HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Presterl, T. Articles by Weltzien, E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Presterl, T. Articles by Weltzien, E. Agricola Articles by Presterl, T. Articles by Weltzien, E. Related Collections Germplasm Enhancement Other Forage Crops Other Grain Crops Plant Genetic Resources Crop Genetics

CROP BREEDING, GENETICS & CYTOLOGY

Exploiting Heterosis in Pearl Millet for Population Breeding in Arid Environments

^a Inst. of Plant Breeding, Seed Science, and Population Genetics, Univ. of Hohenheim, D-70593 Stuttgart, Germany
^b International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), B.P. 320, Bamako, Mali

^* Corresponding author (presterl{at}uni-hohenheim.de)

In the desert region of Rajasthan, India, farmers mainly grow pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] landraces. The adoption of modern cultivars is generally low because of their poor adaptation to extreme drought stress. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of six elite breeding populations and three landraces and to determine the heterotic pattern among the 36 diallel crosses of those populations. Field experiments were conducted in eight environments in India. Mean grain yields (GYs) in the three environments with favorable growing conditions were double to threefold those in the three arid environments. The elite populations generally showed higher GY than the landraces; stover yield (SY) was similar in both population types. The landraces flowered earlier, had a higher tillering potential, and smaller seeds. Mean level of midparent heterosis was generally low, ranging from 0.85% for time to flowering (TF) to 6.57% for SY. For GY, expression of heterosis for individual population crosses was between -14 and +30% under drought stress, and between -9 and +17% in the favorable environments. For SY, mean heterosis was always positive and higher than for GY. The elite x landrace population crosses with high mean GY and high levels of heterosis under drought stress could be beneficial to widen the germplasm base and to combine the high yield potential of elite materials with the good adaptation of the landraces.

Abbreviations: AMMI, additive main effects and multiplicative interaction • GY, grain yield • ICRISAT, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics • IPC, ICRISAT pollinator collection • PP, panicles per plant • SY, dry stover yield • TF, time to flowering • TG, thousand-grain weight

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. R. Bidinger and O.P. Yadav Biomass Heterosis as the Basis for Grain and Stover Yield Heterosis in Arid Zone Pearl Millet Hybrids Crop Sci., January 28, 2009; 49(1): 107 - 112. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. G. Gauch Jr. Statistical Analysis of Yield Trials by AMMI and GGE Crop Sci., May 18, 2006; 46(4): 1488 - 1500. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]