Combining Ability of Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (l.) R. Br.] Hybrids Involving Diverse CGMS Lines and Restorers

The experimental material comprised of five female lines, ten male lines of pearl millet, their 50 hybrids developed by line × tester design and one standard check hybrid (GHB 1231). They were evaluated in randomized block design with three replications at Main Pearl Millet Research Station, J.A.U., Jamnagar during kharif 2023 for studies of combining ability of pearl millet. The analysis of variance for combining ability revealed that mean squares due to females and males were significant for all the characters under studied. The result indicates that significant contribution of both female and male toward total variation. The mean squares due to females × males were significant for all the 12 characters under studied except days to maturity. The variance ratio of gca and sca showed that the non-additive gene action was pre-dominant for the expression of all traits studied except days to 50% flowering and days to maturity. Among the parents two female parents viz., ICMA1 95444 and JMSA5 20212 and five male parents like J-2597, J-2569, J-2580, J-2637 and J-2641 were found good general combiners for grain yield per plant. The gca effect of parents indicated that ICMA1 95444 was found good general combiner for all the characters under studied. The highest positive sca effect was manifested by cross ICMA1 94555 × J-2580 (20.53) for grain yield per plant followed by JMSA5 20212 × J-2562 (14.58) and ICMA1 95444 × J-2372 (13.15).