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The present study was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Bikaner, during the Kharif season of 2023 to evaluate the performance of 21 released genotypes of pearl millet. The research aimed to identify genotypes with superior agronomic traits suitable for the agro-climatic conditions of zone 1C in Rajasthan. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications. Key traits such as plant height, number of productive tillers per plant, panicle length, panicle diameter, test weight, dry fodder yield, and grain yield were recorded. The cultivar KBH 108 takes the longest to reach 50% flowering, while PB 1756 is the quickest. Again, KBH 108 takes the longest to mature, while PB 1756 matures the fastest. Pusa Composite 701 is the tallest cultivar, and AHB 1200 is the shortest. GHB 905 has the most productive tillers, while several cultivars have the least. Pusa Composite 383 has the longest panicle length, and MPMH 21 has the shortest. 86M86 has the largest panicle diameter, and HHB 67 Imp. has the smallest. PB 1756 has the highest test weight, and Pusa Composite 383 has the lowest. Pusa Composite 701 produces the highest dry fodder yield, and PB 1852 produces the lowest. MPMH 17 yields the most grain, while Pusa Composite 383 yields the least. All the characters listed in the table 2 show significant differences among the treatments (different cultivars), as indicated by the mean sum of squares for treatments being significantly greater than the mean sum of squares for error at the 1% level of significance. This implies that the variation in these traits is not due to random chance but due to the genetic differences among the cultivars. Significant variability was observed among the genotypes for all measured traits, indicating potential for selecting high-yielding and well-adapted genotypes for this region. In conclusion, most characters in pearl millet exhibit high heritability and considerable genetic advance, making them suitable for improvement through selective breeding programs. The high genetic advance in some traits like dry fodder yield and grain yield indicates substantial potential for achieving significant gains in these traits through selection. Strong Direct Effects: Productive tillers: 0.854, Panicle diameter: 0.5236. Moderate Direct Effects: Panicle length: 0.3464, Days to maturity: -0.3777, Days to 50% flowering: 0.2122. Indirect Effects: Significant indirect contributions through days to maturity, panicle diameter, and productive tillers for several traits. Negative indirect effects observed in days to maturity and productive tillers.
Keywords: Pearl Millet; Agro-Climatic; Genotypes; PearlMillet
Pearl millet commonly known as bulrush millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.). R. Br. also classified as P. typhoides, P. americanum, or P. spicatum, is a cultivatedsmall-graintropicalcerealgrass.Vernacular namesinclude:“bajra”(India),“gero”(Nigeria,Hausa language),“hegni”(Niger,Djermalanguage),“sanyo” (Mali), “dukhon” (Sudan, Arabic), and “mahangu” (Namibia). Pearl millet is quantitatively the most important millet, with world annual production ∼14 million tons (Mt). It is cultivated mainly in the semi-aridtropics, almostexclusivelybysubsistence and Grain yield is an unpredictable character and reliesuponnumberofcomponentcharacterswhich arequantitativelyinherited.Thus,beforestartingany breedingprogrammes,intensiveinformationonthe natureandgreatnessofgeneticvariabilityisextremely essential. The presence of genetic variability is of utmostimportanceforanybreedingprogrammeand duetothisreasontheplantbreedershaveemphasized theevaluationofgermplasmfortheimprovementof cropyieldaswellasforutilizationinfurtherbreeding programmes.Evaluationofplantgeneticresourcesis apre-requisiteforwhichthefuturebreedingworkis based.Cropimprovementdependsonthemagnitude ofgeneticvariabilitypresentinthebasepopulation. Genetic diversity is one of the criteria for parent’s determinationinthehybridizationprogrammes.The accessibilityoftransgressivesegregantinanybreeding project depends upon the diversity between the parentsassociated. Identificationofhighgrainyield traitsofpearlmilletgenotypesisimportanttofurther breedingprogrammestodevelopahybridsorcultivar. Thisisdonethroughvariabilityandgeneticdivergence analysis.
