Grain Yield Performance of Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Genotypes in Kebribeya District of Somali Region, Ethiopia.

Abstract

Pearl millet is a staple food source in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia, especially for people living in harsh environments. Despite the importance of millet in dryland agriculture, improved varieties are still limited. In  Ethiopia, only one variety (Kola-1) has been released so far. Therefore,  this experiment was conducted to select pearl millet genotypes with high yield and pest resistance as well as determine the relationship between yield and yield-related traits. It was carried out in rain-fed conditions in the “Kebribeyah” district of the Somali region, Ethiopia. Fifteen pearl millet genotypes were arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance results showed that significant differences between millet genotypes were observed in six traits. There were significant differences (p< 0.05) between genotypes tested for all traits except days to maturity. Grain yield had a significant positive correlation (????2= 0.41) with the number of productive tillers. So lines: HuARC12; HuARC51; and HuARC115 were
selected based on their grain yield potential. Finally, the superior adhesion needs to be tested in multiple environments.