Agro‐morphological Characterization of West and Central African Pearl Millet Accessions

Abstract

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] was domesticated in Sahelian West Africa. This highly outcrossing crop is one of the most important staple cereals in the semiarid tropics, adapted to very harsh rain‐fed conditions. Agro‐morphological characterization of local germplasm is very important to better understand existing diversity, ease targeted genetic broadening of breeding populations, and potentially link this knowledge to genotypic information. The objectives of our study were to (i) characterize West and Central African (WCA) pearl millet accessions based on their agro‐morphological traits; (ii) evaluate the possibility to group accessions based on their agro‐morphological characteristics; (iii) determine geographic patterns of phenotypic differentiation; and (iv) derive conclusions for pearl millet improvement in WCA. A total of 360 early‐to‐medium maturity accessions were phenotyped for 12 agro‐morphological traits at six environments in WCA. Wide ranges of all observed traits indicated a high diversity of the tested accessions. Principal component analysis revealed very large diversity within individual countries, especially within Mali and Burkina Faso. Some limited grouping of accessions from Niger, Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, and Mauritania was observed for individual principal component axes. Geographical differentiation and country differences were detected for several traits. The results and data presented in our study reflect WCA pearl millets’ tremendous diversity and adaptability to a wide range of environments and give a sound basis for breeders to select and utilize this germplasm to serve the manifold needs of WCA pearl millet farmers.

Characterization of West and Central African accessions from a pearl millet reference collection for agro-morphological traits and Striga resistance

“…In the case of seedling vigour, the large G × L interaction can be explained by the differences in precipitation among the three locations. Kountche et al (2013) and Pucher et al (2015) also found high G × E interactions for reaction to downy mildew. The downy mildew pathogen is, like pearl millet, highly allogamous.…”

“…The pathogen's virulence can match the resistance of the millet population in regions Table 2). F. T. Sattler et al 268 they occur together (depending on the history of the field), causing the high interaction variance (Pucher et al, 2015).…”

“…Continuous, targeted diversification of breeding populations is important to assure long-term selection gains. Pucher et al (2015) studied 360 pearl millet accessions from 16 WCA countries at six locations in WA. Reported ranges for 13 agro-morphological traits reflected the tremendous pearl millet diversity in WCA.…”

Association analysis of low-phosphorus tolerance in West African pearl millet using DArT markers

“…Genetic diversity based on simple sequence repeat markers in the current West African pearl millet inbred germplasm association panel (WA-PMiGAP) is reported in detail by Stich et al (2010). According to Pucher et al 2015, flowering time is differentiated in pearl millet based on latitude with varieties toward the north being more earlier flowering compared with varieties preferred for the south. This could also be the reason why in the present study controlling for population structure and not so much of kinship was important for FLO.…”

“…Having been domesticated in the Sahelian zone of West Africa (WA; Harlan et al 1976;Tostain 1992;Mariac et al 2006;Manning 2011), cultivated pearl millet displays tremendous phenotypic variability for traits such as flowering time, panicle length, grain and stover characteristics, tolerance to drought, pests and diseases, as well as nutritional value (Bhattacharjee et al 2007;Stich et al 2010;Bashir et al 2014aBashir et al , 2014bPucher et al 2014Pucher et al , 2015. This can be attributed to genetic differentiation as a consequence of many factors including local adaptation, selection and genetic drift, which can lead to non-random distribution of important agronomic traits (Hedrick 2005;Lewis 2010).…”