ICRISAT's pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) breeding program at Patancheru, India, has developed genetically diverse hybrid parents since 1980s. The present study investigated genetic diversity pattern between two groups of parents in this program, bred till 2004 and developed during 2004-2010. Combined analysis of 379 hybrid parents (current 166 parents and 213 previously developed hybrid parents) carried out using a set of highly polymorphic 28 SSRs detected 12.7 alleles per locus. An average of 8.5 and 8.7 SSR alleles per locus were found in previously developed and current parents, respectively, indicating marginal improvement in the levels of genetic diversity of hybrid parents in this program. Distance matrix differentiated these current and previously developed hybrid parents into 2 separate clusters, indicating infusion of new genetic variability over time as reflected by development of more genotype-specific alleles. Also, the seed and restorer parents were found clearly separated from each other in both the sets with few crossovers, indicating existence of two diverse and broad-based pools in hybrid parents of pearl millet. Restorer parents (R-lines) were found more diverse than seed parents (B-lines), as higher average gene diversity was detected among R-lines (0.70) than B-lines (0.56), though variation between Band R-lines was found reduced in newly developed lines to 9.22% from 16.98% in previously developed lines. Results suggested that newly developed lines were as much divergent when compared with previously developed lines, indicating that current ICRISAT pearl millet breeding program was moving towards development of diverse new hybrid parental lines. The study suggested use of trait-specific donors in Band R-lines separately to maintain sufficient genetic distance between seed and restorer breeding lines. It was pointed out to cross parents having higher genetic distance within the seed (B-lines) and restorer (R-lines) breeding programs to derive diverse and productive hybrid parental lines in future.

Pearl millet is an important food crop in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Iron and zinc deficiencies are widespread and serious public health problems worldwide, including in India and Africa. Biofortification is a cost-effective and sustainable agricultural strategy to address this problem. The aim of this review is to provide the current biofortification breeding status and future directions of the pearl millet for growing nutrition markets. Research on the pearl millet has shown that a large genetic variability (30–140 mg kg−1 Fe and 20–90 mg kg−1 Zn) available in this crop can be effectively utilized to develop high-yielding cultivars with high iron and zinc densities. Open-pollinated varieties (Dhanashakti) and hybrids (ICMH 1202, ICMH 1203 and ICMH 1301) of pearl millet with a high grain yield and high levels of iron (70–75 mg kg−1) and zinc (35–40 mg kg−1) densities have been developed and released first in India. Currently, India is growing > 70,000 ha of biofortified pearl millet, and furthermore more pipeline cultivars are under various stages of testing at the national (India) and international (west Africa) trials for a possible release. Until today, no special markets existed to promote biofortified varieties and hybrids as no incentive price to products existed to address food and nutritional insecurity simultaneously. The market demand is likely to increase only after an investment in crop breeding and the integration into the public distribution system, nutritional intervention schemes, private seed and food companies with strong mainstreaming nutritional policies. The following sections describe various aspects of breeding and market opportunity for addressing micronutrient malnutrition.

The glomerular microcirculation of the remnant nephron is characterized by reduced afferent (RA) and efferent (RE) arteriolar resistances and markedly increased single nephron glomerular plasma flow and filtration rates. We investigated the role of prostanoid production in mediating these adaptive alterations in glomerular hemodynamics after the reduction of renal mass. Acute administration of indomethacin, 5 mg/kg iv in anesthetized euvolemic, Sprague-Dawley rats with intact kidneys led to no significant alteration in renal hemodynamics, whereas in similarly prepared subtotally nephrectomized rats such inhibition significantly reduced remnant kidney glomerular filtration rate from 0.57 +/- 0.07 to 0.45 +/- 0.05 ml/min and single nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) from 93 +/- 4 to 72 +/- 5 nl/min. This reduction in SNGFR was due to diminutions in the glomerular ultrafiltration coefficient (Kf) from basal values of 0.061 +/- 0.004 to 0.050 +/- 0.004 nl X s-1 X mmHg-1 and in initial glomerular capillary plasma flow rate (QA) from 416 +/- 42 to 321 +/- 42 nl/min. The decrease in QA was a consequence of proportional increases in RA and RE. In other groups of animals we demonstrated that urinary excretions of both vasodilatory as well as vasoconstrictor prostanoids per surviving nephron increase several fold in subtotally nephrectomized rats compared with rats with intact kidneys and that administration of indomethacin, 5 mg/kg iv, reduced urinary excretions of both vasodilatory prostaglandins, prostaglandin E and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha, as well as vasoconstrictor prostanoid, thromboxane B2, to the same degrees in both subtotally nephrectomized rats and rats with intact kidneys.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Abstract:Inheritance of fertility restoration of the A 4 system of cytoplasmic-nuclear male sterility in pearl millet was investigated using six crosses between two diverse male sterile lines (A-lines) and three diverse restorers (R-lines). The segregation pattern of male sterile (S) and male fertile (F) plants observed in F 2 , and BC 1 in two seasons at ICRISAT, Patancheru, indicated the dominant single-gene control of male fertility restoration. The segregation pattern in BC 1 F 2 progenies derived from the fertile BC 1 plants evaluated for one season provided further evidence for the single-gene control. The season did not have much effect on fertility restoration. The information on the single-gene control of fertility restoration will help in diversifying the restorer genetic base of the A 4 CMS system and enhance R-line breeding efficiency in pearl millet.

