PERFORMANCE OF PEARL-MILLET ISONUCLEAR HYBRIDS INVOLVING DIFFERENT CYTOPLASMIC MALE-STERILITY SYSTEMS

The performance of pearl millet hybrids involving four sources of cyto plasmic male sterility (CMS), including the most-exploited A(1) source , was compared to evaluate the effects of cytoplasm on grain yield. Th e mean grain yield of hybrids possessing A(2) A(3) and A(4) cytoplasms was either similar to or significantly higher than that of their coun terpart hybrids with A(1) cytoplasm. Hybrids based on A(3) and A(4) cy toplasms produced, on average, 8% more grain compared with those based on A(1) cytoplasm. This suggested that these CMS sources could be use d as alternatives to A(1) cytoplasm to widen the cytoplasmic base of h ybrids. The results indicated that most of the variation in hybrids wa s accounted for by pollinator and cytoplasm x pollinator interactions, suggesting the use of genetically diverse pollinators in pearl millet hybrid breeding.