Bulrush Millet (Pennisetum Typhoides) Responses to Nitrogen and Phosphate Fertilizers at Ithookwe, Kitui, Kenya

Abstract

Bulrush millet (Pennisetum Typhoides), also known as pearl or spiked millet ("Mawele"), i,s widely grown for human food in Africa and India. It is more drought-tolerant than sorghum (Vulgare Pers.) and therefore doles better under low annual rainfall conditions 250 to 500 mm in a season, and on less fertile sandy soils (Casady, 1965; FAO/SIDA Leotures, 1971). The grain is higher in protein content than either maize (Zea mays L.) or sorghum, varying within the range of 8.4 to 27.5 percent (Altschul, 1965), which gives it a definite advantage in a human population in low rainfall areas, and with a 100 w protein diet.