GENETIC DIVERSITY BEHAVIOR OF SOME PEARL MILLET GENOTYPES ACROSS DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS
AYMAN E. BADRAN *
Department Genetic Resources, Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Millet has a mighty adaptation possibility to a biotic stresses which are important parameters of genotypes growing in severe conditions. This study focused on the differential responses of five millet genotypes under two levels of drought with a decrease in irrigation water at a rate of 20 and 40% compared to the natural irrigation rate during two successful seasons in two different locations. Mean performance, tolerance indices and environmental variation under different environments provides good chances for breeders to select genotypes which have high yielding and drought résistance. Based on these parameters, the results of stover and grain yield reliability indicated that Line 1 is the best in the case of desirability of a higher stover while Shandawil cultivar occupies the first place for grain yield. But when considering getting high yield for both stover and grain together, Line 3 was chosen. Therefore, this study focuses on how to make an objective assessment of genotypes under different environments to benefit plant breeders in determining the most suitable and stable genotypes for yield in the presence of successive environmental changes.
Keywords: Millet, drought, breeders, environmental variation, yield reliability.