Foxtail Panorama millet showing developing head.

On this page:

• Varieties
• Planting
• Pest management
• Harvesting

Millets are quick-maturing summer cereals suited to double-crop situations, or when changing-over rotations. Millet grains are mainly used in the birdseed trade, and prices can fluctuate dramatically. On-farm storage is needed to spread supply and provides growers with some control over marketing options and price. Seek out hectare contracts before planting wherever possible.

Select a millet type suited to your intended planting time and soil conditions. There are limited 'safe' broadleaf weed control options in some of the millets. Check these before planting.

Millet and panicum varieties

Millets and panicums are small-seeded, quick-maturing summer crops ideal for double cropping and changeover cropping.

Panorama millet, White French millet and Shirohie are the main millets grown for the bird seed trade. More than 80% of the Queensland crop is grown in the Darling Downs region.

Production in this region averages 23 000 t from 18 000 ha with an average yield of 1.2 t/ha. Average yields across regions ranges from 0.7 to 1.7 t/ha, depending on variety and season. Table 1 lists the main varieties and uses.

The hybrid and open pollinated pearl millets are grown solely for grazing purposes. Acceptance of pearl millet as a forage crop was limited until recent release of semi-dwarf hybrids, which combine high productivity and easy grazing management. Pearl millets offer a substitute for prussic producing forage sorghums. For more information on summer forages, refer to Summer Forage Crops. Siberian millet is treated as a grazing crop while Japanese millet could be considered for either grazing or grain.

French millets

White and red seeded varieties are available. White French has recently been reselected by the University of Queensland (Gatton) to reduce the level of brown seed contamination from 5% down to less than 1%. This will help in marketing the grain internationally. Be sure to purchase reselected White French from a reputable supplier.

Very open, drooping heads and hairy leaves (not suited for grazing or hay). More suited to lighter, loamier soils, and able to cope with hot, dry conditions better than the other millets. Tends to ripen unevenly and very prone to shattering.

Very good tolerance to atrazine residues in the soil, seemingly able to cope with soil residues equivalent to rates of up to 4 L flowable atrazine/ha. White French millet appears very tolerant of soils that are sodic and saline at depth.

Awais a large seeded variety grown under contract for the export confectionary trade. It will need to be harvested early and dried to avoid shattering. There is only a very small, limited market for this variety. Mainly grown in the Dawson-Callide.

Japanese millets

Dual purpose types suited to grain or grazing. Shirohie is a larger, white seeded selection of the variety Japanese.

Suited to medium and heavy clay soils provided establishment conditions are satisfactory (non-crusting soils). These millets are relatively waterlogging tolerant and prefer high fertility. Suited to irrigation, and can tolerate moderate levels of soil salinity.

Foxtail or Setaria millets

Adapted to a range of soils, and can be grown on heavy clays provided the crop is not subjected to prolonged waterlogging. Two types are grown in Queensland:

• Giant Setaria - dual purpose, tall growing types
• Dwarf Setaria/Foxtail - shorter, quick-maturing varieties that are grown for grain. The three main varieties are Panicum, Red Panicum and Panorama. Panorama is slightly taller, 50% higher yielding, and moderately resistant to leaf and head blast. Heads are non-shattering.

The Foxtail millets contain glucosides and can be toxic to horses when grazed.

Back to top

Planting millets and panicums

Soft, non-crusting soils are preferred. White French millet is more suited to lighter loamier soils, while Panorama, Japanese and Shirohie will perform better on heavy soils. Japanese and Shirohie are the most tolerant of waterlogging.

Planting time

Japanese and Shirohie are more suited to early plantings  (Central Queensland - early September/Southern Queensland - mid-September) as they can germinate and emerge at lower temperatures than the other millet species or sorghum. Japanese and Shirohie millets can fail in late plant situations due to problems with shoot fly damage and/or maize sterile stunt virus.

Head blast affects both White French and Foxtail millets, and is usually more prevalent in spring plantings. Panorama is classed as moderately resistant to head blast, and is the foxtail millet best suited to spring plantings.

White French millet sown early will open ripen unevenly, which can result in harvest problems. It will often grow taller and be more prone to lodging. January through until February is the generally preferred planting time for Panorama and White French millets, as it provides a more even ripening of the crop in the cooler autumn weather. Frost can often assist in dry down of the crop (in southern Queensland).

Plant population

Row spacings of 18 cm are recommended at the suggested planting rates listed below:

• White French 8-10 kg/ha
• Panorama 6 kg/ha
• Shirohie 8-10 kg/ha.

