Pearl millet appears to have relatively fast root development, sending extensive roots both laterally and downward into the soil profile to take advantage of available moisture and nutrients. The crop does best when there are plenty of hot days, although it has been successfully produced in cooler areas such as North Dakota. Although pearl millet was developed as a food crop, and is still primarily used this way in Africa and India, it's grain is most likely to be used for animal feed in the U.S. Several studies have been conducted on it's potential for various types of animals, including poultry, ducks, cows, hogs, and catfish. In general, it performs comparably to corn in the diet for these animals, with small advantages in certain situations. This higher protein and other feed characteristics have helped drive the interest in the grain by poultry producers and other livestock producers.
Pearl millet is much lower in tannin than sorghum.
Pearl millet seed is about half the weight of a sorghum seed. New varieties to be released in the next few years will have larger seeds, but not quite the size of sorghum. Seeds are pointed at one end, rounded at the other, and primarily light colored with a blue or gray tinge to them. The main commercial market to date for graintype pearl millet has been the broiler market. Lack of familiarity with the crop has limited its use in other livestock feed markets.