Enhancing Demand Of Pearl Millet as Super GrainC TSatyavathiauthorSPraveenauthorS DMazumdarauthorL KChughauthorAKawatraauthorPearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is the staple food of majority of the poor and small land holders, as well as a source of feed and fodder for livestock in the rainfed regions of the country. Pearl millet excels all other cereals because it is a C4 plant with high photosynthetic efficiency and dry matter production capacity. It requires less inputs, matures in short duration and is considered as nutritious food, feed and fodder. It is usually grown under the most adverse agro-climatic conditions where other crops like sorghum and maize fail to produce economic yields. In India, pearl millet is the third most widely cultivated food crop after rice and wheat. It is grown on 7.128 million ha with an average productivity of 1132 kg/ha during 2015-16 (Directorate of Millet Development, 2017; Project Coordinator Review, 2017). The major pearl millet growing states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana which account for more than 90% of pearl millet acreage in the country. Most of pearl millet in India is grown in rainy (kharif) season (June–September). It is also cultivated during the summer season (February–May) in parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh; and during the post-rainy (rabi) season (November–February) at a small scale in Maharashtra and Gujarat.Pearl MilletAgriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics2017-09ICAR – All India Coordinated Research Project on Pearl MilletMonograph