Development of inbred lines with high general combining ability (GCA) is an important aspect of hybrid breeding research. Although broad‐based open‐pollinated populations (varieties and composites) are widely used to assess GCA of inbred lines and population progenies, identification of the most effective testers has remained a continuing challenge. Two broad‐based and diverse populations of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] were crossed with 14 diverse inbred lines in each of two experiments to produce 56 topcross hybrids, which were evaluated along with their parental lines for grain Fe and Zn densities. Results showed that there was highly significant and moderately high positive correlation between the topcross hybrid performance per se (a measure of GCA) produced with the two testers, both for Fe and Zn densities in both experiments. However, the correlation between performance per se of lines and their topcross hybrids averaged over both testers (giving more reliable estimates of GCA than individual testers) was even higher for both micronutrients and in both experiments. Thus, while each tester was effective in identifying 30 to 35% of the top‐ranking high general combiners as reflected in topcross hybrid performance, line performance per se was even more effective in identifying these top‐ranking combiners for both micronutrients in both experiments, indicating that based on performance per se lines can be selected for high GCA of Fe and Zn densities in pearl millet.

SUMMARYNeem (Azadirachta indica juss) seed kernel cake was water treated and dried in the sun. It was palatable to cattle, despite its bitter smell.Twelve growing calves were divided into two equal groups; one group (control) had a standard concentrate mixture consisting of crushed maize 30 parts, groundnut cake 30 parts, wheat bran 38 parts and in the second group (experimental) the concentrate mixture had crushed maize 30 parts, neem seed kernel cake (water washed) 45 parts and wheat bran 23 parts. Both the mixtures had common salt and mineral mixture 1 part each. The roughage fed was the same in both groups.The mean growth rate of calves in 273 days was 403 g/day in the control group and 344 g/day in the experimental group which did not differ significantly (P > 0·05). The dry-matter intake, digestibilities of all the organic nutrients, total digestible nutrient values and the balances of nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus remained similar (P > 0·05) in the two groups. The blood haemoglobin, serum inorganic phosphorus and the activity of serum alkaline phosphatase, serum acid phosphatase, serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase and serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase also did not differ significantly (P > 0·05) in the two groups.It is concluded that water washing of neem seed kernel cake very largely removes toxic principles responsible for retardation in growth.

821ReseaRch M icronutrient malnutrition arising from dietary deficiency of vitamin A and mineral micronutrients such as Fe and Zn has been recognized as a major public health problem, affecting more than two billion people worldwide (WHO, 2002). This problem is particularly serious in the populations of developing countries, relying predominantly on staple cereals for their daily energy and nutritional requirements. Addressing this problem through food supplements and food fortification, especially in the rural areas, is not a practical solution due to poor purchasing power of the consumers and unsatisfactory delivery infrastructure. Diversified food uses and biofortified crop cultivars provide cost-effective and sustainable options to reduce micronutrient malnutrition in these areas. Biofortified crop cultivars offer a rural-based intervention that, by design, initially reach more remote populations, which comprise a majority of the malnourished, and then penetrate Seed Set and Xenia Effects on Grain Iron and Zinc Density in Pearl MilletKedar Nath Rai,* Mahalingam Govindaraj, Wolfgang Helmut Pfeiffer, and Aluri Sambasiva Rao ABSTRACT

Genetic architecture of two commercial open-pollinated varieties of pearl millet (ICTP 8203 and ICMV 221) for grain iron and zinc densities was studied using 160 full-sib progenies each that were developed following North Carolina Design-1 and evaluated for two seasons. Results showed predominantly additive genetic variance and nonsignificant additive gene effect × environment interaction variance compared to large and significant dominance × environment interaction variance for both micronutrients in both populations. This translated into high narrow-sense heritability for Fe (65%) and Zn (86%) in ICTP 8203, and moderate heritability of 45% for both micronutrients in ICMV 221. In comparison, 1000-seed weight, generally assumed to be highly heritable, was predominantly under dominance gene control and had large dominance × environment interaction, giving the narrow-sense heritability estimates of 31% in ICTP 8203 and 13% in ICMV 221. These results, and highly significant and positive correlation observed between Fe and Zn densities, and non-significant correlations of these micronutrients with grain weight suggest that simultaneous selection for Fe and Zn densities in these populations can be effectively made without compromising the grain size.