Academic literature on the topic 'Namibia pearl millet'

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), ranking fifth and sixth in global cereal hectarage, respectively, are the most important coarse-grain cereals in the semi-arid tropical regions of Asia and Africa. Pearl millet displays better adaptation to and is grown in relatively more marginal environments than sorghum. Under subsistence farming conditions, both crops have low grain yields (0.5-0.7 t·ha-1 for pearl millet and 0.7-0.9 t·ha-1 for sorghum), although improved hybrid cultivars give 3-4 t·ha-1 of realizable grain yields in better-endowed environments. African germplasm, especially Zera Zera sorghums from the Sudan-Ethiopian border in eastern Africa and Iniari pearl millets from the Togo - Ghana - Benin - Burkina Faso region of western Africa, has proved most useful for the genetic improvement of these crops. The greatest impact of improved cultivars (mostly hybrids) has occurred in India, where the area under high-yielding varieties (HYVs) increased from 6% for pearl millet and 3% for sorghum in the triennium 1968-1970 to 53% for pearl millet and 54% for sorghum in the triennium 1992-1994. During the same period, productivity of both crops increased by 59%, which is attributable to both genetic improvement and management factors. HYVs have now started to be adopted in some of the African countries as well (e.g., Chad, Cameroon, Botswana, and Zimbabwe for sorghum; Chad, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe for pearl millet). The availability of vast untapped genetic resources and continuing yield gains indicate that there are good prospects for future genetic improvement in the productivity of these crops, which can be accelerated with the application of biotechnological tools. Sorghum and pearl millet will continue to be important food crops in their traditional semi-arid tropical areas. Sorghum is already an important feed crop in the developed world and pearl millet has the potential to become an even better feed crop, as it has higher protein content and a better amino acid profile than sorghum. The nutritional value of both crops for food and feed use can be further improved by breeding. Also, through genetic enhancement, there exist opportunities for the development of sorghum and pearl millet cultivars suitable for alternative uses in the bakery and beverage industries.Key words: sorghum, Sorghum bicolor, pearl millet, Pennisetum glaucum, genetic enhancement, semi-arid tropics, Asia, Africa, cultivars, impact.

CurrentPennisetum glaucum(L.) R. BR. cultivars in Namibia have overall poor performance posing a threat to the nation’s food security because this crop is staple for over 70% of the Namibian population. The crop suffers from undesirable production traits such as susceptibility to diseases, low yield, and prolonged reproductive cycle. This study aimed to understand the genetic diversity of the crop in Namibia by simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and morphology analysis. A total of 1441 genotypes were collected from the National Gene Bank representing all the Namibian landraces. A sample of 96 genotypes was further analyzed by SSR using Shannon-Wiener diversity index and revealed a value of 0.45 indicating low genetic diversity. Ordination using Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) on SSR data confirmed clusters generated by UPGMA for the 96P. glaucumaccessions. UPGMA phenograms of 29 morphological characterized genotypes were generated for SSR and morphology data and the two trees revealed 78% resemblance. Lodging susceptibility, tillering attitude, spike density, fodder yield potential, early vigour, and spike shape were the phenotypic characters upon which some clusters were based in both datasets. It is recommended that efforts should be made to widen the current gene pool in Namibia.

The production of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.) is important in Namibia, in sub-Saharan Africa, owing to the prevailing low precipitation conditions. Most fields supporting crop production in northern Namibia are located in a network of seasonal wetlands. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of ridging and fertilizer application on the yield and the growth of pearl millet in the seasonal wetlands under different rainfall conditions. The study was conducted for two years (2017–2018) in the experimental fields in northern Namibia, and yield, yield components, and growth parameters were evaluated in relation to the application of different fertilizers (manure and mineral) with and without ridge-furrows. Manure fertilizer application presented the highest yield in 2018, whereas mineral fertilizer application showed the highest yield in 2017. The proportion of rainfall was the highest during the mid-growth period in 2017, and the reproductive stage in 2018. Thus, pearl millet plants under manure fertilization overcame damage resulting from waterlogging stress during the seed setting stage by improving the soil and plant nutrient conditions. In contrast, the plants under mineral fertilization were more tolerant to large amounts of rain during the mid-growth period. In this study, yield was mainly determined by total dry weight, and it was closely related to panicle density in both years. Therefore, we concluded that fertilizer application, including additional fertilizer based on the growth diagnostic, could be important for improving crop production in seasonal wetlands.

