New Millet Offers Higher Yields

New Millet Offers Higher Yields CROPS New Crops Dryland Genetics’ new proso millet hybrids are pushing yields by as much as 40 percent without more water or fertilizer The dryland crop is known for its water efficiency but yield increases have severely lagged that of corn and soybeans “Before we introduced our new varieties most in use had been developed in the early 1990s ” says James Schnable Dryland Genetics “We introduced our first variety 3 years ago It’s now on tens of thousands of acres ” The new high-yielding non-GMO varieties are finding a home as an alternative to leaving the ground fallow between wheat crops In other cases wheat growers go to a wheat-fallow-millet rotation to harvest a crop two years out of three instead of two out of four Schnable sees even greater potential for proso millet as a profitable alternative crop in the Midwest He suggests rotating it with winter annuals such as winter canola camelina or winter peas “With a short growing season of only 60 to 90 days proso millet can be planted as late as the end of June later than most would try to plant soybeans ” says Schnable “It can be rotated with other small grains and legumes for more diversity in a cropping system while still obtaining high performance and profitable yields Harvested before corn or soybeans it spreads out the harvest season ” Schnable a genetics professor at the University of Nebraska co-founded Dryland Genetics with his father Patrick Schnabel the director of the Plant Sciences Institute at Iowa State University The two researchers focus on proso millet as a sustainable alternative to dryland corn and soybeans Schnable points out that proso millet already produces twice as much grain from a single gallon of water as corn sorghum and other grain crops Unlike corn it doesn’t require supplemental nitrogen reducing production costs It’s already grown on half a million acres in the U S mainly in Colorado and Nebraska “Proso millet has already overcome most barriers to a new crop ” says Schnable “Farmers don’t have to be educated on how to produce or market it; they already have the equipment to plant and harvest it It’s already water and nutrient-efficient We just need to focus on producing more grain from each plant ” Dryland Genetics also works to improve standability and reduce shattering Along the way another beneficial feature developed “The first two varieties we developed had thicker stalks than existing varieties ” says Schnable “Farmers like the strong stems as they capture more winter snow preserving the moisture for the coming year ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dryland Genetics 2500 N Loop Dr Suite 7411 Building 7 Ames Iowa 50010 www drylandgenetics com

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