scholarly journals LOCAL VILLAGE SEED SYSTEMS AND PEARL MILLET SEED QUALITY IN NIGER

2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ndjeunga
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Seed Quality ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Seed Security ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Acceptable Quality ◽  
Millet Seed ◽  
The Village

Donors have invested more than US$45 million in seed production projects in Niger during the past two decades. These investments have largely failed. Public seed systems consistently supplied less than 2% of the total national seed planted by farmers. Through subsidies, seed prices represent less than one-third of the average cost of seed production. In contrast, at the village level, most farmers consistently obtain pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) seed from their own harvests, from neighbours or from village markets. Seed is of acceptable quality and a range of varieties is available. Village seed systems offer a cheaper and more efficient means of delivering seed to farmers. Future investment in seed systems development should target improvements in the capacity of village seed systems to maintain and distribute seed security stocks in drought years. Efficient seed producers or groups of farmers in each community should be identified and encouraged to become entrepreneurs tasked with the multiplication and distribution of new pearl millet varieties.

scholarly journals Seed Production on Detached Culms of Pearl Millet × Elephantgrass Hexaploid Hybrids

HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 827-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.C. Schank ◽  
D.A. Diz ◽  
D.S. Wofford
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Sucrose Solution ◽  
Phenotypic Selection ◽  
Nutrient Solutions

Five nutrient solutions were evaluated in the greenhouse to determine which solutions would allow detached culms of Pennisetum to produce seed. The genotypes tested originated from the hybridization of Pennisetum glaucum L. (Pearl millet) × P. pennisetum Schum. (elephantgrass). The solutions were water, Hoagland's, sucrose, sucrose + hydroxyquinoline sulfate (HQ), and Hoagland's + sucrose + HQ. Neither the water nor the Hoagland's solution supported high seed set. Although the sucrose solution enhanced seed production, the seeds were low in weight and did not germinate well. The best nutrient solutions were 2% sucrose + 0.02% HQ or Hoagland's + 2% sucrose + 0.02% HQ. The four genotypes used differed substantially in seed production, but all produced seed, with germination >25%. This result indicates that the cut-culm technique is a possible way of getting recurrent restricted phenotypic selection seed in Pennisetum hexaploid hybrids.

scholarly journals Pluralistic Seed System Development: A Path to Seed Security?

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 372
Author(s):  
Teshome Hunduma Mulesa ◽  
Sarah Paule Dalle ◽  
Clifton Makate ◽  
Ruth Haug ◽  
Ola Tveitereid Westengen
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Seed Quality ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
System Development ◽  
Formal System ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
Seed Security ◽  
Seed System

Seed security is central to crop production for smallholder farmers in developing countries, but it remains understudied in relation to long-term seed sector development. Here, we compare seed systems in two districts of Central Ethiopia characterized by subsistence-oriented teff cultivation and commercially oriented wheat production and relate this to the country’s pluralistic seed system development strategy (PSSDS). Our analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative information from a household survey and focus group discussions with farmers, as well as document review and key informant interviews with actors that make up the seed sector in the study sites. Farmers in both districts used a range of seed sources but primarily obtained their seeds from informal sources. Evidence of seed insecurity was found in both districts, as apparent from discrepancies between what the seed farmers say they prefer and those they actually use, limited availability of improved varieties and especially certified seeds of these, challenges with seed quality from some sources, and differentiated access to preferred seed and information according to sex, age and wealth. We find that the interventions prioritized in the PSSDS address most of the seed security challenges and seed system dysfunctions identified, but implementation lags, particularly for the informal seed system, which is largely neglected by government programs. The intermediate system shows promise, but while some improvements have been made in the formal system, vested political, organizational, and economic interests within key institutions represent major obstacles that must be overcome to achieve truly integrative and inclusive seed sector development.

scholarly journals Effect of Last Cutting Dates on Seed Production of Multicut MB-87 – A Variety of Pearl Millet, Pennisetum glaucum (Bajra)

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
A.H. Shah ◽  
H. Karar ◽  
M.S. Farooq ◽  
M.S.A. Bazmi ◽  
G. Nabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Green Fodder ◽  
Fodder Yield ◽  
Food And Nutritional Security ◽  
Research Institute

