Utilization, genetics, and breeding of small-seeded millets: 1. pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.]

摘要

Pearl millet is grown on 26 million ha and ranks seventh in global cereal acreage. It is the most widely cultivated of all millets and orginated in the Sahel region of West Africa, where it is wide-spread in drought-prone areas. Here also high genetic variability is found. P. glaucum was first domesticated by selection from wild species approximately 3.000 years ago. By means of altering the genetic control of the time of flowering and growth and by improving the tolerance to stress factors, pearl millet was adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. Almost the entire pearl millet area in the USA, India and some African countries is occupied by hybrid varieties where yields have greatly increased in the last decades. Further progress toward higher grain yield, resistance to diseases and insects as well as improvements in quality can be expected in the future by utilizing the genetic variability present in the crop.