Influence of Plant-space on the yield and Chemical Composition of the Leaves, Stalks and heads of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.)R. Br.) at different Stages of growth

Abstract

The pearl millet plants were grown in rows 60am apart being spaced 10am (thick plots) and 75am (thin plots) in rows. They were clipped at the prehead, bloom and dough stages of growth, respectively. Plant weight and relative weight of stalks, heads and leaves were weighed and their chemical compositions were analysed. The summarized results were as follows: 1 Weight per plant in thick plots was approximately one-third comparing that in thin plots, but percent yields of each plant components were little affected by the spacing at each stage. 2 It is considered by the chemical analysis that feeding value is higher in leaves and heads than in stalks. The possibility might be unexpected from the above results that increases the relative yield of leaves, which have heigher feeding value compared with stalks, due to plant-spacing.