Pearl millet is a major cereal in the arid and semiarid regions of Asia and Africa. It is primarily cultivated for grain production, but its stover is also valued as dry fodder. Pearl millet is resilient to climate change due to its inherent adaptability to drought and high temperatures. It is also tolerant of saline and acid soils, and is well adapted to marginal lands with low productivity. Pearl millet germplasm exhibits large genetic variability for yield components; and various agronomic, adaptation and nutritional traits. Open pollinated varieties and hybrids are two important cultivar options, but higher productivity is realized through hybrids. Pearl millet has fewer pest and disease problems compared to other cereals and is suited to different cropping systems. It is highly responsive to improved crop management practices, as witnessed in parts of India where it is grown as an irrigated summer crop that produces higher yields and better quality grain. Pearl millet has high nutritional value in terms of high levels of energy, dietary fibre, proteins with a balanced amino acid profile, many essential minerals, some vitamins, and antioxidants. These play a significant role in prevention of important human ailments such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. There is great potential for harnessing these positive attributes through genetic improvement, improved crop management, and grain processing and food products technologies. These should help to develop greater global awareness of the importance of this crop for food and nutritional security.

No abstract

Multiploid sporocytes" condition was observed in the M2 generation of Pennisetum typhoides raised from seeds treated with 0.3 percent EMS at pH 7. The pollen mother cells in the anther locules were devoid of individual boundaries and aggregated into plasmodium-like masses of various sizes in which the chromosomes were lying in groups. The number of chromosome pairs in these groups varied from 7 to 42 and in a few cases much larger groups were observed. At diakinesis and metaphase I, trivalents and quadrivalents were observed, which suggested that the chromosomes from different cells were in proximity at an early stage. Apparently cytokinesis was suppressed at the premeiotic divisions. Sometimes groups of chromosomes from several nuclei were together at metaphase I, the bivalents and multivalents co-orienting on a single spindle. Then the spindle was many times wider than normal, but the length was not greatly changed. Anaphase I segregation and second division were irregular. The microspores formed were of variable size. Sterility was high. This condition behaved as one controlled by a single recessive gene.

No abstract

Large-scale cultivation of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. F1 hybrids in India has led to increased incidence of downy-mildew (Sclerospora graminicola). There is concern that the A1 male-sterile cytoplasm used in all the hybrids released so far is responsible for this increase. The influence of A1 malesterile cytoplasm on downy-mildew incidence in pearl millet was studied by comparing the disease reaction of 40 pairs of F1 hybrids, each pair carrying respectively a1 male-sterile and normal B cytoplasm. Mean downy-mildew incidence was similar in the hybrids carrying either A1 male-sterile or B cytoplasm. The general combining ability of lines with and without A1 cytoplasm was found to be similar for downy-mildew incidence. These results indicated that in pearl millet A1 cytoplasm is not associated with increased downymildew incidence. The possible danger of using only one source of cytoplasm has been briefly discussed.