Abstract
AbstractPositive height‐grain yield relationships exist for many cereals, but cannot be fully used in breeding because of lodging and harvestability problems in tall cultivars. Law et al. (1978) proposed a “tall‐dwarf” hypothesis for wheat, in which the positive effects of minor height genes could be exploited by selecting for them in a major dwarfing gene background. The applicability of this hypothesis to pearl millet was tested by crossing a set of dwarf S1 progenies (from a single population) which varied in height onto two male‐sterile lines. Mean (by S1 pollinator) hybrid grain yield was closely related to mean hybrid height (r2= 0.60) over a range of mean yields of 3.0–3.9 t ha−1 and a range of mean heights of 126–165 cm. The effect of height was expressed as an increase in grain number in one cross and as an increase in grain mass in the other, indicating the importance of background genetic effects on yield‐height relationships in dwarf hybrids. The concept of “tall‐dwarfs” appears to be applicable to pearl millet.
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