Characterization of ICRISAT-bred restorer parents of pearl millet

Abstract

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), primarily grown for grain production on more than 26 million ha in the arid and semi-arid tropical (SAT) regions of Asia and Africa, is a highly nutritious cereal crop with wide agroecological adaptation. India, the largest producer of this crop at global level, cultivates pearl millet on about >9 million ha contributing to more than 90% area of the crop in the Asian region. It is a highly cross pollinated crop, and single-cross hybrids generally give 20–30% more yield than open pollinated varieties (Rai et al. 2006). With the availability of commercially exploitable cytoplasmic-nuclear male sterility (CMS) systems in pearl millet, the national agricultural research system (NARS) and the private seed sector in India focused their breeding programs on hybrid development. This led to the development and adoption of a diverse range and large number of hybrids (>80 in 2011) and now occuping >4.5 million ha area, which is about half of the total pearl millet area being cultivated in India (Rai et al. 2006). The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) also aligned its breeding program to develop promising hybrid parental lines for supporting Asian pearl millet hybrid program