University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Colorado State University researchers investigating the performance of numerous proso millet varieties recently released the latest results from their joint study, offering valuable insights for dryland growers in the Midwest.

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum (L.)) is a short-season, warm-season grass crop that does well in semi-arid regions. Nebraska and Colorado have the largest production acreage annually. The grain is used for feed, birdseed, and has a growing market in food products such as noodles. Proso is a good fit for the high plains of Nebraska and eastern plains of Colorado because it can be planted in early June and harvested in September, has excellent drought tolerance, and established local markets. It can be seeded with the same drills growers use for wheat planting and may be either swathed and harvested using a pickup combine header or direct harvested. Low input costs make it an attractive alternative crop to others such as corn or grain sorghum, and rapid tillering promotes good residue production and weed suppression, both critically beneficial in rain-limited dryland operations.

Together with CSU Crops Testing, the UNL Crops Testing Team just wrapped up its second year of cooperative variety testing, aimed at providing growers and breeders with multi-location and multi-year yield and quality estimates. In this initiative, proso millet varieties that have been in use for decades, such as Earlybird and Huntsman, are tested against newer commercially available varieties such as Plateau and DLG 240. Also included are experimental varieties developed by UNL Alternative Crops Breeder Dipak Santra and the company Dryland Genetics, whose breeder Santosh Rajput is a UNL graduate.

Results from the two years of testing can be found on the CropWatch Variety Testing page or CSU Crops Testing page.

For more information or to request other proso varieties for future testing, please reach out to Amanda Easterly or Sally Jones-Diamond. Some other resources about proso production practices or where to buy varieties are provided below:

• UNL EC137: Proso Millet in the Great Plains
• UNL Alternative Crops Breeder Dipak Santra (email)
• Dryland Genetics
• Certified Seed Producers in Nebraska and Colorado