Seeding Rate: 10 to 15 Lbs. Per acre

Planting Date: Not tolerant to cold soils, soil temp. must be

at least 70^o F.

Prussic Acid Poisoning: No danger

Nitrate Poisoning: Possible - Manage to avoid

Harvest Frequency: 1st cutting 45 to 55 days after emergence,

subsequent cuttings every 30 to 40 days.

Triazine Herbicides: Susceptible

Horses: Safe for haying or grazing, but exercise caution in managing to minimize nitrate accumulation.

Comments on Hybrid Pearl Millet

Hybrid pearl millet is very fine-stemmed when compared to the sorghums.  This leafy forage is well-suited to grazing or haying.  While hybrid pearl millet generally yields less forage per acre then sorghum crops, it nevertheless has consistently produced more beef per acre than the sorghums in university trials.  What hybrid pearl millet lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.

Producers like the fact that there is little or no danger of prussic acid accumulation in hybrid pearl millet and that unlike the sorghums; it can be utilized for horses.

Hybrid pearl millet is susceptible to the triazine herbicides where the sorghums are not.  Thus, previous cropping and herbicide history should be considered.

When haying hybrid pearl millet, leave 8 to 10 inches of stubble to promote a rapid, leafy regrowth.  Cut whenever forage obtains a height of 3 � to 4 feet for maximum quality.

Hybrid pearl millet utilized for pasture should be allowed to reach a height of 12 to 18 inches before stocking with livestock.  The most efficient utilization of available forage occurs when pearl millet is grazed intensively and then allowed to rest sufficiently long enough for regrowth to occur.