Summary
High ergot (Claviceps fusiformis Loveless) susceptibility of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) hybrids has often been associated with the A1 cytoplasm of male-sterile lines (A-lines). To understand the underlying basis of this association and to examine the prospects of breeding ergot-resistant hybrids, we evaluated 56 hybrids and their 15 parental lines for ergot reaction and selfed seedset for 2 years in disease nurseries at ICRISAT Asia Center. Hybrids were made by crossing seven pollen parents (2 susceptible and 5 resistant) onto two resistant and two susceptible A-lines, and their four corresponding maintainer lines (B-lines). A-lines had no selfed seedset while B-lines had 32–75% selfed seedset. Hybrids of A-lines had significantly less selfed seedset than the hybrids of the corresponding B-lines. The reduced seedset of A-lines and their hybrids, however, was not always accompanied by significantly higher ergot susceptibility. Highly resistant hybrids were obtained where both A-lines and pollen parents were highly resistant, regardless of male fertility levels of the hybrids. Thus, although the A1 cytoplasm, by its reduction of male fertility, had a large and significant effect in increasing ergot severity of hybrids, the contribution of nuclear genetic factors of female parents was about 1.8 times larger than that of the cytoplasm.
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Submitted as JA No. 1776 by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropies.
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Rai, K.N., Thakur, R.P. Ergot reaction of pearl millet hybrids affected by fertility restoration and genetic resistance of parental lines. Euphytica 83, 225–231 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01678134
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01678134