Journal of Biology and Nature

Pennisetum glaucum L. is a climate-resilient cereal crop widely cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions of Asia and Africa, particularly valued for its tolerance to drought, heat and low soil fertility. Despite its agronomic importance, limited progress has been made in characterizing its biochemical traits associated with physiological efficiency and stress resilience. The present investigation was undertaken to assess the putative biochemical diversity that exists among 77 genetically diverse restorer lines of pearl millet for main antioxidant parameters, aiming to identify superior restorer line (s) for use in breeding programmes aimed at developing stress tolerance and nutritional enhancement. Restorer lines were sown during Kharif, 2023 at Experimental Farm, College of Agriculture, RVSKVV, Gwalior in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two replications. Biochemical parameters including chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoids, protein and proline content were quantified from leaf tissues of field grown plants 45-days after sowing employing standard spectrophotometric methods. Considerable variability was observed across all parameters. chlorophyll _a ranged between 8.43 to 15.06 mg g⁻¹, chlorophyll _b 10.23 to 21.72 mg g⁻¹_, total chlorophyll from 9.17 to 34.97 mg g⁻¹, carotenoids 29.60 to 44.89 mg g⁻¹, protein 8.80 to 14.96 mg g⁻¹ and proline 0.08 to 0.27 µg g⁻¹ fresh weight. Restorer lines viz., R-20822, R-25511, R-23906 and R-24666 exhibited superior biochemical profiles, indicating their potential for enhanced photosynthetic efficiency and abiotic stress tolerance. These insights will facilitate the development of stress-tolerant and nutritionally enriched pearl millet cultivars through targeted breeding strategies.