Assessment of Diversity in Parental and F1 Populations of Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Aims: Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is one of the cross-pollinated cereals in West Africa. It is cultivated for its grains. However, to date, strategies for selecting pearl millet populations and hybrids are low in West Africa. The objective of this study is to characterize the genetic bases of parental and F1 populations of pearl millet derived from Burkina Faso and ICRISAT gene bank. Place and Duration of Study: A Fisher block design with three replicates was implemented at the Gampéla, Burkina Faso experimental site during March 2025. Methodology: The material plant provides partial diallel crosses that were carried out between three groups of pearl millet from Burkina Faso, Niger, and India. Measurements were taken on 14 quantitative traits and 11 qualitative traits, and analyses were performed using R and XLSTAT software. Results: The analyses reveal coefficients of variation greater than 30% for number tillers of traits, number of productive tillers, weight of 100 seeds, and plant height for both the parental accessions and their F1 offspring. When comparing the two generations, the variation coefficient for the traits in the parents was significantly higher than in the offspring. The correlation matrices showed that the 50% flowering trait is positively correlated with plant height and number of leaves on the stem. Most variables are positively correlated. As for the organization of the groups, the dendrograms showed three distinct groups for the parental accessions and two distinct groups for the descendants. These different population groups can be used to develop population varieties or hybrids with high heterogeneity.