RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

esistance and conformity to an established local
grain type class. Other breeding objectives can be
added when testing procedures, or criteria become
better defined, e.g., Striga resistance.
Selection for grain quality should have a high
priority, but not enough is known about physical
and biochemical kernel characteristics and their
relationship to food preparation and taste attributes,
to define precise breeding objectives. Research
is needed to establish criteria to improve grain quality
for storage, dehulling (ease and low percentage of
hulls in the grain), processing, and taste. New foods
and alternative uses for pearl millet grain are also
areas for research.
Long-term basic research should utilize traits
from wild pearl millets and other Pennisetae.
Production Constraints
for Collaborative Research
First Priority
• Soil and water management (includes traction
research and weed control).
• Plant nutrition (includes mineral element fertilization,
interaction with nutrient-efficient varieties,
C / N relationships). Markets (access and
stability).
• Technology transfer and extension (including
seed production and distribution, and fertilizer
availability).
• Bird control (avicides and research into other
protection methods).
Second Priority
• Credit to purchase inputs
• 22ocusts (continued monitoring and early control).
Cooperative Needs
• Regular exchange of breeding stocks and accessions,
especially with ICRISAT regional centers.
• Cooperative regional evaluation trials.
• Research information dissemination network
(ICRISAT's Sorghum and Millets Information
Center, SMIC).
Operational Constraints
• Not enough trained staff (training by INTSOR-
M I L and ICRISAT to continue).
• Insufficient operational supplies (selfing bags,
staplers, insecticides, fungicides, etc. Possible
assistance from ICRISAT).
• Need for more research equipment (threshers,
balances, moisture meters, etc.).
• Inadequate seed storage facilities (short-term
storage for breeding stocks).
Pearl Millet Breeding Research
in Asia
Biological Constraints
Hybrids versus Varieties
The primary breeding priority should be hybrids
because they are higher yielding and there is now an
opportunity to release hybrids which utilize a diverse
range of male-sterile lines. Hybrids should span a
range of maturity groups, with differing adaptations
to specific agroecological zones.
The second breeding research priority should be
open-pollinated varieties.
Disease Resistance
For both hybrids and varieties, the priority for disease
resistance breeding should be downy mildew,
smut, ergot, and rust. This order recognizes both the
economic importance of the diseases, as well as the
difficulties involved in breeding cultivars resistant to
them.
Rust should have a higher priority in male-sterile
lines to avoid problems caused by this disease in seed
production.
Insect Pests
The major insect pests of pearl millet in Asia are
polyphagous, therefore breeding for resistance is
probably difficult and has a low priority.
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