Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is grown under both arid and semi-arid conditions in India, where other cereals are hard to grow. Pearl millet cultivars, hybrids, and OPVs (open pollinated varieties) are tested and released by the All India Coordinated Research Project on Pearl Millet (AICRP-PM) across three zones (A1, A, and B) that are classified based on rainfall pattern. Except in locations with extreme weather conditions, hybrids dominate pearl millet growing areas, which can be attributed to hybrid vigor and the active role of the private sector. The importance of OPVs cannot be ruled out, owing to wider adaptation, lower input cost, and timely seed availability to subsidiary farmers cultivating this crop. This study was conducted to scrutinize the presently used test locations for evaluation of pearl millet OPVs across India, identify the best OPVs across locations, and determine the variation in grain Fe and Zn contents across locations in these regions. Six varieties were evaluated across 20 locations in A1 and A (pooled as A) and B zones along with three common checks and additional three zonal adapted checks in the respective zones during the 2019 rainy season. Recorded data on yield and quality traits were analyzed using genotype main effects and genotype × environment interaction biplot method. The genotype × environment (G × E) interaction was found to be highly significant for all the grain yield and agronomic traits and for both micronutrients (iron and zinc). However, genotypic effect (G) was four (productive tillers) to 49 (grain Fe content) times that of G × E interaction effect for various traits across zones that show the flexibility of OPVs. Ananthapuramu is the ideal test site for selecting pearl millet cultivars effectively for adaptation across India, while Ananthapuramu, Perumallapalle, and Gurugram can also be used as initial testing locations. OPVs MP 599 and MP 600 are identified as ideal genotypes, because they showed higher grain and fodder yields and stability compared with other cultivars. Iron and zinc concentration showed highly significant positive correlation (across environment = 0.83; p < 0.01), indicating possibility of simultaneous effective selection for both traits. Three common checks were found to be significantly low yielders than the test entries or zonal checks in individual zones and across India, indicating the potential of genetic improvement through OPVs.

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Pearl millet is traditionally a small grain crop, adapted to marginal environments. Micronutrient malnutrition arising from deficiency of one or more essential micronutrients. Crop biofortification is a sustainable and cost-effective approach to address micro nutrient malnutrition, especially in the developing world. It refers to the development of micronutrientdense staple crops using conventional breeding practices. Availability of traits of concern in improved genetic background greatly enhances the breeding efficiency for the target trait combining with other desirable agronomic traits. The main objective of this study was to determine heterosis for Fe and Zn by using line x tester analysis. Low level of heterosis over mid-parent (MP) for grain Fe and Zn and no hybrid with significant heterosis over better-parent (BP) for Fe and Zn, suggested that there would be little opportunity, if any, to exploit heterosis for these traits. This would also mean that to breed high Fe and high Zn hybrids, these traits will have to breed into both parental lines of hybrids.Based on the results, it can be concluded that there are good prospects of genetic enhancement for grain Fe and Zn content ratio interm of hybrid development in pearl millet.