Division of Botany, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi
A project to catalogue and classify a world collection of 1,508 genetic stocks of Pennisetum typhoides S & H and to group them on the basis of genetic criteria was initiated in the month of April, 1963.
Observations on means and variances for early growth vigour, flowering, height, number of tillers, length and girth of the ear, number of seeds per sq. cm. and bristle length and results of screening for green ear disease, smut and rust are summarised. The variability was very limited in the Indian collection particularly for characters which contribute to yield while the Nigerian material is promising for most of the ear characters.
Studies on genotype-environmental interaction both for means and variances for the different geographical groups during the years 1963, 1964, and 1965 for the two locations Delhi and Ludhiana have revealed that the absence of interaction for means is not necessarily associated with the absence of interaction for variances. The Indian lines have shown the least degree of interaction for flowering time and tiller number both for means and variances inspite of their geographical diversity.
