Feasibility of breeding male-sterile populations for use in developing interpopulation hybrids of pearl milletK NRaiauthorD JAndrewsauthorA SRaoauthorInter!population hybrids of pearl millet\ Pennisetum `laucum "L[# R[ Br[\ have a substantial grain yield advantage over open!pollinated var! ieties that makes them an appropriate and economically viable prop! osition for many African agricultural situations\ provided that stable male!sterile populations can be developed for use as seed parents[ The objective of this research was to examine the feasibility of breeding stable male!sterile populations\ using the d1 dwarf version of Nigerian Composite NCD1 and the A3 cytoplasmic�nuclear male sterility system as a test case[ Results showed that two cycles of recurrent selection for sterility maintenance ability led to the development of a fully e}ective maintainer version of NCD1[ There was no signi_cant di}erence between the original C9 cycle bulk and the C2 cycle bulk "developed from the third and _nal cycle of recurrent selection# for grain yield and other agronomic traits[ The male!sterile population at the third backcross stage\ developed from the maintainer version of NCD1\ had as high a level of stable male sterility as the A0 system commercial inbred male!sterile line 730A0[ Thus\ it is concluded that with the use of the A3 cytoplasmic male!sterile system\ it would be possible rapidly to develop a maintainer version of any population without detrimental e}ects on grain yield and agronomic traits[ Male sterility of populations developed from these maintainers will be highly stable\ paving the way for their e}ective utilization as seed parents in breeding inter!population hybrids[Millets2000Blackwell PublishingArticle