scholarly journals Breeding Biofortified Pearl Millet Varieties and Hybrids to Enhance Millet Markets for Human Nutrition

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahalingam Govindaraj ◽  
Kedarnath Rai ◽  
Binu Cherian ◽  
Wolfgang Pfeiffer ◽  
Anand Kanatti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Poultry Feed ◽  
Food Crops ◽  
Nutritional Security ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Iron And Zinc ◽  
Food And Nutritional Security

Pearl millet is an important food crop in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Africa and Asia. These regions are home to millions of poor smallholder’s households living in harsh agro ecology and reported higher prevalence of malnutrition. Such poor households have few options in terms of food crops, besides the limited markets. Indeed, pearl millet is one of the food crops they continue to grow for their food and nutritional security. Pearl millet is important sources of dietary carbohydrates, energy, protein, and important minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc. Considering inherent high nutritional values and climate resilient nature (drought and heat), demand for pearl millet as food, beside valued for its Stover as a source of livestock fodder, is projected to grow strongly in Asia (India) and Africa (West and Central Africa). Iron (cause anemia) and zinc (cause stunting) deficiencies are widespread and serious public health problems worldwide, including India and Africa. Biofortification is a cost-effective and sustainable agricultural strategy to address this problem. Research on pearl millet has shown that large genetic variability (30-140 mg/kg Fe and 20-90 mg/kg Zn) available in this crop can be effectively utilized to develop high-yielding cultivars with high iron and zinc densities. Both Open –pollinated varieties (Dhanshakti and Chakti) and hybrids (ICMH 1202, ICMH 1203 and ICMH 1301) of pearl millet with high grain yield (>3.5 tons/ha in hybrids) and high levels of iron (70-75 mg/kg) and zinc (35-40 mg/kg) densities have been developed and released. Currently, India growing >70,000 ha of biofortified pearl millet, besides more pipeline hybrids and varieties are under various stage of testing at the national (India) and international (west Africa) trials for possible release. Genomic tools will be an integral part of breeding program particularly for nutritional traits to use diagnostic markers and genomic selection. Clinical studies showed that 200g grains from biofortified cultivar would provide bioavailable Fe to meet full recommended daily allowance (RDA) in children, adult men and 80% of the RDA in women. Till today, no markets to promote biofortified cultivars/grains/products as no incentive price and such products aims to address food and nutritional security challenges simultaneously. The demand is likely to increase only after investment and integration into modern public distribution system, nutritional intervention schemes, private seed and food companies with strong mainstreaming nutritional policies. In the non-traditional regions, this will contribute to livestock and poultry feed industry as spill-over benefits to improve nutrition.

scholarly journals Breeding Biofortified Pearl Millet Varieties and Hybrids to Enhance Millet Markets for Human Nutrition

Agriculture ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahalingam Govindaraj ◽  
Kedar Nath Rai ◽  
Binu Cherian ◽  
Wolfgang Helmut Pfeiffer ◽  
Anand Kanatti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Nutritional Intervention ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Distribution System ◽  
Iron And Zinc ◽  
Micronutrient Malnutrition

Pearl millet is an important food crop in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Iron and zinc deficiencies are widespread and serious public health problems worldwide, including in India and Africa. Biofortification is a cost-effective and sustainable agricultural strategy to address this problem. The aim of this review is to provide the current biofortification breeding status and future directions of the pearl millet for growing nutrition markets. Research on the pearl millet has shown that a large genetic variability (30–140 mg kg−1 Fe and 20–90 mg kg−1 Zn) available in this crop can be effectively utilized to develop high-yielding cultivars with high iron and zinc densities. Open-pollinated varieties (Dhanashakti) and hybrids (ICMH 1202, ICMH 1203 and ICMH 1301) of pearl millet with a high grain yield and high levels of iron (70–75 mg kg−1) and zinc (35–40 mg kg−1) densities have been developed and released first in India. Currently, India is growing > 70,000 ha of biofortified pearl millet, and furthermore more pipeline cultivars are under various stages of testing at the national (India) and international (west Africa) trials for a possible release. Until today, no special markets existed to promote biofortified varieties and hybrids as no incentive price to products existed to address food and nutritional insecurity simultaneously. The market demand is likely to increase only after an investment in crop breeding and the integration into the public distribution system, nutritional intervention schemes, private seed and food companies with strong mainstreaming nutritional policies. The following sections describe various aspects of breeding and market opportunity for addressing micronutrient malnutrition.

scholarly journals Heterosis Effects on Genetic Biofortification of Grain Iron and Zinc in Pearl Millet (Pennisetumglacum L.).

