Genetic Diversity and Proximate Grain Quality Variation among Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) Genotypes in North Darfur in Sudan

Abstract

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is an important climate-resilient cereal crop with considerable potential for improving food and nutritional security in dryland regions. This study evaluated 23 pearl millet genotypes for physical and proximate grain-quality traits and quantified the magnitude of genetic variability and expected response to selection. The evaluated traits included 100-seed weight, granule size, swelling power, moisture content, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, crude ash and carbohydrate content. Substantial phenotypic variation was observed among genotypes. The 100-seed weight ranged from 0.5 to 1.7 g, granule size from 1.6 to 10.9 mm³, and swelling power from 1.5 to 1.8%. Moisture content ranged from 4.9 to 6.2%, while crude protein, fat, fibre, ash and carbohydrate contents ranged from 15.4–17.2%, 3.3–4.6%, 7.2–11.6%, 1.0–2.4% and 28.7–34.5%, respectively. The genotype FSN-5 recorded the highest protein (17.2%), fibre (11.6%) and carbohydrate (34.5%) contents, whereas the genotype Sheikan had the highest fat (4.6%) and ash (2.4%) concentrations. Analysis of variance showed highly significant genotypic differences (P < 0.001) for the major proximate traits. Genetic parameter estimates further demonstrated strong genetic control, with broad-sense heritability ranging from 91.5% for crude fat to 99.7% for crude fibre. GCV and PCV were closely comparable, particularly for fibre (37.4 and 37.5%) and ash (37.6 and 37.8%), indicating limited environmental influence on phenotypic expression. Genetic advance as a percentage of the mean was highest for crude fibre (179.3%), followed by ash (122.8%), fat (119.7%) and carbohydrate (63.0%). The results demonstrate substantial exploitable genetic variation for pearl millet grain nutritional quality and indicate strong prospects for phenotypic selection, particularly for fibre, ash, fat and carbohydrate content. The identified variability provides useful opportunities for developing pearl millet cultivars with improved nutritional and processing attributes.