Evaluation of drought tolerance in different genotypes of foxtail millet during the entire growth period

Abstract

Drought significantly affects foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) Beauv.] yield, and its adverse effects can be mitigated via genetic improvement to generate drought‐tolerant varieties. This study aimed to screen drought‐tolerant materials and genes in foxtail millet germplasm resources to improve the efficiency of breeding for drought tolerance. A field experiment was conducted in a randomized incomplete block design (α‐lattice design) and repeated thrice with 30 foxtail millet genotypes treated under drought stress or normal water supply (control) for 2 yr. The agronomic traits and drought tolerance coefficient (DC) of each genotype were assessed during the entire growth period. The soil water environment and genotype significantly affected the indices. Moreover, the interaction between genotype and soil water environment significantly affected the growth traits of foxtail millet. A genotype plus genotype × environment interaction (GGE) biplot revealed mixed correlations among the DC indices. Various indices had different effects on the drought tolerance of foxtail millet. The drought tolerance performance and evaluation indices of foxtail millet were ranked according to the distance from the “ideal” drought tolerance genotype and index. The drought tolerance was classified into five categories according to the comprehensive evaluation index (D‐value) cluster analysis. Discriminant analysis showed that the plant height and spike weight could be used as indices for identifying drought tolerance identification in foxtail millet. The GGE biplot results were consistent with the results based on the D‐value. Therefore, multiple agronomic traits combined with D‐value as an evaluation parameter can effectively and accurately identify drought‐tolerant foxtail millet.

Gene Action and Heritability Estimates in F2 Populations of Foxtail Millet (Setaria Italica L.)

“…Recently, studies also suggested that foxtail millet is promising as anti-hyperglycemic, anti-cholesterol, and antihypertension (Sabuz et al, 2023). Several studies also reported the adaptive nature of foxtail millet to unfavorable environmental conditions and abiotic stresses, such as drought (Xiao et al, 2021) and salinity (Ardie et al, 2015;Akter et al, 2020). Regardless of the colossal importance of this species, foxtail millet still needs to strengthen its crop utilization in Indonesia.…”

Efficient Utilization Mechanism of Soil Moisture and Nutrients with Ridge Film Furrow Seeding Technology of Sloping Farmlands in Semi-Arid and Rain-Fed Areas

“…Drought is the most Agriculture 2023, 13,1940 2 of 13 important abiotic factor limiting global production [2]. The sustainable development of agricultural production in this region has been restricted by natural and human factors for a long time [3]. The reasons can be divided into three factors.…”

The Genetic Variability of Indonesian Local Foxtail Millet Accession Based on Agro-morphological Traits and Early Salinity Tolerance Evaluation Utilizing SiDREB2-based SNAP Marker

“…The nutritional and health benefits of foxtail millet include its low glycemic index (Arora et al 2023), high protein and dietary fiber content, and anti-oxidant potential (Goudar et al 2023). Foxtail millet has also been reported to show comparable tolerance to salinity (Ardie et al 2015;Akter et al 2020) and drought (Xiao et al 2021) stresses, indicating the adaptive nature of the species to adverse environmental conditions. Nahar et al (2018) reported that salttolerant foxtail millet accession could maintain its dry matter and grain yield at the salinity level of 6 dS.m -1 , while Krishnamurthy et al (2014) evaluated 155 foxtail millet accessions under soil saturated with 100 mM NaCl and identified 13 highly tolerant foxtail millet accessions.…”