Division of Genetics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi
†Present address: U. P. Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Kanpur-2
*Part of a thesis submitted by Ziauddin Ahmad in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Ph. D. degree of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
A partial diallel (PDC) analysis of protein content and quality with 22 inbreds of pearl millet and s = 3, excluding reciprocals, was made using circulant design of sampling. The inbreds were selected on the basis of genetic divergence, geographic diversity and a previous knowledge of their breeding value.
Combing ability analysis of the PDC revealed significant differences between parent for their gca for crude protein, tryptophan, methnonine and sulphur contents, indicating possible but limited response to selection in respect of these quality traits. However, the variation due to sea was much more than due to gca for all the characters studied, pointing to the need for breeding hybrids or composites to exploit the non-additive component of genetic variation.
