1. PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF SOME PEARL MILLET HYBRIDS AND THEIR COUSCOUS PRODUCTION POTENTIAL Nkama, I B. C. Hamaker; I. Angarwai;.Hassan, M. J; Diarra.M; and B. Bababe

2. Millet production, utilization  Major coarse grain for human consumption Staple diet to millions Provide calories, proteins, vitamins & minerals Their important as food resource have increased Due to drought in the area of production Grown for food security, marginal land use and economic purposes

3. Millet production, utilization Millet represents less than 2% of world cereal utilization Millet utilization is confined to the developing countries Over 80% of the world’s millet is used as food (over 90% in Asia and Africa) The remainder being used as feed (7% seed, beer, & waste) Per caput consumption of millet varies between countries It is highest in Africa Niger 75%, 30% in Nigeria and other countries, 25% in Namibia and 20% in Uganda

4. Millet production, utilization Pearl Millet is a good source of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals It is processed into several foods such as kunu, fura, ndaleyi, tuwo and couscous among others. Pearl millet production over the last two decades has only increased by 0.7 %. It has been reported that increase in yield by 21% over land races is possible through the introduction of pearl millet hybrids (Andrews et al., 1993). Couscous is an agglomerated, steamed product which is a preferred staple food in many Western African countries

5. The objective of this study Determine the proximate composition of five Pearl Millet Hybrids and To determine their potential to produce acceptable couscous

6. MATERIALS AND METHODS Five Pearl millet hybrids used in this study were obtained from Lake Chad Research Institute, Maiduguri, The proximate composition (moisture, protein, fat, ash and carbohydrate) of pearl millet hybrids and couscous were determined using (AOAC, 1984) methods. Couscous was made from cleaned dehulled millet grain by grinding, sieving to obtain fine flour. The flour was mixed with water to form dough which was passed through a coarse sieve to obtain agglomerates. The agglomerates was steamed on a perforated pot and then dried to safe moisture levels. Their sensory evaluation involved 30 untrained panelists from the University of Maiduguri. The couscous and the control were cooked, using standard methods and the colour, taste, texture and overall acceptability assessed using a 9 point hedonic scale.

7. Table1. Proximate composition of pearl millet hybrids and couscous produced from them Pearl millet hybrids Proteins (%) Ash (%) Fat (%) Moisture (%) Carbohydrates (%) HybridCouscousHybridCouscousHybridCouscousHybridCouscousHybridCouscous LCIC MH 99-39 10.84bc8.13c1.69a0.497c3.912c1.395b6.93a5.49b76.63a84.49bc LCIC MH 99-33 11.12b9.50b1.60ab0.502b4.588c0.944d6.87a5.28c75.85a83.78c LCIC MH 99-10 11.69a8.65bc1.71a0.436bc4.577b1.157c6.48c5.44b75.54b84.27bc LCIC MH 99-12 11.07b6.93d1.68a0.415d4.669ab1.001c6.78b4.94d75.99a86.72a LCIC MV-1 10.42c7.80c1.50ab0.473c5.611a0.980cd6.77b5.84a75.70ab84.91b Control-11.72a-0.740a-2.015a-6.49a-78.25d Values are means of duplicate determinations; Values with different superscript vertically along a column are statistically significant (P < 0.05)

8. Table 2: Sensory evaluation of couscous from some pear millet hybrids Samples ColourTasteTextureOverall acceptability LCIC MH 99-397.3b6.8b7.1b7.3b LCIC MH 99-336.8cd6.9b7.2b6.9bc LCIC MH 99-106.5d6.7b6.5c6.6c LCIC MH 99-127.1c6.4c6.3c6.7c LCIC MV-17.2b6.3bc6.7bc7.0b Control8.0a7.6a7.5a7.9a Values are means of duplicate determinations, Values with different superscript vertically along a column are statistically significant (P < 0.05 )