RA 00110.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Striga
Breeding for resistance to Striga should have a low
priority for two reasons: it is a limited problem on
pearl millet in Asia, and breeding for resistance to
Striga in Africa has been difficult.
Grain Quality
To avoid the replacement of pearl millet by other
cereals, priority needs to be given to improving grain
quality. Consumer-preferred characters should have
the highest priority: large and uniform grain size
with a light color. Second priority is milling characteristics:
corneous endosperm and reduced nutrient
loss are the most important. Other priorities include
nutritional quality, total digestibility, food quality,
and storability of the grain and flour.
Alternative food uses need to be examined, including
weaning foods and substitutes for wheat and rice
in processed foods. Future priorities are breeding for
higher protein and oil content.
Abiotic Stresses
Two priorities were identified: breeding for tolerance
to drought stress, and improved ability of the
seedling to merge and establish.
High Input Agriculture and Mixed
Cropping
Breeders should pay attention to input-responsive
genotypes for intensive agriculture, and to genotypes
suitable for mixed cropping.
Forage
The first priority for breeding forage-type pearl
millet is profligacy in early-maturing varieties. The
second priority is for the plant to stay green after
grain filling. There is a need to use P. purpureum
types, which the ICRISAT Genetic Resources Unit
can provide to breeders in Asia. Finally, multiple
species crossing should be investigated.
Agronomic Research Needs in India
Fertility Management
Nonorganic Fertilization
Future research on nonorganic fertilization should
be on need-based fertilization based on laboratory
analysis of field soil samples. Fertilization research
should focus on the entire cropping system rather
than on single crops.
Biological Fertilization
Recent encouraging work on biological fertilization
should continue with both applied and basic work
on nitrogen-fixing organisms, especially Azospirillum,
and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae. Applied
work includes both prediction of and returns to
response to innoculation and better methods of
inoculum production. Basic work includes studies
on the role of the host genotype and the possibility to
modify the system this way, plus additional microbiological
work on species, mode of action, etc.
Soil Management
Further research on land management for more efficient
rainfall use was recommended. This includes
both large scale watershed management for water
harvesting and erosion control, and field-scale land
management to increase the available water. An
additional suggestion was to do research on simple,
low-cost agricultural implements to place seed and
fertilizer and to manage the soil surface.
Crop Management
The group felt that most of the necessary basic work
on crop management (plant populations, row spacing,
etc.) has been done in India.
Systems Research
Cropping Intensity
Another recommendation was for research to increase
cropping intensity utilizing pearl millet, along with
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