ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PEARL MILLET (PENNISETUM GLAUCUM L.) GENOTYPES USING MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR MARKERS
A strategy for any crop development effort is the effective and methodical use of diversity at the morphological and DNA levels. Three methods for molecular markers (SSR, ISSR and SRAP) and morphological descriptors were utilized to assess the genetic variance between 21 pearl millet genotypes. Genotype samples were collected from seven regions: the United States, Nebraska, Egypt, Niger, Oman, India, Burkina Faso, and Yemen. Significant differences between the genotypes for the characteristics under investigation were found using analysis of variance. The PCV was greater than the GCV for each character in the research. For fresh forage productivity, substantial genetic progress as a ratio of mean and strong heritability were observed. Three major clusters may be formed from the 21 pearl millet genotypes using the Euclidean distance method. The dendrogram, which combined three molecular marker systems with agro-morphological characteristics, separated the 21 Pearl millet genotypes into four main groups. Both sets' genotypes showed a weak except substantial positive correlation (r = 0.303, P < 0.001) between simple matching distance (molecular distance, SM) and Euclidean distance (phenotypic distance, ED). Only the genotypes with the highest fresh forage yield/plant, tillers/plant, and leaves/stem values possessed DNA fragments measuring 249 bp (HB13), 356 bp and 260 bp (HB15), 289 bp (SRAP-6), and 195 bp (SSR-3). Distinct bands were seen among genotypes taken from the same location. Combining agro-morphological characteristics with molecular markers may facilitate differentiation between these genotypes. Pearl millet's agro-morphological traits may also be enhanced via breeding programs that use a range of genotypes.