Thepresentstudyaimstoevaluatetheagronomicperformanceof21releasedgenotypesofpearlmilletundertheagro-climaticconditionsofBikaner,Rajasthan. Thisregionischaracterizedbyextremetemperatures andlimitedrainfall,makingitcrucialtoidentifygenotypesthatcanthriveundertheseconditionsandcontributetofoodandfoddersecurity.
The experiment was carried out at the Agricultural ◦ ResearchStation,Bikaner,locatedat27 1’Nlatitude ◦ and71 54’Elongitude,atanaltitudeof228.50meters abovemeansealevel. Theresearchfarmfallsunder the agro-climatic zone 1C of Rajasthan. The experimentalmaterialcomprised21releasedgenotypesof pearlmillet.Thefieldwasdividedintothreeblocksof equalsize,witheachplotconsistingofsixrows,each4 meterslong. Rowspacingwasmaintainedat60cm, andplant-to-plantspacingwas15cm.Recommended agronomicpracticeswerefollowedtoensureahealthy crop. Observationswererecordedfortenrandomly selectedplantspergenotypeperreplicationforplant height,numberofproductivetillersperplant,panicle length,paniclediameter,testweight,dryfodderyield, and grain yield. Days to 50% flowering and days to maturitywererecordedonaplotbasis.
Theevaluationof21releasedgenotypesofpearlmillet revealedsignificantvariationacrossvariousgenetics andagronomictraits. Thekeyresultsforeachmeasuredtraitaresummarizedfromtable1.Thegenotypes exhibitedarangeof41to50daystoreach50%flowering.GenotypePB1756wastheearliesttoflower(41 days),whileKBH108tookthelongest(60days).Over allmeanofdays50%floweringwere50days.Thedays tomaturityvariedfrom71to90daysamongthegenotypes.TheearliestmaturinggenotypewasPB1756(71 days),andthelatestwasKBH108(90days). Overall meanofdaystomaturitywere80days. Plantheight rangedfrom160cmto211cm. Thetallestgenotype wasPusaComposite701(211cm),whiletheshortest wasGHB905(160cm).OverallmeanofPlantheight was173cm.Thenumberofproductivetillersperplant rangedfrom1.0to1.5. ThegenotypesGHB905and GHB719hadthehighestnumberofproductivetillers (1.5), whilePBseveralcultivarshadthelowest(1.0). Overallmeanofproductivetillersperplantwas1.1. Paniclelengthvariedbetween20cmto30cm. The longestpanicleswereobservedinPusaComposite383 (30.7cm),whereastheshortestwereinMPMH21(22 cm).Overallmeanofpaniclelengthwasobserved26.2 cm.Paniclediameterrangedfrom2.0mmto2.4mm. The genotype 86M86 had the largest panicle diameter(2.7mm),andHHB67Imp. hadthesmallest(2.0 mm).OverallmeanofPaniclediameterwas2.4mm. Testweightrangedfrom8.6gto11.9g. PB1756had thehighesttestweight(11.9g),whilePusaComposite 383hadthelowest(8g).Overallmeanoftestweight was9.4g.Dryfodderyieldvariedbetween1.419kgto 8.852kgperplot. PusaComposite701recordedthe highest dry fodder yield (8.852 kg), and PB 1852the lowest(1.419kg). Overallmeanofdryfodderyield was5.195kg.Grainyieldrangedfrom0.95kgto3.193 kgperplot. Thehighestgrainyieldwasproducedby MPMH17(3.193kg),andthelowestbyPusaComposite 383(0.95kg).Overallmeanofgrainyieldwas1.83kg/ plot.
