Understanding mode of gene action governing green forage yield and its component traits in pearl millet

Understanding the genetic control of forage yield and related traits can decide breeding strategies for high-biomass cultivars. In this study, generation mean analysis was used to evaluate gene effects and non-allelic interactions for forage yield and its component traits in pearl millet using two experimental crosses developed by using two high-yielding inbreds IP 18168 and IP 22419 and their six generations (P1, P2, F1, BC1, BC2 and F2) were independently evaluated during Kharif season 2022. Significant variability and the inadequacy of an additive-dominance model highlighted the role of epistasis, with additive × dominance interactions prominent for forage yield and plant height. Dominance and epistatic effects were also crucial for traits like leaf and internode number, leaf length and leaf width. These findings indicated one or two generations of selfing followed by recurrent selection in advanced generations will be useful in enhancing the frequency of genes with increasing effects on green forage yield. Our findings could be helpful in designing the forage pearl millet breeding programs in India.