Pearl Millet

In this age of climate change, discover how pearl millet is considered a viable alternative cereal crop for semi-arid and hot areas Pearl millet, a warm-season, dryland cereal crop, is a staple food for over 90 million people in Africa and Asia. Its nutritional superiority relative to other cereal crops, such as rice, wheat, maize, and sorghum, and its hardiness and adaptability to harsh environments and poor soils make it a potentially life-saving resource for poor populations and/or areas hit by damaging climatic conditions. With climate change Placing an ever-greater strain on global agrifood systems, pearl millet has never been a more important crop in the fight against poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Pearl Millet offers a thorough introduction to this potentially vital grain. Coming on the heels of a 2023 United Nations declaration of the “International Year of Millets,” it is a crucial intervention in an essential humanitarian project. It is the first comprehensive book on the subject to appear in print. Key Features: Analysis of a potential lead crop for climate-change-affected areas Detailed coverage of all pearl millet’s unique features, such as inherent genetic diversity, gluten free applications, and suitability for double cropping An author team with vast research and crop development experience Pearl Millet is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, certified and practicing professionals, as well as industry and academic researchers.

Foreword xi 1 Global Production, Status, and Utilization Pattern of Pearl Millet 1 C. Tara Satyavathi, Supriya Ambawat, Nepolean Thirunavukkarasu, Vikas Khandelwal, Sanjana Reddy, and Anuradha Narala 2 Pearl Millet Germplasm Resources 23 M. Vetriventhan, O. P. Yadav, Rakesh K. Srivastava, Sushil Pandey, and Kuldeep Singh 3 Pearl Millet Genetic Improvement for Food and Nutrition Security 53 Mahalingam Govindaraj and Mahesh Pujar 4 Genetic and Genomic Approaches for Accelerated Pearl Millet Breeding 81 Srikanth Bollam, Mahesh Mahendrakar, Sandeep Marla, Vinutha Kanuganahalli, Krishnam Raju Addanki, and Rakesh K. Srivastava 5 Germplasm Utilization and Pre-breeding in Pearl Millet 121 P. Sanjana Reddy 6 Pearl Millet Hybrid Development and Seed Production 165 O. P. Yadav, S. K. Gupta, R. S. Mahala, Ajay P. Ramalingam, Sabreena A. Parray, and Ramasamy Perumal 7 Challenges and Opportunities of Pearl Millet Hybrid Development and Seed Production in West Africa 207 Prakash I. Gangashetty, Drabo Inoussa, Ghislain Kanfany, P. Rakshith, Mohammed Riyazaddin, Omar Diack, Desalegn D. Serba, and Ramasamy Perumal 8 Growth and Development of Pearl Millet 225 Maduraimuthu Djanaguiraman, Parvaze A. Sofi, Arun K. Shanker, Ignacio A. Ciampitti, Ramasamy Perumal, and P. V. Vara Prasad 9 Impact of Drought and High-temperature Stresses on Growth and Development Stages, Physiological, Reproductive, and Yield Traits on Pearl Millet 249 Maduraimuthu Djanaguiraman, A. S. Priyanka, S. J. Vaishnavi, Ramasamy Perumal, Ignacio A. Ciampitti, and P. V. Vara Prasad 10 Weed Management in Pearl Millet: Challenges and Opportunities 277 Vipan Kumar, Midhat Zulafkar Tugoo, Prashant Jha, Antonio DiTommaso, and Kassim Al-Khatib 11 Diseases of Pearl Millet 299 Christopher R. Little, Ramasamy Perumal, and Timothy C. Todd 12 Pearl Millet: Pest Management 393 Rajkumar P. Juneja, Jagdish Jaba, Riyazaddin Mohammed, and Rajan Sharma 13 Pearl Millet Biomass for Fodder in West Africa Region 417 Talla Lo, Aliou Faye, Mamadou T. Diaw, Abdoulaye Dieng, Doohong Min, Augustine Obour, Ramasamy Parumal and P. V. Vara Prasad 14 Pearl Millet: Marketing and Innovation Hubs 445 B. Dayakar Rao, Veeresh S. Wali, Shreeja Kulla, and C. Tara Satyavathi 15 Pearl Millet: Processing and Value Addition for Gluten-free Markets 485 Shivaprasad Doddabematti Prakash, Manoj Kumar Pulivarthi, and Kaliramesh Siliveru