Geographical Gaps and Diversity in Deenanath Grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin.) Germplasm Conserved at the ICRISAT Genebank

The genebank at ICRISAT, India conserves 134 accessions of Deenanath grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum Trin.) from eight countries. A predicted probability map developed using FloraMap indicated 194 provinces in 21 countries of Asia and Africa as geographical gaps. All aceessions were annual and days to 50% flowering ranged from 43 to 109 days, number of total tillers/plant from 275 to 2,247 and number of productive tillers per plant from 114 to 1261. Accession IP 21821 produced maximum total tillers (2,247) and IP 21850 scored maximum (9) for forage yield potential. Early flowering (43 days) and high tillering (2,247) accessions of cluster 1 were considered as a promising source for early cuttings of green fodder. Mean diversity (H’) for quantitative traits (H’=0.591 ± 0.010) was higher than that for qualitative traits (H`=0.284 ± 0.089). Early flowering, high tillering habit and higher levels of resistance to downy mildew make the Deenanath grass important.