Pearl millet is primarily grown for grain production but may be suitable for forage. Pearl millet, Pennisetum americanum , is a relative newcomer to Colorado. It comes from tropical, arid regions and is a distant relative of grain sorghum. Crosses between the two species have been reported. Pearl millet is a common grain in the semiarid areas of Africa south of the Sahara.
Pearl millet is one of the most water-efficient cultivated plants.
Its requirement values fall between the proso and common millet. It survives well where dryland sorghum may fail to make a crop. Under irrigation or high precipitation, however, pearl millet yields generally are not competitive with sorghum. Pearl millet types exist for both forage and grain production. Forage yield comparisons are shown in Table 1 and grain comparisons in Table 2.