Field Evaluation of Some Pearl Millet Genotypes for Downy Mildew (Sclerospora graminicola) Resistance and Yield

Four tested downy mildew resistant pearl millet varieties were crossed to four tested downy mildew susceptible pearl millet varieties using North Carolina design 11 mating design. Sixteen hybrids and their parents (eight) were evaluated for downy mildew incidence, downy mildew severity and yield in two locations. The parents that were tested resistant to downy mildew were found to be susceptible while the susceptible parents maintained their downy mildew status. The aim of the study was to select hybrids with least disease incidence and high yield. Those that were high yielding have high degree of tolerance for downy mildew disease. From the analysis of variance, highly significant mean squares were observed among the genotypes for all the agronomic characters except disease severity and number of tillers per plot. Mean square of the location × genotype was highly significant for yield and significant for number of panicles per plot. Seven hybrids were found to moderately resistant and high yielding indicating their tolerance to the pathogen.