干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The pastures and rangelands of the semi-arid region of Nigeria wherein is the bulk of the livestock in the country, provide sufficient nutrients for livestock for no more than three to five months of the year. There is therefore need to have high yielding and good quality forages to ensure adequate all-year-round forage supply for the livestock. The objective of this study was to evaluate the forage potentials of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum [L.] K. Schum.) which is well adapted to the region. Twenty cultivars were evaluated for their growth, forage yield and mineral content potentials.

The cultivars were significantly different in the number of leaves per plant, plant height, dry matter yield and potassium content in each cutting. Differences in crude protein and crude fibre contents were significant only between cuttings. Variations in crude protein and crude fibre contents ranged from 14.1 to 20.3 % and from 28 to 30.8 %, respectively. Cultivars had a progressive dimunition in growth, yield and mineral content potentials after the first or second cutting. Pearl millet therefore seems less suited to forage production in the semi-arid region of Nigeria since no cultivar showed the potentials for adequate supply of all-year-round forage.