Evaluation of core set for grain yield and quality parameters: formation of mini core in finger millet Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.

摘要

Analysis of 547 accessions of core set of finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) for yield and different yield parameters and also quality parameters like calcium and protein content representing different region of India, Africa, Sri Lanka and Japan. Asian collections exhibited wider range for most of the characters viz. culm thickness, productive tillers/plant, peduncle length, finger number/ear, finger width, grain yield, calcium and protein content, thus representing the whole core set than the African collections. Differences among means of the core set and mini core were found to be non-significant for all the characters. The variances of the core set and mini core were homogeneous for all the traits studied. These results indicate that the mini core derived is a true representative of the core set of finger millet. Shannon-Weaver diversity indices estimated independently for both the core set and mini core were more or less similar to each other indicating that the mini core has retained the diversity for each trait.