All the characters listed in the table 2 show significant differences among the treatments (different cultivars), asindicatedbythemeansumofsquares for treatments being significantly greater than the mean sum of squares for error at the 1% level of significance. Thisimpliesthatthevariationinthese traits is not due to random chance but due to the genetic differences among the cultivars. The table indicatesthatthetreatments(differentcultivars)have asignificanteffectoneachcharacter,asdenotedby the ** (significant at 1% level of significance). Let’s analyze each character: for Days to 50% Flowering Treatmentmeansumofsquares(88.89)issignificantly greater than the error mean sum of squares (5.76). fordaystomaturityTreatmentmeansumofsquares (87.71)issignificantlygreaterthantheerrormeansum of squares (5.37). for Plant Height (cm) Treatment meansumofsquares(744.62)issignificantlygreater than the error mean sum of squares (74.63). for Productive Tillers Treatment mean sum of squares (0.07)issignificantlygreaterthantheerrormeansum ofsquares(0.02). forpaniclelength(cm)treatment mean sum of squares (18.17) is significantly greater thantheerrormeansumofsquares(1.68).Forpanicle diameter(mm)treatmentmeansumofsquares(0.11) is significantly greater than the error mean sum of squares (0.01). For test weight (g) treatment mean sumofsquares(4.09)issignificantlygreaterthanthe errormeansumofsquares(0.16).Fordryfodderyield perPlot(kg)Treatmentmeansumofsquares(9.87) is significantly greater than the error mean sum of squares(0.75).ForgrainyieldperPlot(kg)treatment mean sum of squares (1.02) is significantly greater thantheerrormeansumofsquares(0.09)
Thetable3providesvariabilityparametersforvarious charactersinpearlmillet,includingphenotypiccoefficientofvariation(PCV),genotypiccoefficientofvariation(GCV),heritability(H2),geneticadvance(GA),and geneticadvanceasapercentageofthemean(GAas %ofmean).PCV(PhenotypicCoefficientofVariation): Indicatestheoverallvariationinatrait,includingboth geneticandenvironmentalfactors.GCV(GenotypicCoefficientofVariation):Indicatesthegeneticvariation inatrait.H2(Heritability):Theproportionofthetotal variationinatraitthatisduetogeneticfactors.GA(GeneticAdvance):Theexpectedimprovementinatrait fromselection.GAas%ofmean:Thegeneticadvance expressedasapercentageofthetraitmean,indicating thepotentialforimprovementthroughselection.
Table 3 show that all traits exhibit high heritability (above 70%), suggesting that genetic factors play a significant role in their variation. Traits like dry
1 RHB223 43 74 167 1.3 2 PB1756 41 71 165 1.1 3 MPMH21 43 73 163 1.3 4 GHB719 47 77 173 1.4 5 HHB67Imp. 45 75 164 1.2 6 PB1852 56 86 185 1.1 7 PB1705 55 86 169 1.1 8 MPMH17 47 77 164 1.3 9 GHB905 46 76 160 1.5 10 GHB732 51 82 161 1.2 11 KBH108 60 90 162 1.0 12 KaveriSuperBoss 58 88 185 1.0 13 86M86 55 85 168 1.0 14 AHB1269 54 84 168 1.0 15 AHB1200 50 80 149 1.0 16 Dhanshakti 43 73 169 1.0 17 ICMV221 49 79 172 1.0 18 PusaComposite701 53 83 211 1.1 19 PusaComposite383 53 83 209 1.0 20 JBV2 50 80 195 1.0 21 Raj171 46 77 175 1.2 Mean 50 80 173 1.1 C.V. 4.81 2.9 4.99 12.18 S.E. 1.39 4.99 0.08 C.D.(5%) 3.96 14.26 0.23 C.D.(1%) 5.30 19.08 0.31
Table 2. Meansumofsquaresfordifferentcharactersinpearlmillet
1 Daysto50%flowering 2 Daystomaturity 3 Plantheight(cm) 4 Productivetillers 5 Paniclelength(cm) 6 Paniclediameter(mm) 7 Testwt.(g) 8 Dryfodderyieldperplot(kg) 9 Grainyieldperplot(kg) Note: **indicatessignificantat1%levelofsignificance.
fodder yield per plot and grain yield per plot show exceptionallyhighgeneticadvanceasapercentageof themean,indicatingahighpotentialforimprovement through selection. Traits such as days to maturity, plant height, panicle length, and panicle diameter showmoderategeneticadvance,suggestingtheycan also be improved through selection but to a lesser extent.
