Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Seedlings Transplanting as Climate Adaptation Option for Smallholder Farmers in Niger

Traore, B and Moussa, A A and Traore, A and Nassirou, Y S A and Ba, M N and Tabo, R (2022) Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Seedlings Transplanting as Climate Adaptation Option for Smallholder Farmers in Niger. Atmosphere (TSI), 13 (7). pp. 1-15. ISSN 2073-4433

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Abstract

Pearl millet is the most widely grown cereal crop in the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, and in Niger in particular. To determine an optimized management strategy for smallholder farmers in southern Niger to cope with crop production failure and improve cropping performance in the context of climate change and variability, multi-site trials were conducted to evaluate the impacts of transplanting on pearl millet growth and productivity. Eight treatments viz. T1-0NPK (100% transplanting without NPK), T1-NPK (100% transplanting + NPK), T2-0NPK (100% transplanting of empty hills without NPK), T2-NPK (100% transplanting of empty hills + NPK), T3-0NPK (50% transplanting of empty hills without NPK), T3-NPK (50% transplanting of empty hills + NPK), T4-0NPK (farmer practice without NPK), and T4-NPK (farmer practice + NPK) were included in the experiment. Compared to farmer practice, transplanting significantly reduced time to tillering, flowering, and maturity stages by 15%, 27%, and 11%, respectively. The results also revealed that T1-NPK significantly increased panicle weight, total biomass, grain yield, and plant height by 40%, 38%, 27%, and 23%, respectively. Farmers’ evaluations of the experiments supported these findings, indicating three substantial advantages of transplanting, including higher yield (37.50% of responses), larger, more vigorous and more panicles (34.17% of responses), and good tillering (28.33% of responses). An economic profitability analysis of the system revealed that biomass gain (XOF 359,387/ha) and grain gain (XOF 324,388/ha) increased by 34% and 22%, respectively, with T1-NPK. Therefore, it can be inferred that transplanting is a promising strategy for adapting millet cultivation to climate change and variability in southern Niger.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Research Program : West & Central Africa
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	food security, crop failure, mineral fertilization, crop management, Sahel
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets > Pearl Millet Others > Fertilizer Applications Others > Food Security
Depositing User:	Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited:	16 Jan 2024 04:52
Last Modified:	16 Jan 2024 04:52
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12361
Official URL:	https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/7/997
Projects:	Development Food Security Assistance program
Funders:	USAID, Catholic Relief Services
Acknowledgement:	We acknowledge and thank the GIRMA project in Niger for supporting data collection and the scientific publication of the work.
Links:	Google Scholar

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