Phenotypic Responses of Twenty Diverse Proso Millet ( Panicum miliaceum L.) Accessions to Irrigation

Cedric Habiyaremye, Victoria Barth, Kelsey Highet, Todd Coffey and Kevin M. Murphy
Additional contact information
Cedric Habiyaremye: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agricultural, Human, Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 646420, Pullman, WA 99164-6420, USA
Victoria Barth: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agricultural, Human, Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 646420, Pullman, WA 99164-6420, USA
Kelsey Highet: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agricultural, Human, Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 646420, Pullman, WA 99164-6420, USA
Todd Coffey: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Center for Interdisciplinary Statistical Education and Research, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-3113, USA
Kevin M. Murphy: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agricultural, Human, Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, P.O. Box 646420, Pullman, WA 99164-6420, USA

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: To date, little research has been conducted on the phenotypic responses of proso millet to drought and deficit irrigation treatments in the dryland wheat-based cropping systems of the Palouse bioregion of the U.S. The objectives of this study were to evaluate critical agronomic traits of proso millet, including emergence, plant height, days to heading, days to maturity, and grain yield, with and without supplemental irrigation. Twenty diverse proso millet accessions, originating from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, the former Soviet Union, Turkey, and the United States, were grown in irrigated and non-irrigated treatments under organic conditions in Pullman, WA, from 2012 to 2014. Irrigation was shown to significantly improve emergence and increase plant height at stem extension and to hasten ripening of all the varieties, whereas heading date was not affected by irrigation in two of the three years tested. Irrigation resulted in higher mean seed yield across all varieties, with ‘GR 665’ and ‘Earlybird’ performing best under irrigation. Seed yield was highest in ‘GR 658’ and ‘Minsum’ in the non-irrigated treatment, suggesting the importance of identification and utilization of varieties adapted to low rainfall conditions. The highest yielding varieties in irrigated systems are unlikely be the highest yielding in dryland systems. Our results suggest that millet has potential as a regionally novel crop for inclusion in traditional dryland cropping rotations in the Palouse ecosystem, thereby contributing to increased cropping system diversity.

Keywords: irrigation; proso millet; Pacific Northwest; crop rotation; nutrition and health benefits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:3:p:389-:d:92354

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