Apomixis is a naturally occurring mode of reproduction that results in embryo formation without the involvement of meiosis or fertilization of the egg. Seed-derived progeny of an apomictic plant are genetically identical to the maternal parent. We are studying a form of apomixis called apospory that occurs in the genus Pennisetum, a taxon in the grass family. A cultivated member of this genus, ...

Pearl millet is a staple food crop for millions of people living in the arid and semi-arid tropics. Molecular markers have been used to identify genomic regions linked to traits of interest by conventional QTL mapping and association analysis. Phenotypic recurrent selection is known to increase frequencies of favorable alleles and decrease those unfavorable for the traits under selection. This ...

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.], a close relative of Panicoideae food crops and bioenergy grasses, offers an ideal system to perform functional genomics studies related to C4 photosynthesis and abiotic stress tolerance. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) provides a sensitive platform to conduct such gene expression analyses. However, th...

The capability to utilize different forms of nitrogen (N) by sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), and pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) was determined in pot experiments. Seedlings were grown for 21 d without N, or with 500 mg N kg(-1) soil applied as ammonium nitrate, rice bran or a mixture of rice bran and straw. No treatment-dependent changes of root length, surf...

A rare case of laminitis was recorded in an adult camel that was kept in confinement without giving any exercise and fed daily with considerable quantity of pearl millet grains (Pennisetum typhoideus) for more than five months.

Millets are extremely important in the African SAT (semi-arid tropics), produced in 18.50 million ha by 28 countries covering 30% of the continent. This is a significant 49% of the global millet area, with a production of 11.36 million tons by 1994. There are nine species which form major sources of energy and protein for about 130 million people in SSA (Sub-Saharan Africa). Among these, only f...

Before selecting genotypes for nutritional quality characters (protein, oil and micronutrients content) and anti-nutritional factor (phytic acid), it is important to know how much selection is likely to affect yield. Using a diverse range of genotypes, relationships between quality traits with yield and yield attributes in pearl millet were investigated. The number of productive tillers, panicl...

Values of dielectric constant (ε’ ), dielectric loss (ε’’), relaxation time (τ), conductivity (σ) of Pearl millet (HHB 62) were measured at room temperature at four different frequencies viz 4.65 GHz, 7.00 GHz, 9.35 GHz and 14.98 GHz in microwave region, using two point method and employing a specially designed dielectric cell for powders. Also, effect of variation of moisture content on dielec...

pearl millet has tolerance to harsh growing conditions such as drought. it is at least equivalent to maize and generally superior to sorghum in protein content and metabolizable energy levels. thus it is of importance for poultry feeding. amino acid (aa) determination is expensive and time consuming. therefore nutritionists have prompted a search for alternatives to estimate aa levels. traditio...

A finely dispersed cell suspension was obtained from embryogenic calli of two genotypes of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L. Mil cereal). Protoplasts isolated from both cell suspensions divided and produced globular embryoids and calli. On an agar medium, the embryoids were induced to form albino shoots or albino plantlet- like structures