A nutrient-balance model was used to investigate the nitrogen contributions of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) to pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) intercropping systems in semi-arid northern Namibia. Data on nitrogen fixation, production, crop nitrogen off-take and competition effects came from two seasons of fieldwork. Supplementary data were taken from secondary sources. The model was used as a tool to attempt to identify grain legume management options with the potential to make significant contributions to soil fertility. The crop parameters pearl millet grain yield, nitrogen fixation rates, nitrogen harvest index and biomass production were found to be critical in determining system nitrogen inputs and outputs as was the form of residue management. The model indicated that it is extremely difficult to manage grain legumes in dryland environments in ways that lead to consistent increases in pearl millet grain yields, measurable against season-to-season variation due to other factors. Several of the options for improved legume management conflict strongly with farmers' risk-avoidance strategies and their tendency to invest preferentially in off-farm activities in an environment where livelihoods have diversified considerably away from agriculture. Potential routes for increasing grain legume contributions to soil fertility in dryland areas are discussed.

The objective of this project was to develop understanding about the possibility of improving salt tolerance in pearl millet using selection and breeding methods. A collection of 143 pearl millet accessions was obtained from nineteen countries in different regions of the world, mostly from dry hot environments, e.g. Yemen, Sudan, the Central African Republic and Niger. Considerable genetic variability was found in these accessions for salt tolerance. Based upon a preliminary examination of the responses to NaCl solution in a selection of accessions, it was decided that 160 mM NaCl would be the reference parameter for assessing tolerance. The six most salt-tolerant accessions were 10876 and 10878 from Sudan, 18406 and 18570 from Namibia, and ICMV-93753 and ICMV-94474 from India, all of which had relative root lengths of above 70%. Accessions 213011 and 21351 were very sensitive, their relative root length being below 30%. Unfortunately, the areas from which the tolerant accessions from Sudan, Namibia and India originated are not known, but it is possible that they may have inhabited dry, saline lands.

Pearl millet is a cereal crop cultivated by subsistence farmers in semi-arid parts of Africa and Asia. In Namibia, pearl millet porridge is a staple food for over half of the population. Healthful Harvest, a cooperative of subsistence farmers in a rural area in Namibia is developing a flour product with extended shelf life and a short cooking time comprising pearl millet and cowpea. This requires the application of simple technology. The pearl millet grain is small (3-15 mg) but has a proportionally larger germ than all other cereal grains, except perhaps maize. Therefore, it tends to contain a high content of triglycerides, which are rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Pearl millet flour is susceptible to rancidity within a few days due to lipolysis and subsequent oxidation of the de-esterified unsaturated fatty acids. To try to prevent rancidity and to pre-cook, pearl millet grain was subjected to toasting, boiling and toasting then boiling before reduction to flour. The effects of these different thermal treatments on fat acidity, peroxide value (PV) and conjugated diene and triene values of pearl millet flour before and after three months storage at ambient conditions were determined. The degree of cook of starch was determined on fresh flours. The porridges made from the flour of the treated grains were evaluated by a trained panel and by consumers. Analyses of energy demands and practicality of the thermal treatments and extrusion cooking as processing technologies in manufacturing pearl millet flour in rural parts of Namibia were made. Fat acidity for the untreated flour increased significantly from 0.11 to 3.72 g KOH kg-1, whereas no significant increase observed in the flours of wet thermally-treated grains. This indicates that wet thermal treatments inhibited triglyceride hydrolysis. The PVs of the flours of the wet thermally-treated grain increased seven-fold, while the PV of the untreated flour decreased. A similar trend was observed for the conjugated diene values. The conjugated triene values increased significantly for all the samples. These results indicate autoxidation in the thermally-treated samples and that there was accumulation of hydroperoxides. The degree of cook of the wet thermally-treated grain (~40%) was twice that of the untreated and toasted grains, indicating that the wet thermal treatment partially gelatinised the grain. Porridges prepared using untreated flours were associated with rancid flavours, while those of other treatments were not, indicating that the thermal treatments can prevent rancidity. Consumers preferred the porridge prepared using flour of the boiled grain, presumably because it was fully cooked, whereas others were not. Thus, the boiling treatment can be applied to extend the shelf life of and pre-cook pearl millet flour. The energy demands for boiling and extrusion cooking were estimated to be 0.6 and 0.2 kWh kg-1, respectively. The energy demand for the boiling process can be minimised by sun-drying instead of using electricity. The cost of an extruder would be prohibitively costly for Healthful Harvest. Thus, boiling the grain is a suitable appropriate technology that can be applied in the Healthful Harvest situation by ordinary people, with no specialist skills.<br>Thesis (MSc(Agric) (Food Science and Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2007.<br>Food Science<br>MSc(Agric)<br>unrestricted

