Journal of Agricultural Studies ISSN 2166-0379 2018, Vol. 6, No. 1 http://jas.macrothink.org 176 Pearl Millet and Sorghum Yield Response to Fertilizer in the Sahel of Burkina Faso Idriss Serme (Corresponding author) Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), O4 BP 8645 Ouagadougou. E-mail: sermeidriss@yahoo.fr Korodjouma Ouattara & Alimata Arzouma Bandaogo Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA), O4 BP 8645 Ouagadougou. Charles Wortmann Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE, USA. Received: January 2, 2018 Accepted: January 23, 2018 doi:10.5296/jas.v6i1.12384 URL: https://doi.org/10.5296/jas.v6i1.12384 Abstract Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) were domesticated in Africa for human consumption and are often the dominant cereals in semi-arid areas where yield is constrained by soil water deficits, nutrient deficiencies, and other constraints. Research was conducted to quantify yield responses and profitability of sorghum and pearl millet produced in the Sahel of Burkina Faso to fertilizer N, P, K, and a Mg-S-Zn-B diagnostic treatment. Mean yields across trials were 1.2 and 0.9 Mg ha -1 for pearl millet and sorghum, respectively. The effects of N, K, the diagnostic treatment, and interactions were not significant for both pearl millet and sorghum. There was a mean curvilinear to plateau response to P for pearl millet and a linear response to P for sorghum. The economical optimal P rates for pearl millet were modest, ranging from 6 to 33 kg ha –1 at 100% of the rate to maximize net returns per ha to P application when the cost of using fertilizer P was high and low, respectively, relative to the grain price (Table 4). The application of P for pearl millet had high profit potential even with a high cost P use scenario.