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Shobha Rani ◽  
G. Anil Kumar ◽  
K. Sravanti ◽  
C.V. Sameer Kumar ◽  
S. Maheswaramma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Genetic Enhancement ◽  
Content Ratio ◽  
Cost Effective Approach ◽  
Iron And Zinc ◽  
Grain Crop ◽  
Micronutrient Malnutrition ◽  
Breeding Efficiency

Pearl millet is traditionally a small grain crop, adapted to marginal environments. Micronutrient malnutrition arising from deficiency of one or more essential micronutrients. Crop biofortification is a sustainable and cost-effective approach to address micro nutrient malnutrition, especially in the developing world. It refers to the development of micronutrient-dense staple crops using conventional breeding practices. Availability of traits of concern in improved genetic background greatly enhances the breeding efficiency for the target trait combining with other desirable agronomic traits. The main objective of this study was to determine heterosis for Fe and Zn by using line x tester analysis. Low level of heterosis over mid-parent (MP) for grain Fe and Zn and no hybrid with significant heterosis over better-parent (BP) for Fe and Zn, suggested that there would be little opportunity, if any, to exploit heterosis for these traits. This would also mean that to breed high Fe and high Zn hybrids, these traits will have to breed into both parental lines of hybrids.Based on the results, it can be concluded that there are good prospects of genetic enhancement for grain Fe and Zn content ratio interm of hybrid development in pearl millet.

scholarly journals New cassava germplasm for food and nutritional security in Central Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Tize ◽  
Apollin Kuate Fotso ◽  
Elias Nchiwan Nukenine ◽  
Cargele Masso ◽  
Francis Ajebesone Ngome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Vitamin A Deficiency ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Breeding Value ◽  
Nutrition Status ◽  
Carotenoid Content ◽  
Root Yield ◽  
Nutritional Security ◽  
Food And Nutritional Security

AbstractCassava is a key food security crop in Central Africa, but its production depends largely on the use of local farmers’ varieties characterized by inherently low yield which is compounded by generally high susceptibility to various growth and yield-limiting pests and diseases. Improved cassava genotypes have demonstrated the potential to substantially improve cassava’s contribution to food security and the development of the cassava industry and the improvement of nutrition status elsewhere in Western Africa. Eleven improved cassava genotypes were compared with a local landrace (LMR) used as a check under field conditions over two years in eight locations, grouped in four agro-ecologies in Cameroon. Pest and disease abundance/incidence and damage severity were evaluated. At harvest, root yield and carotenoid content were measured. Best linear unbiased predictors showed the lowest breeding value for LMR with the cassava mosaic virus disease (+ 66.40 ± 2.42) compared with 1.00 ± 0.02% for the most susceptible improved genotype. Two genotypes (I010040-27 and I011797) stood out for having higher predicted fresh root yield means which were at least 16 times greater compared with LMR. Predicted total carotenoid content was the highest (+ 5.04 ± 0.17) for improved genotype I070593 compared with LMR which showed the lowest (− 3.90 ± 0.06%) and could contribute to the alleviation of vitamin A deficiency from cassava-based food systems. Diffusion of high-yielding and nutritious genotypes could alleviate food and nutritional security in Central Africa.

scholarly journals Effect of Last Cutting Dates on Seed Production of Multicut MB-87 – A Variety of Pearl Millet, Pennisetum glaucum (Bajra)

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
A.H. Shah ◽  
H. Karar ◽  
M.S. Farooq ◽  
M.S.A. Bazmi ◽  
G. Nabi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Farming System ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Green Fodder ◽  
Fodder Yield ◽  
Food And Nutritional Security ◽  
Research Institute

Abstract Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is considered an important kharif crop, which is grown extensively in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions, where other crops, like sorghum and maize, fail to produce economic yields. Its grains are valued as human food, while its dry stover makes significant livestock ration in croplivestock farming system. Pearl millets (MB-87), a newly developed variety of Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha, Pakistan, is one of the best pearl millet variety, which gives more than one cutting and helps to cope with fodder lean period, as well as more income can be generated in addition to seed. So, overcome the scarcity period the study was conducted to check the effect of last cutting dates on seed production of multicut pearl millet MB-87 was conducted at Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha, Pakistan, during 2015 and 2016. Following parameters were taken in to consideration, i.e. plant height (cm), stem thickness (cm), number of leaves per tiller, number of tillers per plant, green fodder yield (t/ha), length of head (cm), 1000 grains weight (g) and grain yield (kg/ha). The results depicted that grain yield, i.e. 319.20, was maximum and head length was highest, i.e. 35.13 cm on 20th of August having last date of cut, whereas all others parameters were found to be nonsignificant. Multicut bajra gives three cutting of fodder, followed by seed, as compared with conventional bajra, which gives only one cutting or seed. Therefore, it is more economical for the growers of fodders to grow the pearl millets MB-87 as fodder, as well as for seed purposes. So, it is concluded that for gaining maximum grain yield of multicut pearl millet MB-87 the last cutting date should be 20th of August. In future, pearl millet is likely to play a larger role in providing food and nutritional security.

scholarly journals Iniadi pearl millet germplasm as a valuable genetic resource for high grain iron and zinc densities