Abstract Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is considered an important kharif crop, which is grown extensively in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions, where other crops, like sorghum and maize, fail to produce economic yields. Its grains are valued as human food, while its dry stover makes significant livestock ration in croplivestock farming system. Pearl millets (MB-87), a newly developed variety of Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha, Pakistan, is one of the best pearl millet variety, which gives more than one cutting and helps to cope with fodder lean period, as well as more income can be generated in addition to seed. So, overcome the scarcity period the study was conducted to check the effect of last cutting dates on seed production of multicut pearl millet MB-87 was conducted at Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha, Pakistan, during 2015 and 2016. Following parameters were taken in to consideration, i.e. plant height (cm), stem thickness (cm), number of leaves per tiller, number of tillers per plant, green fodder yield (t/ha), length of head (cm), 1000 grains weight (g) and grain yield (kg/ha). The results depicted that grain yield, i.e. 319.20, was maximum and head length was highest, i.e. 35.13 cm on 20th of August having last date of cut, whereas all others parameters were found to be nonsignificant. Multicut bajra gives three cutting of fodder, followed by seed, as compared with conventional bajra, which gives only one cutting or seed. Therefore, it is more economical for the growers of fodders to grow the pearl millets MB-87 as fodder, as well as for seed purposes. So, it is concluded that for gaining maximum grain yield of multicut pearl millet MB-87 the last cutting date should be 20th of August. In future, pearl millet is likely to play a larger role in providing food and nutritional security.

Carotenoids in Pearl Millet Seed 1

Crop Science ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Curtis ◽  
G. W. Burton ◽  
O. J. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Millet Seed

scholarly journals Using Regulatory Flexibility to Address Market Informality in Seed Systems: A Global Study

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 377
Author(s):  
Katrin Kuhlmann ◽  
Bhramar Dey
Keyword(s):  
Seed Quality ◽  
Regulatory Environment ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Seed Systems ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Regulatory Flexibility

Seed rules and regulations determine who can produce and sell seeds, which varieties will be available in the market, the quality of seed for sale, and where seed can be bought and sold. The legal and regulatory environment for seed impacts all stakeholders, including those in the informal sector, through shaping who can participate in the market and the quality and diversity of seed available. This paper addresses a gap in the current literature regarding the role of law and regulation in linking the informal and formal seed sectors and creating more inclusive and better governed seed systems. Drawing upon insights from the literature, global case studies, key expert consultations, and a methodology on the design and implementation of law and regulation, we present a framework that evaluates how regulatory flexibility can be built into seed systems to address farmers’ needs and engage stakeholders of all sizes. Our study focuses on two key dimensions: extending market frontiers and liberalizing seed quality control mechanisms. We find that flexible regulatory approaches and practices play a central role in building bridges between formal and informal seed systems, guaranteeing quality seed in the market, and encouraging market entry for high-quality traditional and farmer-preferred varieties.

scholarly journals Constraints to Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Production and Farmers’ Approaches to Striga hermonthica Management in Burkina Faso

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8460
Author(s):  
Armel Rouamba ◽  
Hussein Shimelis ◽  
Inoussa Drabo ◽  
Mark Laing ◽  
Prakash Gangashetty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Striga Hermonthica ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Central Plateau ◽  
South Central

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is a staple food crop in Burkina Faso that is widely grown in the Sahelian and Sudano-Sahelian zones, characterised by poor soil conditions and erratic rainfall, and high temperatures. The objective of this study was to document farmers’ perceptions of the prevailing constraints affecting pearl millet production and related approaches to manage the parasitic weeds S. hermonthica. The study was conducted in the Sahel, Sudano-Sahelian zones in the North, North Central, West Central, Central Plateau, and South Central of Burkina Faso. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and focus group discussions involving 492 participant farmers. Recurrent drought, S. hermonthica infestation, shortage of labour, lack of fertilisers, lack of cash, and the use of low-yielding varieties were the main challenges hindering pearl millet production in the study areas. The majority of the respondents (40%) ranked S. hermonthica infestation as the primary constraint affecting pearl millet production. Respondent farmers reported yield losses of up to 80% due to S. hermonthica infestation. 61.4% of the respondents in the study areas had achieved a mean pearl millet yields of <1 t/ha. Poor access and the high cost of introduced seed, and a lack of farmers preferred traits in the existing introduced pearl millet varieties were the main reasons for their low adoption, as reported by 32% of respondents. S. hermonthica management options in pearl millet production fields included moisture conservation using terraces, manual hoeing, hand weeding, use of microplots locally referred to as ‘zaï’, crop rotation and mulching. These management techniques were ineffective because they do not suppress the below ground S. hermonthica seed, and they are difficult to implement. Integrated management practices employing breeding for S. hermonthica resistant varieties with the aforementioned control measures could offer a sustainable solution for S. hermonthica management and improved pearl millet productivity in Burkina Faso.

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