put it in your winter stockpile. Mixes another thing that I've always liked about the pearl mallet—it tillers really well.

2:38 So this is just an example here of one seed but I've got all these different.

2:42 Tillers and in areas where maybe you don't have a great stand of other things, I've seen this thing just become a bush and really give a lot of growth in that area. And the other thing, you know, if you are

2:56 Grazing and it hit the frost hits. Pearl millet is not going to generate prussic acid, so a lot of times we'll like using a pearl millet based mix in at least part of a field so that when it freezes you just shut the cattle in that area, let them eat this while the prussic acid dissipates from your sorghum based, right? Yeah, have just have a small area, have it fenced separately so if you're at a risk of frost you don't have to load up the cattle on a trailer. You can just shuttle them over, open a gate, let them into that area without sorghum or sorghum sitting.