CULTIVAR 41 JOURNAL OF PLANT REGISTRATIONS Registration of ‘Plateau’ Waxy (Amylose-Free) Proso Millet D. K. Santra,* R. F. Heyduck, D. D. Baltensperger, R. A. Graybosch, L. A. Nelson, G. Frickel, and E. Nielsen Copyright © Crop Science Society of America. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Permission for printing and for reprinting the material contained herein has been obtained by the publisher. Journal of Plant Registrations 9:41–43 (2015). doi:10.3198/jpr2013.11.0067crc Received 5 Nov. 2013. Registration by CSSA. 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA *Corresponding author (dsantra2@unl.edu) ABSTRACT ‘Plateau’ (Reg. No. CV-272, PI 672536), a waxy (amylose-free starch) proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) cultivar, was developed by the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station. In addition, faculty and staf from University of Wyoming, Colorado State University, and USDA–ARS, Lincoln, NE, and Akron, CO, assisted in trials and laboratory evaluations. Plateau, tested as 172-2-9, was selected from F 4 progeny of a cross, made in 1999, between ‘Huntsman’ (NE79012/NE7 9017/3/‘Cope’//‘Dawn’/‘Common’) and PI 436626, a Chinese waxy accession. Waxy starch was the most important selection criteria during early generations, and yield was the predominant factor in selection during variety trials. Variety testing data were analyzed using PROC GLM. Mean grain yield of Plateau (1953 kg ha −1 ) was consistently similar to the female parent, Huntsman, the locally adapted high-yielding cultivar, and higher (30–90% higher yield) than PI 436626 (1020 kg ha −1 ), the donor parent of the waxy trait. This line was primarily released for its waxy starch grain and its adequate yield, which was similar to the high-yielding locally adapted proso millet cultivars. D.K. Santra, G. Frickel, and E. Nielsen, Univ. of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center, 4502 Ave. I, Scottsbluf, NE 69361; R.F. Heyduck, Agricultural Research Center, Univ. of New Mexico, P.O. Box, Farmington, NM 87499; D.D. Baltensperger, Texas A&M Univ., Soil and Crop Sciences, 2474 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843; R.A. Graybosch, USDA–ARS, 368 Keim Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583; L.A. Nelson, Univ. of Nebraska–Lincoln, Dep. of Agronomy and Horticulture, 364 Keim Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583. P roso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is the most highly adapted alternative crop in the wheat-based dry- land cropping system that exists in western Nebraska and central High Plains, but its production is restricted due to limited demand for its only current economic use (domestic bird seed) and extreme price volatility (Lyon et al., 2008). he central High Plains is the major producer of proso millet in the United States. European and Southeast Asian countries are the major importers of proso millet from United States, which earns $16 million annually from its export. Proso millet generally con- tributes about $12 million annually to the Nebraska Panhandle economy considering both foreign and domestic market (Lyon et al., 2008). Introduction of a proso millet cultivar with novel end-use characteristics such as waxy starch (amylose-free) will open new opportunities for using proso millet in the food-and- beverage industry (Rose and Santra, 2013; Santra and Rose, 2013). Past evaluations showed that the waxy accessions origi- nating in China would not reliably mature in the High Plains, and because of this, their yields are very low (Heyduck et al., 2008). herefore, the objective was to develop a high-yielding locally adapted waxy proso millet cultivar adapted to the High Plains of the United States. Materials and Methods Crosses between ‘Huntsman’ (PI 578074) and PI 436626 were made in the greenhouse at Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluf, NE, in winter 1999 following the method of Nelson (1984). Pedigree of Huntsman is NE79012/NE790 17/3/‘Cope’//‘Dawn’/‘Common’ (Baltensperger et al., 1995b). PI 436626 (catalogued as ‘Lung Shu #18’ in Germplasm Research Institute of China) is a waxy accession obtained from the North Central Plant Introduction Station at Ames, IA (USDA–ARS National Genetic Resources Program, 2002). F 1 progeny were grown in the greenhouse the following winter Abbreviations: DOY, day of the year. Published December 19, 2014