Thetable4presentsthephenotypiccorrelationcoefficientsamongdifferentcharactersinpearlmillet.The significanceofcorrelationsisindicatedby**(significantat1%level)and*(significantat5%level).Acor-
26.6 2.2 9.2 4.248 2.39 30.0 2.4 11.9 3.890 1.967 22.0 2.3 8.6 4.405 2.22 22.6 2.2 9.4 4.832 2.21 24.4 2.0 8.7 4.733 1.399 25.8 2.6 10.6 1.419 2.21 25.7 2.5 10.8 3.190 1.883 27.0 2.4 8.3 4.243 3.193 26.1 2.3 8.3 4.447 2.691 25.0 2.4 9.4 3.100 2.72 25.5 2.6 8.7 5.733 1.313 28.4 2.6 8.9 8.063 1.705 25.3 2.7 10.0 3.677 1.533 23.2 2.6 11.3 4.747 1.210 25.8 2.4 9.7 5.880 1.730 23.6 2.3 10.6 5.727 1.433 25.7 2.5 10.6 7.050 1.260 30.3 2.3 8.4 8.852 1.500 30.7 2.2 8.0 6.567 0.950 29.5 2.2 8.2 7.040 1.440 26.1 2.1 8.1 7.243 1.400 26.2 2.4 9.4 5.195 1.83 4.96 3.24 4.22 16.64 16.36 0.75 0.04 0.23 0.499 0.172 2.14 0.13 0.66 1.426 0.493 2.87 0.17 0.88 1.908 0.659
11.16 88.89** 5.76 9.54 87.71** 5.37 249.63 744.62** 74.63 0.06 0.07** 0.02 0.54 18.17** 1.68 0.01 0.11** 0.01 0.70 4.09** 0.16 0.51 9.87** 0.75 0.17 1.02** 0.09
relationcoefficientcloseto+1or-1indicatesastrong positiveornegativerelationship,respectively,whilea coefficientcloseto0indicatesnorelationship.Positive correlation:Asonetraitincreases,theothertraittends toincrease.Negativecorrelation:Asonetraitincreases, theothertraittendstodecrease.StrongPositiveCorrelations:Daysto50%floweringwithdaystomaturity (0.9985**),Productivetillerswithgrainyieldperplot (0.7534**),Paniclelengthwithplantheight(0.6342**). StrongNegativeCorrelations: Productivetillerswith daysto50%flowering(-0.5142**),Productivetillers withdaystomaturity(-0.5059**),Grainyieldperplot withdryfodderyieldperplot(-0.5459**),ModeratePositiveCorrelations:Plantheightwithdaysto50%flowering(0.3018**),Paniclediameterwithdaysto50%flow-
1 Daysto50%flowering 10.921 10.561 2 Daystomaturity 6.768 6.558 3 Plantheight(cm) 9.1 8.632 4 Productivetillers 13.526 11.555 5 Paniclelength(cm) 9.41 8.963 6 Paniclediameter(mm) 8.129 7.912 7 Testwt.(g) 12.398 12.157 8 Dryfodderyieldperplot(kg) 34.911 33.564 9 Grainyieldperplot(kg) 31.972 30.546
ering(0.5975**),Dryfodderyieldperplotwithplant height(0.501**),Paniclediameterwithdaystomaturity(0.6014**),Paniclelengthwithdryfodderyieldper plot(0.4191**).ModerateNegativeCorrelations:Plant heightwithgrainyieldperplot(-0.4061**),Productive tillers with panicle diameter (-0.4447**), Productive tillers with test weight (-0.4011**), Test weight with dryfodderyieldperplot(-0.4412**). Understanding thesecorrelationshelpsinmakinginformeddecisions inbreedingprogramstoimprovedesiredtraitswhile consideringtheirimpactonothertraits.
