Effects of sowing date and nitrogen fertilization on growth, development and yield of a short day cultivar of millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in Mali

The effects of different nitrogen supplies on the performance of the short-day cultivar M9D3 of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L. R.Br.) and their interaction with sowing time were analysed in a two-year experiment in Mall. The first sowing dates coincided with the beginning of the rainy season. The second sowings were 20 days later. The sowing date affected only the emergence-earing duration independently of nitrogen application. The linear reduction in straw yield, caused by the shortening of the cycle, was not combined with a reduction in grain yield. The application of even low levels of nitrogen to millet crops always increased the grain yield, as a consequence of a higher number of productive panicles, while the straw production was positively affected only when the rainy season started early. The non-agreement between the high productive potential of the first sowing crops and their grain yield, in comparison with the plants of the second sowing date, could be ascribed, first of all, to the more marked asynchrony between the time corresponding to LAImax and the grain filling phase, characterised by the maximum sink demand and, second, to a longer time interval during which stem growth and panicle growth are in direct competition. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.