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Exotic Germplasm for Improving Grain Yield and Growth Rate in Pearl Millet¹

The potential of a germplasm source for improving certain productivity traits in a crop may be assessed by mating representative genotypes of the potential sources to the crop species or by measuring traits on the various genotypes per se. In this study, to evaluate the potential of three exotic strains of pearl millet [Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leekel to improve the grain yield and growth rate of cultivated pearl millet, a primitive landrace, a weedy relative, and a wild relative, were mated with two pearl millet inbred lines in a mating scheme designed to evaluate both the variability within the exotic strains and the progeny from their matings with the inbred lines. The experiment was evaluated in the rainy season of 1982 at Patancheru, India. The introgressed progeny were evaluated for grain yield and growth rate. The results of the study indicated that it was possible to select lines with transgressively increased grain yield and growth rate in all the matings. The exotic strain with the most potential to improve growth rate in pearl millet inbreds was the wild accession. The best exotic parents for improving grain yield (based upon a number of criteria) were the primitive landrace and the weedy relative.

Key Words: Introgression • Pennisetum americanum • Transgressive segregation • Genetic variances

² Former research scholar, ICRISAT, and graduate assistant, Iowa State Univ. (currently, assistant professor ofa onomy, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS); former leader PearyMillet Improvement Program, ICRISAT (currently, assistant professor of agronomy, Univ. Nebraska, Lincoln, NE); and C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agnculture, Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA 5001 1.

Received for publication July 17, 1985.

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