Towards Striga-resistant Gene pool in Nigerian Pearl millet landraces

Parasitism of crop plants by Striga species is a major constraint in the savannah zones of West Africa. A germplasm collection comprised of 240 accessions of pearl millet was screened under natural Striga hermonthica infestation to identify sources of Striga resistance. Data were collected at different time points, specifically at 70, 90 and 140 days after planting for Striga count, Striga vigour and Striga severity. Number of panicles, panicle weight and Grain yield were also measured. The results revealed significant variation in the resistance of pearl millet genotypes to Striga. Fifteen genotypes identified as the most resistant were free of emerged Striga shoots, 10 genotypes supported 14 Striga shoots but with appreciable yield and 15 genotypes with 1-4 Striga shoots and low grain yield. Principal Component and cluster analyses grouped these genotypes into 3 main clusters medium yielding tolerant to Striga, low yielding susceptible to Striga and medium to high yielding resistant to Striga. The high level of resistance observed in some breeding lines enabled the selection of suitable parents for population development.