Pearl millet is a staple food in Namibia. It is milled into flour by traditional and industrial dry milling processes. This research was conducted to help determine how to improve the nutritional value and acceptability of pearl millet. The traditional milling process involves a lactic acid fermentation step which lowers the pH of kernels. The effects of the traditional Namibian and industrial “dry milling” processes on the physical and nutritional composition of pearl millet grain were compared. Additionally, the effect of steeping three different Namibian pearl millet varieties (Kangara, Kantana and Okashana 2) in lactic acid and water on the colour and the phenolic content of the flour were determined. Regarding comparing the milling processes, variety Kangara was conditioned and decorticated traditionally with a pestle and mortar and industrially with an abrasive decorticator. The traditional decorticated grain was steeped and sun dried for 24 h before hammer milling, whereas the industrially decorticated grain was roller milled. Tristimulus colorimetry and proximate analyses were conducted on the samples. Concerning acid steeping, kernels were steeped in a pH 3.5 solution and in water as a control. Colour, total polyphenol and c-glycosyl flavone contents were determined. The determination of cglycosylflavone content was particularly important because these compounds are considered goitrogenic. The traditionally milled flour was lighter in colour than industrial milled flour. However, it was significantly lower in protein, ash and c-glycosyl flavone contents in comparison to industrial milled flour. This was due to the removal of more pericarp and germ in the traditional process. The industrial dry milling process therefore produces flour with a higher nutrient content in terms of protein, fat and minerals. However, the traditional Namibian milling process makes the colour of the pearl millet flour lighter, which is probably the reason that it is more acceptable to consumers. Kernels steeped in a lactic acid solution were lighter in colour than those steeped in water. Irrespective of the steeping media, the total polyphenol content was significantly lower in steeped kernels compared to those unsteeped. A similar trend was observed for the cglycosyl flavone content. This indicates that some of these compounds may have leached out during steeping. For all varieties, kernels steeped in lactic acid had a significantly higher total polyphenol content than those in water, probably due to the dissociation of metal-polyphenol complexes in the acidic medium whereby these polyphenols became free and available for measurement. Thus, steeping in a lactic acid solution can lead to better colour improvement of kernels compared to steeping in water. Thus, lactic acid steeping can improve the sensory quality of pearl millet products. An industrial process can thus be designed to include tempering the grain with food grade lactic acid to produce sour taste and leach out the colour pigments, particularly the cglycosyl flavones hence lightening the colour of the industrial milled flour. This produces a product with high nutritional content, lighter in colour and has the sour taste that consumers find appealing. Copyright 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Barrion, SC 2007, Pearl millet milling : comparison between traditional Namibian fermentation - semi-wet milling and dry milling, MSc(Agric) dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-01282009-132241 / > E1209/gm<br>Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2009.<br>Food Science<br>unrestricted