Exploring the genetic variability and diversity of pearl millet core collection germplasm for grain nutritional traits improvement.

ABSTRACT: Improving essential nutrient content in staple food crops through biofortification breeding can overcome the micronutrient malnutrition problem. Genetic improvement depends on the availability of genetic variability in the primary gene pool. This study was aimed to ascertain the magnitude of variability in a core germplasm collection of diverse origin and predict pearl millet biofortification prospects for essential micronutrients. Germplasm accessions were evaluated in field trials at ICRISAT, India. The accessions differed significantly for all micronutrients with over two-fold variation for Fe (34-90 mg kg^-1), Zn (30-74 mg kg^-1), and Ca (85-249 mg kg^-1). High estimates of heritability (> 0.81) were observed for Fe, Zn, Ca, P, Mo, and Mg. The lower magnit

SUBMITTER: Govindaraj M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7713302 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature