Drought-Resilient Pearl Millet Varieties Under 40% Deficit Irrigation

Key findings

• ▸Hybrid PM-19 held grain yield at 3.8 t/ha under deficit irrigation vs. 4.2 t/ha under full irrigation.
• ▸Water use efficiency improved by 34% relative to the region's standard variety.
• ▸Root depth at flowering was the strongest single predictor of drought tolerance across all 14 tested lines.
• ▸Full trial protocol published open-access for extension workers to replicate on other cereal crops.

Abstract

Water scarcity increasingly constrains cereal production across semi-arid growing regions. This study evaluated 14 pearl millet lines across two dry seasons under a 40% deficit-irrigation regime relative to full-irrigation controls, measuring grain yield, water use efficiency, and root architecture at flowering. Three hybrids — most notably PM-19 — maintained yield within 12% of fully-irrigated plots while using less than half the water, with root depth at flowering emerging as the strongest single predictor of drought tolerance across all tested lines. The full trial protocol is published open-access for extension workers to replicate on other cereal crops.