Editing Pearl millet (section)

{{Short description|Species of cultivated grass}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2021}}
{{Speciesbox
|name=Pearl millet
|image=Grain millet, early grain fill, Tifton, 7-3-02.jpg
|image_caption=Pearl millet hybrid for grain
|genus=Cenchrus
|species=americanus
|authority=([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) Morrone
|synonyms_ref=<ref>{{cite web |title=''Cenchrus americanus'' (L.) Morrone|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77105978-1 |website=[[Plants of the World Online]]|publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |access-date=15 November 2020}}</ref>
|synonyms={{Collapsible list|{{Species list
|Alopecurus typhoides |Burm.f.
|Andropogon racemosus |(Forssk.) Poir. ex Steud.
|Cenchrus paniceus |B.Heyne ex Wall.
|Cenchrus pycnostachyus |Steud.
|Cenchrus spicatus |(L.) Cav.
|Chaetochloa glauca |(L.) Scribn.
|Chaetochloa lutescens |Stuntz
|Chamaeraphis glauca |(L.) Kuntze
|Holcus paniciformis |Roxb. ex Hook.f.
|Holcus racemosus |Forssk.
|Holcus spicatus |L.
|Ixophorus glaucus |(L.) Nash
|Panicum alopecuroides |J.Koenig ex Trin.
|Panicum americanum |L.
|Panicum coeruleum |Mill.
|Panicum compressum |Balb. ex Steud.
|Panicum glaucum |L.
|Panicum holcoides |Trin.
|Panicum indicum |Mill.
|Panicum involucratum |Roxb.
|Panicum spicatum |(L.) Roxb.
|Penicillaria arabica |A.Braun
|Penicillaria deflexa |Andersson ex A.Braun
|Penicillaria elongata |Schrad. ex Schltdl.
|Penicillaria involucrata |(Roxb.) Schult.
|Penicillaria nigritarum |Schltdl.
|Penicillaria plukenetii |Link
|Penicillaria roxburghii |A.Braun
|Penicillaria solitaria |Stokes
|Penicillaria spicata |(L.) Willd.
|Pennisetum albicauda |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum americanum convar. spicatum |(L.) Tzvelev
|Pennisetum americanum convar. typhoides |Tzvelev
|Pennisetum ancylochaete |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum aureum |Link
|Pennisetum cereale |Trin.
|Pennisetum cinereum |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum echinurus |(K.Schum.) Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum gambiense |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum gibbosum |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum giganteum |Ten. ex Steud.
|Pennisetum glaucum |(L.) R.Br.
|Pennisetum leonis |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum maiwa |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum malacochaete |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum megastachyum |Steud.
|Pennisetum nigritarum |(Schltdl.) T.Durand & Schinz
|Pennisetum plukenetii |(Link) T.Durand & Schinz
|Pennisetum pycnostachyum |Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
|Pennisetum spicatum |(L.) Körn.
|Phleum africanum |Lour.
|Setaria glauca |(L.) P.Beauv.
|Setaria rufa |Chevall.
|Setaria sericea |(Aiton) P.Beauv.
|Setariopsis glauca |(L.) Samp.
}}}}
}}

'''Pearl millet''' ('''''Cenchrus americanus''''', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum  glaucum'') is the most widely grown type of [[millet]]. It has been grown in [[Africa]] and the [[Indian subcontinent]] since prehistoric times. The center of diversity, and suggested area of [[domestication]], for the crop is in the [[Sahel]] zone of [[West Africa]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last1=Winchell |first1=Frank |last2=Brass |first2=Michael |last3=Manzo |first3=Andrea |last4=Beldados |first4=Alemseged |last5=Perna |first5=Valentina |last6=Murphy |first6=Charlene |last7=Stevens |first7=Chris |last8=Fuller |first8=Dorian Q. |date=2018-12-01 |title=On the Origins and Dissemination of Domesticated Sorghum and Pearl Millet across Africa and into India: a View from the Butana Group of the Far Eastern Sahel |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-018-9314-2 |journal=African Archaeological Review |language=en |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=483–505 |doi=10.1007/s10437-018-9314-2 |issn=1572-9842 |pmc=6394749 |pmid=30880862}}</ref> Recent archaeobotanical research has confirmed the presence of domesticated pearl millet on the Sahel zone of northern [[Mali]] between 2500 and 2000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Manning K, Pelling R, Higham T, Schwenniger JL, Fuller DQ |display-authors=3 |year=2011 |title=4500-year-old domesticated pearl millet (''Pennisetum glaucum'') from the Tilemsi Valley, Mali: new insights into an alternative cereal domestication pathway |journal=[[Journal of Archaeological Science]]|volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=312–322 |issn=0305-4403 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2010.09.007|bibcode=2011JArSc..38..312M }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Fuller, D.Q. |year=2003 |chapter=African crops in prehistoric South Asia: a critical review |veditors=Neumann K, Butler A, Kahlheber S |title=Food, Fuel and Fields: Progress in Africa Archaeobotany |series=Africa Praehistorica|volume=15|location=Cologne|publisher=Heinrich-Barth-Institut|pages=239–271 |isbn=3-927688-20-7}}</ref> 2023 was the {{ Visible anchor |International Year of Millets}}, declared by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in 2021.<ref name = "Year" >{{ Cite web |language=en|year=2022|title=International Year of Millets 2023|publisher=United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization|url=https://www.fao.org/millets-2023/en}}</ref>