نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 استادیار پژوهش، موسسه تحقیقات اصلاح و تهیه نهال و بذر، سازمان تحقیقات، آموزش و ترویج کشاورزی، کرج، ایران
2 استادیار پژوهش، مرکز تحقیقات و آموزش کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی سیستان، سازمان تحقیقات، آموزش و ترویج کشاورزی، زابل، ایران
3 استادیار پژوهش، مرکز تحقیقات و آموزش کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی خراسان جنوبی، سازمان تحقیقات، آموزش و ترویج کشاورزی، بیرجند، ایران
4 دانشیار پژوهش، مرکز تحقیقات و آموزش کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی اصفهان، سازمان تحقیقات، آموزش و ترویج کشاورزی، اصفهان، ایران
5 دانشیار پژوهش، موسسه تحقیقات اصلاح و تهیه نهال و بذر، سازمان تحقیقات، آموزش و ترویج کشاورزی، کرج، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Introduction
Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) is one of the most important crops in warm and arid regions, playing a key role in food security across arid and semi-arid areas of the world. Due to climate change and increasing environmental fluctuations, the need to develop high-yielding and stable hybrids has become more crucial than ever. Given the nature of cross-pollination and high heterosis potential, the development of hybrid cultivars is the main breeding strategy in pearl millet. Hybrid varieties of pearl millet can significantly enhance both yield and stability under diverse agro-climatic conditions. However, environmental variability causes differential genotypic responses, making it essential to assess genotype–environment (G × E) interactions for selecting superior hybrids in different climate regions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the stability of promising pearl millet hybrids and to identify stable, high-yielding, and well-adapted hybrids for the target regions.
Materials and methods
The plant materials consisted of eleven promising pearl millet hybrids along with the check cultivar ‘Mehran’. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications across eight environments (four locations, Karaj, Birjand, Isfahan and Zabol, during two cropping seasons, 2022 and 2023). The traits evaluated included days to 50% flowering, plant height, panicle length, panicle diameter, number of tillers, 1000-grain weight, and grain yield. Statistical analyses were performed using SAS software, and mean comparisons were conducted using Duncan’s multiple range test at 0.05 probability level. For combined analysis of variance, genotype and location were considered as fixed factors, while year was treated as a random factor. Stability analyses were performed using the Lin and Binns method, rank-based stability parameters, and the GGE biplot model to identify stable and high-yielding hybrids.
Research findings
Combined analysis of variance and comparison of means revealed significant genetic variability among the pearl millet hybrids for all studied traits. Moreover, the effects of environment and genotype × environment interaction were significant (P<0.01) on all measured traits including grain yield. The results indicated that the studied genotypes exhibited both crossover and non-crossover types of interactions. Comparison of grain yield of the studied hybrids showed that hybrids H794 and H824 with 8.41 and 7.81 t.ha⁻¹, respectively, produced the highest grain yield. The results of the stability analysis across eight environments based on the three methods (rank-based, superiority index, and GGE-biplot) demonstrated that two promising hybrids H794 and H824 had the higher grain yield and stability across all studied environments.
Conclusion
This study clearly demonstrated the potential of exploiting heterosis in pearl millet to replace obsolete cultivars with modern high-yielding hybrids. All evaluated hybrids outperformed the check cultivar ‘Mehran’, indicating their superiority for yield improvement. Introducing these promising hybrids could significantly enhance the national average grain yield of pearl millet. Moreover, considering the ongoing water scarcity crisis in the country, the dissemination of high-yielding and drought-efficient hybrids could encourage farmers to cultivate this low-water-requirement crop.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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