G83-648 Wild Proso Millet (Revised April 1992)

This NebGuide describes wild proso millet and its life cycle and provides recommendations for control. Wild proso millet (Panicum millaceum L.) is one of the fastest spreading weeds in the corn belt. In the early 1970s, wild proso millet was found in a few isolated corn fields in Wisconsin. By 1987 wild proso millet had infested over one million acres in Wisconsin, had infested most of the southern corn-growing counties in Minnesota, and was present in Iowa, North and South Dakota, Illinois, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. In Nebraska, wild proso millet was found first in a small area in Scotts Bluff and Morrill counties in 1978. Since then the weed has spread rapidly in the North Platte River Valley, and has progressed into central Nebraska. The seed of wild proso millet can be distributed by irrigation water, harvesting equipment, waterfowl, and livestock. With these avenues of seed dispersal to spread wild proso millet, it is conceivable this weed could spread throughout the state