Abstract
An experiment was conducted to examine the performance of pearl millet under different nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates in two locations in the semiarid zone of Nigeria. The objective was to evaluate the effects of different N rates on pearl millet yields, water- and nitrogen-use efficiency, and profitability. Grain yield increased by 23, 26, 32, 32, and 27% and by 38, 41, 54, 58, and 56% compared to unfertilized plots when applying 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 kg Nha−1 in Minjibir and Gambawa, respectively. Similarly, stalk yield increased by 4, 3, 9, 9, and 9% and by 16, 24, 36, 40, and 37% compared to unfertilized plot when applying 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 kg Nha−1 in Minjibir and Gambawa, respectively. The variations in GY that could be explained by TWU and NUE were 28% and 26% in Minjibir and 46% and 41%, respectively, in Gambawa. There was a strong and positive correlation (R = 0.81 and R = 0.95) between WUE and GY across N-fertilizer rates and pearl millet varieties in both locations. An increase in N-fertilizer levels increased WUE, confirming the optimal application of 60 kg Nha−1 in Minjibir and of 80 kg Nha−1 in Gambawa. Similarly, the highest net economic return (NER) of US$610 ha−1 was obtained at 60 kg Nha−1 in Minjibir and the highest NER of US$223 ha−1 was obtained at an application rate of 80 kg Nha−1 in Gambawa. Break-even yield was above 1000 kg ha−1, signifying that average farmer with a mean yield of less than 1000 kg ha−1 produces millet at a loss.
Highlights
E soil organic carbon (OC) content was generally low, and higher values (1.96 g kg−1 and 2.59 g kg−1) were recorded in each year in Minjibir compared to Gambawa (1.45 g kg−1 and 2.01 g kg−1) for 2014 and 2015, respectively. e total nitrogen content was 0.16 and 0.70 g kg−1 at Minjibir, and 0.12 and 0.70 g kg−1 at Gambawa while the available phosphorus varied from 3.9 to 4.5 mg kg−1 in both seasons
Our study has shown that N fertilization affected the growth, grain yield, stalk yield, total water use (TWU), water-use efficiency (WUE), and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) of the two improved and local pearl millet varieties tested in both Minjibir and Gambawa. e economic analysis showed that Total revenue (TR), net economic return (NER), and B : C were significantly affected by nitrogen fertilizer application as well as pearl millet varieties
Dissemination campaigns of improved pearl millet production technologies should be encouraged to increase adoption and pearl millet on-farm yield since an average farmer may presently be producing at less than the break-even yields. ere were significant differences in grain and stalk yields of the pearl millet varieties tested, between the two locations irrespective of N-fertilizer rates applied. is is probably due to differences in total rainfall and distribution and the inherent soil fertility in those two locations. ere was a strong interaction between water use and nitrogen supply on pearl millet varieties, resulting in an increase in WUE
Summary
Pearl millet provides grain for human consumption and stover for livestock in the arid and semiarid tropics [1, 2]. It has high nutritional value and exceptional tolerance to drought and high temperature [3, 4]. Pearl millet flourishes satisfactorily and can be cultivated under low rainfall (200–250 mm), which makes it one of the most reliable cereal crops in the arid and semiarid tropics [7, 8]. Average pearl millet yields worldwide are lower than the average yields of other cereal crops [4], improved agronomic practices and varieties have been found to lead to more efficient use of photosynthetically
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