- Fully aligned with the regional priority for Asia, leading to research targeted to hybrid development. - Focused on strategic research and development of improved breeding lines and hybrid parents (A/B pairs and R lines), leaving hybrid development, testing and release to the public and private sector breeding programs. - Grain yield, farmer-preferred traits and downy mildew (DM) resistance as the major selection criteria.

1. Pearl Millet Hybrid Parents Research at ICRISAT:
Strategy, Impact and Research Partnership
Sciencewithahumanface
About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org
ICRISAT’s scientific information: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org
Dec2015
SK Gupta and M Govindaraj
This work has
been undertaken
as part of the
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru 502 324, India
Research Strategy
▪▪ Fully aligned with the regional priority for Asia, leading to
research targeted to hybrid development.
▪▪ Focused on strategic research and development of
improved breeding lines and hybrid parents (A/B
pairs and R lines), leaving hybrid development, testing
and release to the public and private sector breeding
programs.
▪▪ Grain yield, farmer-preferred traits and downy mildew
(DM) resistance as the major selection criteria.
▪▪ Partnership-based approach to research priority setting.
Thus, thrust on dual-purpose plant type targeted for
>400 mm rainfall zone, and a research initiative on blast
resistance, cytoplasmic diversification, forage traits, heat
tolerance and bio fortified grains (high Fe and Zn).
▪▪ Capacity building for partners in NARS and the
consortium seed companies an integral part of ICRISAT’s
pearl millet improvement program.
Output and Impact
▪▪ Strategic research information of long-term applied
value (eg, cytoplasmic male sterility, heterosis, screening
and breeding methods, resistance sources, pathogenic
virulence, heterotic pool formation, molecular marker
development and QTL identification).
▪▪ Diverse range of improved breeding lines and hybrid
parents adapted to various agro-ecoregions.
▪▪ More than 80 hybrids under cultivation on about 5
million ha, contributing to on-farm cultivar diversity and
preventing the outbreak of any major downy mildew
epidemic.
▪▪ Most of these hybrids are from private sector; and at
least 60-70% are based on ICRISAT-bred male sterile
lines (A-lines) or on proprietary A-lines involving ICRISAT
breeding lines.
▪▪ Wider hybrid cultivar base with high yield potential
and DM resistance, leading to increase in pearl millet
productivity (from about 539 kg/ha during 1986-90
to 1,186 kg/ha during 2010-15 registering a 120%
improvement, which is highest among all food crops)
(Figure 1).
▪▪ About 70-80% of the hybrids from the public sector
programs tested in All India Coordinated Pearl Millet
Improvement Project (AICPMIP’s) initial hybrid trials in 2012,
2013 and 2014 were developed using ICRISAT-bred A-lines.
Of the 29 public sector hybrids released and notified during
the last 15 years, 22 hybrids (ie, 75%) involved ICRISAT-bred
A-lines in their parentage (see Box 1).
Figure 1. Five-year moving average for pearl millet
area, production and grain yield in India.
Table 1. Pearl millet breeding lines selected and seed
samples supplied from the scientists field day selections.
Description Field Day (year) Public Private Total
Number of
participants
2012 22 38 60
2014 31 38 69
Number of lines
selected
2012 712 2484 2782
2014 1302 1668 2523
Number of
samples supplied
2012 1304 4941 6245
2014 2677 1339 4016
Box 1. Pearl millet hybrids based on ICRISAT-bred A lines
AICPMIP Initial hybrid trials 2012 2013 2014 Total
Total hybrids tested 82 79 92 253
No. of public sector hybrids 43 39 48 130
No. of public sector hybrids
based on ICRISAT-bred A lines
28 27 40 95
Public sector hybrids notified during 2000-2014
No. of hybrids 29
Hybrids based on ICRISAT-bred
A lines
22
ICRISAT’s consortium approach to hybrid
parents research: What does it deliver?
▪▪ Enhances research capacity at ICRISAT arising from
partnership with and funding support from consortium
seed companies, which in turn, leads to large scale
selection of breeding materials and hybrid parents and
thus contributes to the diversification of the genetic
base of breeding programs both in the public and
private sectors (Table 1).
▪▪ Provides a platform for the seed companies to present
their observations, voice their concerns and generate
an institutional response to address those concerns
(eg, blast virulence, panicle compactness, heat
tolerance and forage traits).
▪▪ Provides a number of the specialized services
(eg, screening of private sector lines and hybrids for
resistance to specific types of downy mildew, blast and
rust, for grain Fe and Zn content).
▪▪ Provides specialized training in breeding, pathology
and molecular marker technology through structured
programs. Also provides technical guidance.
▪▪ Supports nucleus seed supply.
▪▪ Facilitates networking.
ICRISAT appreciates the support of CGIAR donors to
help overcome poverty, malnutrition and environmental
degradation in the harshest dryland regions of the
world. See http://10.3.1.36:8080/icrisat-donors.htm
for full list of donors.
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Area (m ha) Production (m t) Yield (kg./ha)
Area(mha)/Production(mt)
GrainYield()
Year
Kgha-1