EFFECTS OF MINERAL FERTILISATION STRATEGIES ON GROWTH, YIELD AND AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF PEARL MILLET (PENNISETUM GLAUCUM (L.) R. BR.) VARIETIES IN THE SENEGALESE GROUNDNUT BASIN

In Senegal, millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is the main cereal crop. However, its production is primarily limited by low soil fertility and mineral fertilisation techniques that are not always suited to the various agro-ecological zones and to all millet varieties. It was against this backdrop that this study was initiated to evaluate the response to different mineral fertilisation options with a view to optimising the production of millet hybrids under the growing conditions of the central groundnut-growing region of Senegal. The trial was set up during the 2023 wet season at the National Centre for Agronomic Research (CNRA) in Bambey. The experimental design was a split-plot design with three replicates and included the variety as the main-plot with five treatments (Taaw, ICMH177111, ICMH147007, Souna du Baol and Thialack 2