Progress in Grain Pearl Millet Research and Market Development

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br., Poaceae] has been historically grown for forage production and cattle grazing in the US. It is widely grown as a multi-purpose cereal grain crop principally for food, and also for feed, fodder, fuel, and mulch on more than 26 million hectares, primarily in arid and semi-arid regions of India and Africa (FAO 2000). It is a staple grain for about 90 million people living in the semi-arid tropical regions of Africa and the Indian sub-continent. Besides its importance as food and feed crop, pearl millet is potentially an ideal species for genetic studies because of its small diploid genome with large chromosomes, abundant phenotypic variation, and protogynous flowering habit. As a new-use grain crop, it currently occupies relatively small acreage in the US, but has high potential because of its ability to tolerate drought and low fertility, better nutritive properties and diverse use over other cereals. The genus Pennisetum contains about 140 grassy tropical species. Previous names for P. glaucum include P. typhoides (Burm) Stapf. & Hubb., P. typhoideum (L.) Rich., and P. americanum (L.) Leeke. The latter name may be because Clusius, in 1601, thought the type specimen he obtained from southern Spain had come from the Americas (Andrews et al. 1993). Pearl millet is considered to be domesticated some 3,000 to 5,000 years ago on the southern edge of the Sahara in Africa and subsequently spread to southern Asia (Harlan 1975; Brunken et al. 1977). The evolution, classification, domestication, biology, and adaptation of pearl millet have been discussed by Andrews et al. (1993). The importance and potential of pearl millet as a grain crop and its progress and potential in the US have also been reviewed by Stegmeier et al. (1990), Adeola et al. (1996), and Andrews et al. (1996). In this paper, we discuss the importance of pearl millet grain for its diverse uses, progress and potential of grain research in recent past, application of biotechnology to expedite breeding, and market development in the US.