ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

II. Pearl millet
Output target 5B.1: At least five salinity-tolerant improved breeding lines/ populations of pearl millet
identified and feasibility of breeding salinity tolerant hybrids assessed (VV/KNR/RB) (2009)
Activity 5B.1.1: Develop salinity-tolerant lines and populations in pearl millet and assess their hybrid
potential under saline conditions
Milestone 5B.1.1.1: Inbred lines and populations identified as salinity-tolerant in preliminary evaluations reevaluated
for their salinity tolerance and yield potential (KNR/RB/VV, 2008)
Four yield trials consisting of 5−70 entries were evaluated at the Agricultural Research Station of the University of
Agricultural Sciences at Gangavathi under saline field condition (10 dSm -1 ). The data are awaited. A trial of 13
entries consisting of five parental lines (3 salinity tolerant and 2 susceptible) and 6 hybrids derived from them, along
with two salinity-tolerant populations, was conducted under non-saline conditions at Patancheru to assess their yield
potential. A hybrid (ICMA 01222 × ICMP 451) based on salinity-tolerant male and female lines had the highest
grain yield (3400 kg ha -1 ) and it flowered in 47 days, followed by another hybrid also based on salinity-tolerant
parental lines (female parent ICMB 95333 and male parent ICMP 451) that had 3355 kg ha -1 of grain yield and
flowered in 48 days. In comparison, the dual-purpose commercial hybrid ICMH 451 (based on salinity-tolerant male
parent ICMP 451 and susceptible female parent 81B) had 3260 kg ha -1 of grain yield and flowered in 49 days.
These two new hybrid, however had lower dry stover yield (3370 and 3320 kg ha -1 ) compared to ICMH 451
(3850 kg ha -1 ). Among the dwarf parental lines, ICMB 01222 had the highest grain yield (1970 kg ha -1 ) and it
flowered in 51 days compared to 1420 kg ha -1 of grain yield for 81B, which flowered in 54 days. However, 81B had
2490 kg ha -1 of dry stover yield compared to 1900 kg ha -1 for ICMB 01222.
KN Rai, Ranjana Bhattacherjee and Vincent Vadez
Pearl millet breeding line testing in farmer’s field in Orissa: We have tested promising salinity-tolerant pearl
millet parental breeding lines in coastal Orissa. There is a large range of adaptation of these genotypes to the area,
and some accessions such as HHVBC Tall, Raj 171, IP 6105, IP 6106, IP 19586 were able to produce over 10 t ha -1
of dry fodder yield in saline field over two cuttings. These results are promising because they provide the potential
to have pearl millet successfully grown in that transiently salinity-affected rice-based cropping system.
Vincent Vadez, L Krishnamurthy and KN Rai
Output target 5B.2: Putative QTLs for salinity tolerance of grain and stover yield identified in pearl millet
(2009)
Activity 5B.2.1: Genotyping and phenotyping of mapping populations for salinity tolerance
Milestone 5B.2.1.1: Putative QTL for salinity tolerance based on 160 RILs from one mapping population
identified (CTH/SS/VV, 2009)
Confirmation of the contrast for salinity tolerance between parents of pearl millet populations: Twenty
parental lines of ten pearl millet mapping populations were tested for salinity tolerance, using the grain yield ratio as
a selection criterion. This was a repeat experiment of the previous year, where 6 pairs of parents showed good
contrast for the grain yield ratio. In the current trial, 4 pairs out of these 6 previously identified confirmed that trend.
Among these, pairs 1 (LGD 1-B-10 and ICMP 85410-P7) and 3 (863B-P2 and 841B-P3) appear more suitable for
molecular marker identification, because of the large phenotypic differences and differences in marker
polymorphism. However, based on the similarity in grain yield under control conditions (43.4 and 47.9 g plant -1 for
841B-P3 and 863B-P2, respectively), and the large differences in their grain yields under salinity, the pair 841B-P3
and 863B-P2 appeared to be the most suitable. We also found two other pairs that showed contrasts for grain yield
ratio.
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