Ten pearl millet hybrids identified for release

Ten pearl millet hybrids have been identified for release in various agro-climatic zones in the country at the 42nd All India Coordinated Pearl Millet Improvement Project (Aicpmip) annual meeting held at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) here recently.

At least eight of these are stated to be based on Icrisat-bred male sterile lines.

Director general of Icrisat, William D Dar, said the institute's partnership with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) started with the development of an open-pollinated variety of pearl millet that was released in 1982.

The large-scale use of Icrisat-bred materials in joint variety and hybrid development, and open recognition of these contributions reflected the success of the partnership.

According to Icrisat, the partnership has led to the development of several high-yielding varieties and hybrids. The quality seed of these hybrids and varieties is made available to resource poor farmers, who are cultivating pearl millet in difficult environments.

The efforts made by pearl millet scientists, farmers, and also by many private seed companies increased the productivity of pearl millet from 400-500 kg per hectare during the 1970s to 800-850 kg hectare in 2005-2006.

The meeting felt that the total production of pearl millet needs to be raised from the current 7-8 million tonne to 11.25 million tonne during the Eleventh Plan period so as to bridge the demand-supply gap.