Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L). R. Br.] (syn. P. americanum (L.)
Leeke) germplasm from Cameroon was collected jointly by the Internati
onal Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and
the National Cereals Research and Extension Project (NCRE)/Institute o
f Agronomic Research (IAR), Maroua, Cameroon. Of the 1261 samples coll
ected, 888 are pearl millet and 12 wild relatives of Pennisetums. A to
tal of 918 accessions of pearl millet were evaluated during rainy and
postrainy seasons at ICRISAT Asia Center (IAC), Patancheru, India, and
748 at Maroua, Cameroon. Considerable variation was observed for all
the characters studied. At IAC, Patancheru, time to flower varied from
56 to 146 days with a mean of 114 +/- 0.62 days during the rainy and
46 to 128 days with a mean of 67 +/- 0.28 days during the postrainy se
ason. At Maroua, the flowering time ranged from 49 to 112 days with a
mean of 81 +/- 0.34 days. Plant height ranged from 230 to 450 cm with
a mean of 353 +/- 1.52 cm. Spike and grain characters were more stable
compared to flowering and plant height. The expression of spike chara
cters was comparable to evaluation in postrainy season at IAC, Patanch
eru. In Cameroon, farmers classify pearl millet as Yadiri and Mouri, w
hich vary for plant canopy, spike and grain characters. Mouri matures
in about 95-110 days, extensively grown in the low rainfall areas of E
xtreme North province. Yadiri matures in 120-140 days, generally grown
in the high rainfall areas of the North, Adamaoua provinces, and on t
he hill slopes of Extreme North province, Millet germplasm from Camero
on is a good source for more number of productive tillers, large compa
ct spikes, and larger ivory and cream colored grain besides its potent
ial for forage.