Volume 45, Issue 2, April 2025, Pages 321–338
Issaka Ahmadou1, Maïnassara Habibou2, Idrissa Tahirou Hassane3, Datoloum Narcisse4, Boubacar Adamou Djamila5, Issa Hamidou Zakari6, and Maman Issa Yahaha7
1 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du (INRAN), Nig, Niger
2 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du (INRAN), Nig, Niger
3 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
4 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
5 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du (INRAN), Nig, Niger
6 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
7 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
Original language: English
Copyright © 2025 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The identification of parental genetic material that will provide crosses with high heterosis for grain yield and its stability is the most important factor in hybrid millet breeding in the arid zones of Asia and Africa. Self-pollination method along with directional selection was used to develop advanced lines from four improved varieties and landraces: Gamoji, HKB, HKP-GMS, and Moro-R. A total of 131 progenies of S5 to S11 generation were screened along four years under natural downy mildew infestation in Niger. The screening activities occurred in the course of rainy seasons 2021 at Bengou and Tara. In 2022, one treatments’ set (set-1) was evaluated at Bengou and Tara while the second set was tested at Bengou and Kalapaté. Field activities were carried out at Bengou and N’Dounga in 2023; and lastly in 2024 at the four mentioned experimental stations. Entries were laid in RCBD in three replicates regardless the year and the location. There was significant difference between tested treatments for the numbers of days to blooming in the face of their genetic level guarantying hence a selection of good nicking hybrid parents. Forty seven (47) lines including 13 with null disease incidence, 26 highly resistant, and eight resistant yielded as high as the average mean according the experiments. Although the Gam-B lines’ cluster revealed the earliest in general, issued individual plants could play the role of female parents in the development of the future hybrids. Indeed, the group was the shortest in matter of plant height while presenting the maximum grain yield and inherited best resistance to the most disastrous disease of pearl millet. Moro-R offspring would be source of male parents for its overall greatest plant height. Favorable HKP-GMS descendants will be taken as female parents to cross to Moro-R side whereas approving others will be crossed onto the female Gam-B. The variety HKB, a key component in our breeding program should be improved through reciprocal recurrent selection prior to its exploitation in hybrid development.
Author Keywords: pearl millet, hybrid breeding, lines, cluster, inbreeding, genetic admixture, standard deviation, downy mildew, disease resistance, trait, correlation.
Issaka Ahmadou1, Maïnassara Habibou2, Idrissa Tahirou Hassane3, Datoloum Narcisse4, Boubacar Adamou Djamila5, Issa Hamidou Zakari6, and Maman Issa Yahaha7
1 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du (INRAN), Nig, Niger
2 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du (INRAN), Nig, Niger
3 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
4 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
5 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du (INRAN), Nig, Niger
6 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
7 Institut ien de Recherche Agronomique pour le développement (ITRAD), Ch, Chad
Original language: English
Copyright © 2025 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The identification of parental genetic material that will provide crosses with high heterosis for grain yield and its stability is the most important factor in hybrid millet breeding in the arid zones of Asia and Africa. Self-pollination method along with directional selection was used to develop advanced lines from four improved varieties and landraces: Gamoji, HKB, HKP-GMS, and Moro-R. A total of 131 progenies of S5 to S11 generation were screened along four years under natural downy mildew infestation in Niger. The screening activities occurred in the course of rainy seasons 2021 at Bengou and Tara. In 2022, one treatments’ set (set-1) was evaluated at Bengou and Tara while the second set was tested at Bengou and Kalapaté. Field activities were carried out at Bengou and N’Dounga in 2023; and lastly in 2024 at the four mentioned experimental stations. Entries were laid in RCBD in three replicates regardless the year and the location. There was significant difference between tested treatments for the numbers of days to blooming in the face of their genetic level guarantying hence a selection of good nicking hybrid parents. Forty seven (47) lines including 13 with null disease incidence, 26 highly resistant, and eight resistant yielded as high as the average mean according the experiments. Although the Gam-B lines’ cluster revealed the earliest in general, issued individual plants could play the role of female parents in the development of the future hybrids. Indeed, the group was the shortest in matter of plant height while presenting the maximum grain yield and inherited best resistance to the most disastrous disease of pearl millet. Moro-R offspring would be source of male parents for its overall greatest plant height. Favorable HKP-GMS descendants will be taken as female parents to cross to Moro-R side whereas approving others will be crossed onto the female Gam-B. The variety HKB, a key component in our breeding program should be improved through reciprocal recurrent selection prior to its exploitation in hybrid development.
Author Keywords: pearl millet, hybrid breeding, lines, cluster, inbreeding, genetic admixture, standard deviation, downy mildew, disease resistance, trait, correlation.
How to Cite this Article
Issaka Ahmadou, Maïnassara Habibou, Idrissa Tahirou Hassane, Datoloum Narcisse, Boubacar Adamou Djamila, Issa Hamidou Zakari, and Maman Issa Yahaha, “Advancing while identifying constructive lines from West African pearl millet accessions for future hybrid breeding,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 321–338, April 2025.