Thetablepresentsthepathcoefficientsofvarioustraits ongrainyieldinpearlmillet.Thediagonalvaluesrepresentthedirecteffects,whiletheoff-diagonalvalues representtheindirecteffectsmediatedthroughother traits.Theresidualeffectindicatestheproportionof variationingrainyieldnotexplainedbythetraitsconsidered.DirectEffects:Thesevaluesareonthediagonalofthematrixandshowthedirectinfluenceofeach traitongrainyield.IndirectEffects:Thesevaluesare off-diagonal and show the influence of one trait on grainyieldthroughanothertrait.
Days to 50% flowering: 0.2122, Days to maturity: -0.3777, Plant height: -0.1213, Productive tillers: 0.854(Strongestpositivedirecteffect),Paniclelength: 0.3464, Panicle diameter: 0.5236 (Strong positive direct effect), Test weight: -0.1063, Dry fodder yield per plot: -0.2739. Strong Direct Effects: Productive tillers: 0.854, Panicle diameter: 0.5236. Moderate DirectEffects:Paniclelength:0.3464,Daystomaturity: -0.3777,Daysto50%flowering:0.2122.IndirectEffects: Significant indirect contributions through days to maturity,paniclediameter,andproductivetillersfor
93.5 10.487 21.04 93.9 10.456 13.089 90.0 29.201 16.867 73.0 0.231 20.334 90.7 4.6 17.587 94.7 0.374 15.862 96.1 2.312 24.556 92.4 3.453 66.471 91.3 1.098 60.118
several traits. Negative indirect effects observed in daystomaturityandproductivetillers.
Daysto50%flowering: -0.2931*(Moderatenegative correlation, significant at 5%), Days to maturity: -0.2813* (Moderate negative correlation, significant at 5%), Plant height: -0.4061** (Moderate negative correlation, significant at 1%), Productive tillers: 0.7534** (Strong positive correlation, significant at 1%), Paniclelength: -0.1654(Weaknegativecorrelation,notsignificant),Paniclediameter:0.0527(Weak positive correlation, not significant), Test weight: -0.0935 (Weak negative correlation, not significant), Dryfodderyieldperplot: -0.5459**(Strongnegative correlation,significantat1%).ResidualEffect:0.3654, This indicates that 36.54% of the variability in grain yieldisnotexplainedbythetraitsconsideredinthis analysis.
In general genotypic correlation coefficients were greater than their corresponding phenotypic correlation coefficients, indicating the preponderance of genetic variance in expression of characters as well as masking effect of environment in modifying the totalexpressionofthegenotypes.Thecorrelationof seed yield per plant was positive and significant at phenotypic level with characters viz., harvest index, numberofeffectivetillersperplant,biologicalyield per plant and test weight. These characters need dueconsiderationduringanyselectionprogrammes. Similarfindingsofpositiveandsignificantcorrelation had been reported by number of workers for seed yield per plant with number of effective tillers per plantbyIzgeetal.2006andBikashetal.(2013)[6,3]. Similarfindingforseedyieldperplantwithtestweight were reported by Abuali and Idris (2012). Bikash
Daysto50%flowering 1 0.9985** 0.3018** -0.5142** 0.1523 0.5975* -0.0351 0.0797 -0.2931* Daystomaturity 1 0.289* -0.5059** 0.1488 0.6014* -0.031 0.0663 -0.2813* Plantheight(cm) 1 -0.3049** 0.6342** -0.1815 -0.3132** 0.501** -0.4061** Productivetillers 1 Paniclelength(cm) Paniclediameter(mm) Testwt.(g) Dryfodderyieldperplot(kg) Grainyieldperplot(kg)
Daysto50%flowering 0.2122 0.2119 0.064 Daystomaturity -0.3771 -0.3777 -0.1092 Plantheight(cm) -0.0366 -0.0351 -0.1213 Productivetillers -0.4391 -0.4324 -0.2604 Paniclelength(cm) 0.0527 0.0516 0.2197 Paniclediameter(mm) 0.3129 0.3149 -0.0951 Testwt.(g) 0.0037 0.0033 0.0333 Dryfodderyieldperplot(kg) -0.0218 -0.0182 -0.1372 Grainyieldperplot(kg) -0.2931* -0.2813* -0.4061** 0.7534** -0.1654 0.0527 -0.0935 -0.5459*
