INFLUENCE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL MATURITY ON GERMINABILITY IN PEARL-MILLET (PENNISETUM-GLAUCUM)

An experiment was conducted during the rainy season 1988 Lo study the effect of physiological maturity on germination of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucun (L.) R Br. emend. Stuntz]. When pearl millet seeds were harvested at different stages of maturity at 1-week intervals following stigma emergence, there was a gradual decrease in the water content of the developing seed from 87 to 11 %. This was accompanied by an increase in the dry-matter accumulation from 1.6 to 10.6 g/1 000 grain with a corresponding increase in the seed germination. Physiological maturity was attained at 11 % moisture content, which was 35-42 days after stigma emergence. This may be used as the harvest date for this crop. Germinable seeds may be collected much earlier than the time of maximum dry-weight accumulation.