long panicles, high-grain density, earliness, Striga resistance and stable yielding across environments. Several accessions were identified as sources for specific traits of interest, i.e. Wide ranges were observed for various traits. Determined by available seed quantity, 74 accessions were characterized together with seven checks in the rainy season 2009 in field trials under low-input and fertilized conditions in Nigeria, Niger and Mali, respectively. in an artificially infested field at one location in Niger. All 81 accessions were evaluated together with 18 checks for resistance to the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. A total of 81 accessions were included, comprising 78 landraces originating from 13, predominantly WCA countries and three improved cultivars. To promote the utilization of West and Central African (WCA) genetic resources of pearl millet, this study aimed at agro-morphological characterization of selected accessions from the pearl millet reference collection, established by the Generation Challenge Program and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Further studies on ensiling and animal feeding would provide valuable information for optimizing forage conservation and animal performance in the WUHs and elsewhere with similar conditions. This study demonstrates that Ouma and KK2 can be established in the WUHs for forage use due to higher biomass production. The in vitro organic matter digestibility differed significantly (P=0.03) 65.87, 59.22, 58.33 and 55.41% for Ouma, Bana, KK2 and LN respectively. The mean metabolizable energy was 7.94 MJ/kg dry matter and did not differ significantly across the varieties (P=0.11). The crude protein content averaged 9.92% and did not differ significantly across the varieties (P=0.83). There was a significant difference (P=0.025) in the mean total forage biomass production in which KK2, LN, Ouma and Bana yielded 16551, 14035, 128 kg dry matter/ha respectively. The results indicated that the varietal mean stem heights differed significantly (P<0.001) whereby LN, Ouma, KK2 and Bana had mean heights of 210.81, 185.72, 177.15 and 145.44 cm respectively. The study was conducted in the Western Usambara highlands (WUHs) in Tanzania between December 2016 and April 2017 (110 days). Experimental napier varieties included Ouma, Kakamega 2 (KK2), Bana and local napier (LN). Field experiments were set to evaluate growth, biomass yields and nutritional contents of four napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) varieties as feed for ruminants. Low pasture biomass production and dry seasons fodder scarcity are among the major challenges affecting productivity of dairy cattle in Tanzania.
This result suggests that germplasm exchange and regionally integrated breeding programmes are important for the identification of widely adapted dual-purpose varieties of pearl millet, particularly in West African drylands. Positive correlation between grain and fodder yields indicate possibility for simultaneous improvement involving the two important traits. Plant height, panicle length and panicle yield showed significant positive correlations with grain yield while days to flowering was negatively correlated. Two stability analyses models consistently indicated that genotypes 10 (SMILBF10), 14 (SMILBF14) and 39 (SMILML5) were widely adaptable across the region. Combined analysis of data revealed significant differences among genotypes and prevalence of high genotype-by-environment interaction effects. A total of 83 open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), five composites, six landraces, one synthetic and five hybrids were evaluated at 14 environments in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal during the rainy seasons of 20. The objective of this study was to evaluate selected genotypes from West African pearl millet breeding programmes, for dual-purpose (grain and fodder) and elucidate prospects for future breeding. Its byproducts also serve as fodder for livestock, especially during dry seasons. Br.) is a cereal crop vital for food security in West and Central Africa.
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