Source: http://vasat.icrisat.org/crops/pearl_millet/pm_production/html/m9_3/index.html

Sowing of Pearl Millet

The seeds are sown either by

• broadcasting seed manually,

• sowing behind country plough using pora,

• using an improved seed drill which may or may not be fitted with hoppers for fertilizer application,

• using mechanical seed drills attached to a tractor.

Manual sowing by broadcasting the seed is practiced when the area to be sown is small. After broadcasting, the seeds are covered by running a brush harrow. The germination my not be uniform in hand sowing, and so one has to use a higher seed rate to get the optimum plant stand in the field.

         Country seed drill

A country seed drill called pora i.e. a wooden hopper attached to a hollow bamboo (Fig.) is used to sow the seeds in the shallow furrows opened by the tines of a country plough. A larger area can be covered with this method of sowing.

               Seed cum fertilizer drill