Shirohie Millet

Shirohie millet is a fast growing, high yielding, leafy plant used for grazing, hay or silage. Millet provides a quick high quality feed and shows very good regrowth following grazing. They can be sown early allowing for quick feed soon after soil temperatures reach 14 ÁC. Shirohie millet provides good quality safe feed and is safe to graze at all stages of development.

• No toxicity issues safe to feed at all stages of development
• Fast growing and able to be sown early

Seed agronomy table

Seeding Rate	Kg/Ha
Dryland	15-25

Enterprises for this Seed

Sheep
Beef Cattle
Horse
Hay & Silage

Strengths

• Annual Summer grass.
• Can be drilled into moist soil.
• Good emergence from depth, to 50 mm.
• Relatively easy to establish on black cracking-clay soils.
• Vigorous seedlings.
• High growth rate.
• Salt tolerant.
• Suitable for silage or hay.
• Does not contain prussic acid (HCN).

Limitations

• Needs moderate to high fertility.
• Sowing should occur once soil temps are >14ÁC and rising.
• Seedlings slow in early stage below 20ÁC.
• Intolerant of waterlogging.
• Does not tolerate frosts.

Plant Description

Plant: A robust, multi-stemmed annual grass.

Stems: Stems erect, 150-300 cm long, 10-20 mm diameter. Nodes are bearded and slightly swollen.

Leaves: Ligule is a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades are flat, 50-100 cm long and 8-70 mm wide.

Seedhead: Seedhead is a compact, cylindrical spike-like panicle.

Seeds: Wedge-shaped seeds are 3-4 mm long and colour depends on variety. About 187,000 seeds/kg.

Pasture type and use

It is used as an annual summer forage crop for cattle or sheep.

Where it grows

Rainfall: Rainfall greater than 500 mm/year and soil moisture stored during fallow are required for satisfactory forage crop production.

Soils: It is adapted to fertile loams to heavy cracking clays.

Temperature: It grows during the warm season and tops are killed by heavy frost.

Establishment

Companion species: Legumes: lablab, cowpea, red clover.

Sowing/planting rates as single species: 10-40 kg/ha.

Sowing/planting rates in mixtures: 3-7 kg/ha.

Sowing time: It is sown from spring to late summer.

Fertiliser: Fertiliser application of 15-20 kg/ha P, 50-100 kg/ha N and 50-100 kg/ha K, if grown for hay, may be used to produce satisfactory forage crops.

Management

Maintenance fertiliser: 100 kg N/ha after grazing will increase late season production.

Grazing/cutting: Millet should not be grazed until plants are well anchored, 20-30cm is the rule of thumb. Under ideal conditions this can be as quick as 6 weeks. Graze regularly to restrict plant from going to head. As plant matures feed quality reduces.

Ability to spread: There is little chance of spread.

Weed potential: It has negligible weed potential.

Major pests: Helicoverpa spp. can damage developing heads and should be controlled in seed crops.

Major diseases: Head mould and ergot can reduce seed yield.

Herbicide susceptibility: It is killed by glyphosate.

Animal production

Feeding value: Forage quality depends on soil type and fertility, fertilisers applied, rainfall and age of the crop.

Palatability: Reduced palatability is sometimes observed in droughted crops.

Livestock disorders/toxicity: No known problems except unpalatability in some droughted crops.

International Contact

For international enquiries please contact
Sean Coffey
International Business Manager
+61 4 2865 2226
sean.coffey@pasturegenetics.com