Genetic divergence of Nigerian and Indian pearl millet accessions based on agronomical and morphological traits

Abstract

The study assessed the genetic diversity of pearl millet accessions grown in Nigeria and India based on morpho-agronomic traits in order to identify genotypes with superior characters which could be utilized in breeding programmes. Twenty-four pearl millet accessions were grown and evaluated for agronomic and morphological traits during the dry and wet seasons of 2015-2016. Data collected on the accessions using standard descriptors were analysed statistically. IP22281 had the highest mean plant height (108.90 cm) while NGB00531 recorded the lowest (61.02 cm). Significant intra-specific variation existed in number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width, number of nodes and internode length, however, stem girth was similar for the accessions. Tillering was generally poor with the highest value (1.60 tillers per plant) found in NGB00531. A significant positive correlation occurred between plant height, number of leaves, leaf length and leaf width. Panicles emerged between 44 and 56 days and NGB00548 had the shortest maturity time. Also, panicle length and peduncle diameter varied significantly for the accessions. The highest grain yield and 1000-grain weight were recorded in NGB00616 and the lowest yield and weight were recorded in IP22269. The principal component analysis grouped the accessions into four clusters, comprising mixtures of Nigerian and Indian members. Similarly, the dendrogram grouped the accessions into two main groups which were sub-divided into smaller clusters with accessions from Nigeria and India in the same cluster. The study concludes that variations in morpho-agronomic and yield characters among the accessions studied could be harnessed for crop improvement. The clustering pattern of these accessions indicated their genetic relatedness, possibly from the same progenitor, but separation by geographical or ecological isolation mechanisms.

Genetic diversity studies for morphological traits in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) landraces of Northern Nigeria

“…Variation in days to anthesis; 66.33 to 90.00 days for early variety and 106.00 to 129.33 days for late variety observed in this study corroborate with the earlier findings of60 days reported for early flowering accessions and 120 days for late flowering accessions in finger millet [22]. These values are higher than the values (ranged of 44 to 56 days) earlier reported Animasaun et al [23], and attributed the differences in anthesis time to photoperiodic sensitivity of the plant [23]. The variation in these results could be attributed to the difference in the response of plant to the environmental condition and the genetic nature of seeds.…”

Multivariate Diversity Analysis for Grain Micronutrients Concentration, Yield and Agro-morphological Traits in Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L) R. Br.)

“…The results indicated the role of traits (specific to each PC) which contributed more towards genetic divergence in discriminating the genotypes of pearl millet. The present study was in agreement with the PCA traits analysis of Kumari et al, (2016), Animasaun et al, (2017), Radhika Ramya et al, (2017, Sangwan et al, (2019) in pearl millet. The Genotype-trait biplot based on two principal components were also generated to represent the two-dimensional view of eleven traits and different genotypes of pearl millet (Fig.…”

“…Genotypes from different source/origin falls under the same cluster, so grouping did not happened on the basis of origin or geographical location. These results are in agreement with the findings of Burson et al, (2015) and Animasaun et al, (2017) who observed that accessions of pearl millet did not necessarily assemble into the same cluster based on their geographical origins. Clustering of pearl millet accessions together regardless of their source supports the possibility of a common progenitor but separation by geographical or ecological isolation mechanisms (Jauhar, 1981).…”

Evaluation of genetic diversity of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) landraces from West Africa using microsatellite markers

“…The diversity of individuals from Senegal was the lowest, whereas individuals of accessions from Nigeria recorded the highest level of diversity. The high level of genetic diversity of individuals of pearl millet accessions from Nigeria confirms reports by Animasaun et al (2017). The high level of genetic diversity of individuals of pearl millet accessions from Nigeria could be due to low level of human selection or outcrossing between cultivated Table 4.…”