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. N. Rai ◽  
G. Velu ◽  
M. Govindaraj ◽  
H. D. Upadhyaya ◽  
A. S. Rao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Atomic Emission ◽  
Blue Staining ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Breeding Lines ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Iron And Zinc

Crop biofortification is increasingly being recognized as a cost-effective and sustainable approach to address the widespread micronutrient malnutrition arising from Fe and Zn deficiencies. Pearl millet as a cereal crop species has higher Fe density than all other major cereals. Earlier studies in pearl millet have shown that breeding lines, hybrid parents, improved populations and composites having high Fe and Zn densities were often based largely or entirely on iniadi pearl millet germplasm. In an attempt to identify additional sources of high Fe density in this group of germplasm, 297 accessions were screened using Perl's Prussian Blue staining, of which 191 accessions (118 from Togo, 62 from Ghana and 11 from Burkina Faso) were re-evaluated during the 2010 rainy and 2012 summer seasons using the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy method. On the basis of the mean performance over the two seasons (environments), large variability was observed for both Fe (51–121 mg/kg) and Zn (46–87 mg/kg) densities. There was a highly significant and positive correlation between the two micronutrients (r= 0.77, P< 0.01). Of these re-evaluated accessions, 49% had higher Fe density than the high-Fe control commercial cultivar ICTP 8203 (81 mg/kg), and most of these accessions also had Zn density ≥ 61 mg/kg (59 mg/kg for ICTP 8203). A total of 27 accessions (20 from Togo and seven from Ghana) having a Fe density of 95–121 mg/kg (1 standard error of difference above that for ICTP 8203) and a Zn density of 59–87 mg/kg were selected as a valuable germplasm resource for genetic improvement of these two micronutrients in pearl millet.

scholarly journals Nutritional Security in Drylands: Fast-Track Intra-Population Genetic Improvement for Grain Iron and Zinc Densities in Pearl Millet

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahalingam Govindaraj ◽  
Kedar Nath Rai ◽  
Anand Kanatti ◽  
Aluri Sambasiva Rao ◽  
Harshad Shivade
Keyword(s):  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Genetic Improvement ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Fast Track ◽  
Nutritional Security ◽  
Iron And Zinc

scholarly journals Pearl Millet: A Climate-Resilient Nutricereal for Mitigating Hidden Hunger and Provide Nutritional Security

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Tara Satyavathi ◽  
Supriya Ambawat ◽  
Vikas Khandelwal ◽  
Rakesh K. Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Nutritional Security ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Hidden Hunger ◽  
The World ◽  
Iron And Zinc ◽  
Semi Arid

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is the sixth most important cereal crop after rice, wheat, maize, barley and sorghum. It is widely grown on 30 million ha in the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of Asia and Africa, accounting for almost half of the global millet production. Climate change affects crop production by directly influencing biophysical factors such as plant and animal growth along with the various areas associated with food processing and distribution. Assessment of the effects of global climate changes on agriculture can be helpful to anticipate and adapt farming to maximize the agricultural production more effectively. Pearl millet being a climate-resilient crop is important to minimize the adverse effects of climate change and has the potential to increase income and food security of farming communities in arid regions. Pearl millet has a deep root system and can survive in a wide range of ecological conditions under water scarcity. It has high photosynthetic efficiency with an excellent productivity and growth in low nutrient soil conditions and is less reliant on chemical fertilizers. These attributes have made it a crop of choice for cultivation in arid and semi-arid regions of the world; however, fewer efforts have been made to study the climate-resilient features of pearl millet in comparison to the other major cereals. Several hybrids and varieties of pearl millet were developed during the past 50 years in India by both the public and private sectors. Pearl millet is also nutritionally superior and rich in micronutrients such as iron and zinc and can mitigate malnutrition and hidden hunger. Inclusion of minimum standards for micronutrients—grain iron and zinc content in the cultivar release policy—is the first of its kind step taken in pearl millet anywhere in the world, which can lead toward enhanced food and nutritional security. The availability of high-quality whole-genome sequencing and re-sequencing information of several lines may aid genomic dissection of stress tolerance and provide a good opportunity to further exploit the nutritional and climate-resilient attributes of pearl millet. Hence, more efforts should be put into its genetic enhancement and improvement in inheritance to exploit it in a better way. Thus, pearl millet is the next-generation crop holding the potential of nutritional richness and the climate resilience and efforts must be targeted to develop nutritionally dense hybrids/varieties tolerant to drought using different omics approaches.

scholarly journals FUTURE SMART FOOD CROPS IN NEPAL: A NECESSITY FOR FUTURE FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SECURITY

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56
Author(s):  
Jiban Shrestha ◽  
◽  
Renuka Shrestha ◽  
Krishna Joshi Bal ◽  
Subash Subedi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Crops ◽  
Nutritional Security ◽  
Food And Nutritional Security
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document