Grain yield components of pearl millet under optimum conditions can be used to identify germplasm with adaptation to arid zones

Oosterom, E J Van and Weltzien, E and Yadav, O P and Bidinger, F R (2006) Grain yield components of pearl millet under optimum conditions can be used to identify germplasm with adaptation to arid zones. Field Crops Research, 96 (2-3). pp. 407-421. ISSN 0378-4290

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Abstract

There is evidence that high-tillering, small-panicled pearl millet landraces are better adapted to the severe, unpredictable drought stress of the arid zones of northwestern (NW) India than low-tillering, large-panicled modern varieties, which significantly outyield the landraces under favourable conditions. In an experiment conducted in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, during the rainy seasons of 1988 and 1989, we analysed the relationship of arid zone adaptation with the expression, under optimum conditions, of yield components that determine either the potential sink size or the ability to realize this potential. The objective was to test whether selection under optimum conditions for yield components can identify germplasm with adaptation to arid zones in NW India, as this could potentially improve the efficiency of pearl millet improvement programmes targeting arid zones. We used data from an evaluation of more than 100 landraces from NW India (Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat), conducted under both severe drought stress and favourable conditions. The average grain yields ranged from 14 to 182 g m-2. The landraces were grouped into clusters based on their phenology and yield components, as measured under well-watered conditions in south India. In environments without pre-flowering drought stress, the tillering type had no effect on potential sink size, but low-tillering, large-panicled landraces had higher grain yields, as they were better able to realize their potential sink size. In 2 low-yielding arid zone environments which experienced pre-anthesis drought stress, low-tillering, large-panicled landraces had lower grain yields than high-tillering ones with comparable phenology, because of both a reduced potential sink size and a reduced ability to realize this potential. The results indicated that the high grain yield of low-tillering, large-panicled landraces under favourable conditions is due to improved partitioning rather than resource capture. However, under severe stress with restricted assimilate supply, high-tillering, small-panicled landraces are better able to produce a reproductive sink than are large-panicled ones. Selection under optimum conditions for yield components representing a resource allocation pattern favouring high yield under severe drought stress, combined with a capability to increase grain yield if assimilates are available, was more effective than direct selection for grain yield in identifying germplasm adapted to arid zones. Incorporating such selection in early generations of variety testing could reduce the reliance on random stress environments. This should improve the efficiency of millet breeding programmes targeting arid zones.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords:	GE interaction; Grain number; Individual grain mass; Landrace; Panicle size; Tillering
Subjects:	Mandate crops > Millets
Depositing User:	Users 6 not found.
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2011 05:39
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2011 05:39
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/2048
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2005.08.008
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	The Directors of Research of the C. C. S. Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, and of the Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, and the Director, Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, are thanked for the use of research facilities at Hisar, Fatehpur-Shekawati, and Jodhpur, respectively. Messrs Md. Basheer Ahmed and Ram Reddy of the pearl millet breeding unit at ICRISAT are acknowledged for conducting the field experiments. Drs. Graeme Hammer (APSRU/UQ/ QDPI&F), V.N. Kulkarni (ICRISAT), and Vincent Vadez (ICRISAT) are thanked for their useful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.
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