Disease Resistance and Morphologic Traits of Pearl Millet Landraces from South Burkina Faso

Abstract

Disease resistance and morphologic traits of 106 landraces of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] collected in south Burkina Faso were evaluated to distinguish potentially different sources of resistance. Selfed (S1) plants were inoculated with isolates of Pyricularia grisea (Cooke) Sacc. (leaf spot), Puccinia substriata Ellis & Barth. var. indica (rust), and Moesziomyces penicillariae (Bref.) Vánky (smut) collected in Georgia. Height and flowering dates of greenhouse‐grown S0 plants, S1 seed characteristics, and frequencies of chlorophyll‐deficient S1 seedlings were evaluated. Among landraces, the frequency of plants resistant to Py. grisea ranged from 51.9 to 99.1% (x = 82.5%). Frequencies of plants resistant to Pu. substriata ranged from 0 to 44.2% (x = 10.1%). Differences in resistance to M. penicillariae existed among the landraces. Percent smutted florets ranged from 0.8 to 8.4% (x = 4.2%). Seed set in the smut evaluation averaged 24.3% and was correlated with smut infection. In the greenhouse, S0 plant height and days to flowering averaged 2.3 m and 60.4 d, respectively. Seed color was generally light gray; seeds were typhoides shaped, with a mean 100‐seed weight of 1.20 g. Five clusters of phenotypic diversity were identified among the landraces by principal component and cluster analyses, and several potentially different sources of disease resistance were identified. Nine pairs of the landraces and an additional landrace clustered with one of the pairs may be duplicate accessions.