TITLE:
Finger Millet: An Alternative Crop for the Southern High Plains
AUTHORS:
Prasanna H. Gowda, P. V. Vara Prasad, Sangamesh V. Angadi, Umesh M. Rangappa, Pradeep Wagle
KEYWORDS:
Ogallala Aquifer Region, Semi-Arid, Forage, Texas Panhandle
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.6 No.16,
October
29,
2015
ABSTRACT: In the Southern High Plains, dairies are expanding to take advantage of favorable climatic conditions.
Currently, corn (Zea mays L.) and forage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] are the two
major crops grown in the region to meet silage demands for the expanding dairy industry, but they
have relatively large water requirements of about 840 and 690 mm, respectively, to achieve desirable
results. With rising energy costs and declining water levels in the underlying Ogallala
Aquifer, crops that use less water, like finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) could become
alternate forage crops for dairies to corn or forage silage. In this study, we evaluated the adaptability
of five finger millet accessions to the Southern High Plains and compared nutritional quality
of their forage to that of corn and sorghum. Results indicated that finger millet can be grown in the
Southern High Plains. Comparison of nutrient composition has shown that the quality of finger
millet is relatively higher than that of corn and sorghum in terms of calcium, potassium, and
phosphorus levels in their forage. However, potential forage yield of most commonly grown corn
and sorghum in the region is higher than that of finger millet. Therefore, finger millet may provide
a unique opportunity to improve the dairy-fed silage quality by mixing it with corn or sorghum silage
while meeting the growing regional forage demand. Further field research is needed to
measure its water requirements in the Southern High Plains.