et al. (2013) [1, 3] noticed positive and significant correlationbetweenseedyieldperplantandharvest index.Positiveandsignificantcorrelationofseedyield perplantwithbiologicalyieldperplantwasreported by Kumar et al. (2016) [7]. Nehra et al. (2017) [3] reportedthatseedyieldwaspositiveandsignificantly correlated with harvest index, effective tillers per plant and biological yield per plant. Days to 50 per centfloweringanddaystomaturitywerenegatively significantassociatedwithseedyieldperplant.Similar findinghadbeenreportedbySinghetal.(1999)[12]. Earheadlengthshowedpositiveassociationwithplan height and no. of effective tillers per plant. Similar findings of positive and significant correlation had beenreportedbyIzgeetal.(2006)andAbualiandIdris (2012) [6, 1]. Biological yield per plant was positive andsignificantlycorrelatedwithdaystomaturity,no. ofeffectivetillersperplant,testweightandseedyield per plant. These results are in accordance with the earlierfindingofKumaretal.(2016)[7].Theseresults indicatedthatearlydaysto50%flowering,testweight, numberofeffectivetillersperplant,biologicalyield andharvestindexaretheimportantyielddeterminers inaridregion.Theassociationofdaysto50flowering anddaystomaturitywithseedyieldwassignificant andnegativewhichisdesirableforthedevelopmentof hybridswithhighyieldandearlymaturity.Theresults indicate significant genotypic differences in the key agronomictraitsofpearlmillet.Thesedifferencesare crucial for selecting suitable genotypes for specific
-0.3069** -0.4447** -0.4011** -0.2814* 0.7534** 1 -0.1117 -0.23 0.4191* -0.1654 1 0.5193** -0.2959** 0.0527 1 -0.4412** -0.0935 1 -0.5459**
Table 5. Pathmatrixofgrainyieldinpearlmillet
-0.1091 0.0323 0.1268 -0.0075 0.0169 0.1911 -0.0562 -0.2271 0.0117 -0.025 0.037 -0.0769 0.022 0.038 -0.0608 0.854 -0.2621 -0.3798 -0.3425 -0.2403 -0.1063 0.3464 -0.0387 -0.0797 0.1452 -0.2329 -0.0585 0.5236 0.2719 -0.1549 0.0427 0.0245 -0.0552 -0.1063 0.0469 0.0771 -0.1148 0.081 0.1208 -0.2739
growing conditions. For instance, the genotypes PB 1756 and RHB 223 showed promising results for early flowering and high grain yield, respectively, making them potential candidates for regions with shorter growing seasons or where grain yield is the primaryfocus. Thevariabilityobservedintraitslike plant height, panicle length, and productive tillers canbeexploitedtodevelopgenotypeswithdesired characteristicsfordifferentagro-climaticzones.
Thestudydemonstratedthatconsiderablevariability amongthe21pearlmilletgenotypesforalltraitsrevealedsignificantvariationacrossvariousgeneticsand agronomictraits.Traitslikeproductivetillersandpaniclediameterhavestrongpositivedirecteffectsand shouldbetargetedinbreedingprogramstoimprove grain yield. Negative direct effects of days to maturityanddryfodderyieldperplotsuggestthesetraits might need careful management to avoid reducing grainyield.Indirecteffectsshowthecomplexinterplay amongtraitsandhighlighttheimportanceofconsideringmultipletraitssimultaneouslyinselectionprograms.Highheritabilitytraits:Daysto50%flowering, daystomaturity,andpaniclediameter,combinedwith significantpositivecorrelations,suggestthesetraits canbeeffectivelyimprovedthroughselection.Negativecorrelationswithgrainyield:Traitslikeplantheight andproductivetillershavenegativecorrelationswith grainyield,indicatingthatselectionforincreasedgrain yieldmightresultinshorterplantswithfewerproductivetillers.Positivecorrelationswithgrainyield:Productivetillersshowastrongpositivecorrelationwith grainyield,suggestingthatselectingformoreproductivetillerscoulddirectlyimprovegrainyield