Establishment is normally 60%-70% in loamy soil, often lower in heavy soils or in poor seedbed conditions (crusting).

Under good soil moisture conditions planting 30mm deep is preferable. Sowing deeper than this will reduce emergence. Satisfactory seedbeds for shallow plantings are difficult to prepare on heavy clay soils. Increased seeding rates on these soils to compensate for a lower establishment may be necessary. Rolling may improve establishment, as can the use of presswheels. Presswheels should be adjusted to 4-8 kg/10 cm widths. Avoid crusting soils.

Nutrition

Obtaining a soil analysis a short time before planting should indicate any major nutrient deficiency.

Nitrogen (N): aim for 25-35 kg N/ha for grain crops. Excess nitrogen may produce tall crops that are prone to lodging. Higher rates may be justified under double-crop conditions.

 On soils low in phosphorus (P) apply 5-10 kg P/ha

Back to top

Pest management

Weed control

Millets are fast growers and when sown broadacre will often out-compete many weeds.

Panorama millet and Panicum should not be sprayed with phenoxy-type herbicides (2,4-D, MCPA), while White French millet or Japanese millet may tolerate up to 1 L/ha. Growers should exercise caution and are advised to seek further information before use.  Crops should be sprayed when roots have developed and the plant has fully tillered. Spraying during stem elongation (nodes detectable) can cause severe damage. i.e. reduced growth, head deformities (tipping out), increased lodging.

Fluroxypyr appears safer on the crop, and is commonly used in mixture with reduced rates of the other potentially more damaging herbicides.

Always refer to the herbicide label and MSDS sheet for current registered use patterns. These details may be subject to change.

Disease management

Japanese and Shirohie millets have no major disease problems, while Panorama millet shows good tolerance to head blast.

A number of smuts can affect seed heads and developing grains in millets. These include:

All these smut diseases are seed borne. Do not retain planting seed from visibly affected crops. As a precaution, consider treating planting seed with thiram seed dressing (e.g. Thiraflo).

Leaf and head blast (Pyricularia grisea) affects White French millet and many of the foxtail millets (especially Panicum and Red Panicum). Panorama is classed as moderately resistant. Leaf symptoms include oval shaped spots with dark margins, sometimes joining together to produce large dead areas. Blasting causes premature senescence, with no grain production in all or parts of the head. The fungus survives on diseased crop residues as well as on some grasses. Wet weather favours infection. Later plantings are generally regarded as less susceptible to damage.

Charcoal rot is a soil-borne fungus disease that can cause premature dieback, and is responsible for 'white-heads' in the crop. Appears to be especially prevalent in the foxtail/setaria millets.

Insect management

While serious insect pests are not generally considered a routine problem, millets should be monitored for heliothis, cutworms, armyworms, locusts, and shoot fly, which can occasionally reach damaging levels, and are controlled by the same chemicals used for other summer grain crops.

Shoot fly (Atherigona falcata) lay eggs on the stem of the millet plant as it elongates (prior to head emergence). Larvae hatch and burrow into the stem, feeding on it from inside. They gradually move upwards and destroy the developing seed head. The damage only becomes obvious when the seed head fails to emerge. All millets are susceptible to shoot fly injury, although damage appears more prevalent in cultivars Shirohie and Japanese sown after December. These can occasionally reach damaging levels that warrant control. No insecticide is registered for this pest of millets in Queensland.

Armyworm (Pseudaletia convecta) are leaf feeders. Plants can tolerate the feeding damage caused by low populations but high populations may defoliate the crop.

High populations of heliothis (Helicoverpa armigera) may warrant control.

Harvesting

Uneven ripening and lodging can be a problem in most of the millets. White French can also shatter badly. Drum speeds of 600 rpm in a conventional header and 500 rpm in a rotary header. Higher drum speeds can dehull seed, especially White French millet. Use a slow fan speed and a round hole bottom sieve. It is advisable to use a sheet instead of a rake on the rear sieve.

Because the crop threshes so readily and is prone to lodging, it is advisable to harvest early, when the grain has a high moisture content (millets thresh easily at 18%-20% moisture). Artificial drying to below 13% moisture is then required to minimise heating of the grain and mould growth when in storage. When drying, use a maximum of 54 ºC for bird seed and 43 ºC for planting seed.

Some growers are successfully using swathing or desiccation with glyphosate to assist with harvest management.

Grain weight is 62.5 kg/hL. Example yields are:

• average 0.8-1.2 t/ha
• good 1.4-2.0 t/ha
• irrigated 2.0-3.0 t/ha.