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Cultivation
Proso millet is a relatively low demanding crop and diseases aren’t known. That’s why Proso millet is often used in organic farming systems in Europe. In the United States it is often used as an intercrop. Thereby, proso millet can help to avoid a summer fallow, and continuous crop rotation can be achieved. Its superficial root system and its resistance to atrazine residue make proso millet a good intercrop between two water and pesticide demanding crops. The stubbles of the last crop, by allowing more heat into the soil, result in a faster and earlier millet growth. While millet occupies the ground, because of its superficial root system, the soil can replenish in water for the next crop. The later, for example a winter wheat, can in turn benefits from the millet stubbles, which can notably act as snow accumulators.

Climate and soil requirements
Due to its C4 photosynthetic system, Proso millet is thermopile like maize. Therefore shady locations of the field should be avoided. Further it is sensitive to cold temperatures lower than 10 to 13 degrees Celsius. Proso millet is highly drought resistant what makes it interesting to regions with low water availability and longer Periods without rain. The soil should be lightly or medium-heavy. Due to its flat root systems, soil compaction must be prohibited. Furthermore Proso millet doesn’t tolerate wetness due to dammed-up water.

Seedbed & Sowing
The seedbed should be fine crumbled like for sugar beet and rapeseed. In Europe proso millet is sowed between mid April and the end of Mai. 500g/are of seeds are required which comes up to 500 grains/m2. In organic farming this amount should be increased if a harrow weeder is used. For sowing the normal sowing machines could be used similar they are used for other crops like wheat. A distance between the rows among 16 to 25 centimeters is recommended if the farmer uses an inter row cultivator. The sowing depth should be 1.5 up to 2 cm in optimal soil or 3 to 4 cm in dry soil. Rolling of the ground after sowing is helpful for further cultivation. Cultivation in no till farming systems is also possible and often done in the US. The sowing then could be done two weeks later.

Field management
Only a few diseases and pests are known but they aren’t very important. Bigger problems are weeds. The critical phase is the juvenile development. The formation of the grains happens in the 3 up to 5 leaf stadium. After that all nutrients should be available for the proso millet. Therefore it is necessary to oppress the development of weeds. In conventional farming herbicides could be used. In organic farming it’s possible to use harrow weeders and inter row cultivators. For that special sowing parameters described in the chapter above are needed. For a good development of the plant fertilization with 50 to 75 kg nitrogen per hectare is recommended. Planting proso millet in a crop rotation after maize should be avoided due to its same weed spectrum. Because proso millet is an undemanding crop, it also could be at the end of the crop rotation.

Harvesting & postharvest treatments
Harvest time is at the end of August until mid September. To determine the best harvest time isn’t that easy because the ripeness of the grains isn’t synchronized. The grains on the top of the panicle are ripe first while the grains in the lower parts need more time. That’s why it’s necessary to find a compromise and catch the date when the yield is highest. Harvesting could be done with a conventional combine harvester at moisture of the grains about 15-20%. Usually proso millet is mowed at windrows first because the plants aren’t dry like wheat. There they could wither which makes the threshing easier. Then the harvest is done with a pickup attached to the combine. The possible yield is between 2.5 and 4.5 tons per hectare under optimal conditions. Studies in Germany showed that even a higher yield could be reached.