Pearl millet stands as an important staple food and feed for arid and semi-arid regions of India and South Africa. It is also a quick supplier of important micronutrients like Fe and Zn via grain to combat micronutrient deficiencies among people in developing countries. India has notably spearheaded advancements in pearl millet production and productivity through the All India Coordinated Pearl Millet Improvement Project. There were 21 hybrids evaluated over arid and semi-arid ecologies of the western and southern regions of India. AMMI and GGE biplot models were adopted to recommend a specific hybrid for the particular locality. A joint analysis of variation indicated a significant genotype–environment interaction for most of the agronomical and grain micronutrient parameters. Pearson’s correlation values dissected the significant and positive correlation among agronomic traits and the negative correlation with grain micronutrient traits. GGE biplot analysis recommended the SHT 106 as a dual-purpose hybrid and SHT 115 as a biofortified hybrid for the grain’s Fe and Zn content. SHT 110 and SHT 108 were selected as stable and high grain yield-producing hybrids across all environments and specifically for E1, E2, and E4 as per the Which-Won-Where and What biplot. SHT 109 and SHT 103 hybrids were stable and high dry fodder yield-producing hybrids across all environments. In this study, the Multi-Trait Stability Index (MTSI) was employed to select the most stable and high-performing hybrids for all traits. It selected SHT 120, SHT 106, and SHT 104 for stability and great performance across all environments. These findings underscored the significance of tailored hybrid recommendations and the potential of pearl millet in addressing both food security and malnutrition challenges in various agro-ecological regions.

Background: Moth bean is a very nutritive and hardy crop, especially for resource poor-arid agriculture. The limited use of cultivars in moth bean breeding resulted into narrow genetic base. This study aimed to diversify the conical genetic base and developimproved cultivars, through molecular (RAPD) and morpho-agronomic characterization of commercially elite moth bean cultivars. Methods: Elite moth bean cultivars (15) were evaluated for 11 morpho-agronomic traits. Eleven RAPD markers were used to amplify genomic DNA and perform molecular characterization.Clustering approach was used for grouping of the cultivars. Result: RAPD markers revealed high polymorphism in 15 elite moth bean cultivars. The polymorphism information content (PIC) values varied within the range of 0.45 to 0.88, with an average of 0.77. The number of alleles at different loci ranged from 4 to 16, with an average of 10 alleles per locus. When employing UPGMA-based cluster analysis, utilizing 11 morpho-agronomic traits, the cultivars were grouped into four clusters. However, when RAPD markers were used, the cultivars were grouped into five clusters. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and Manhattan dissimilarity coefficient fell within the ranges of 0.18 to 0.70 and 0.02 to 0.42, respectively. These values signify the degree of genetic variability within the cultivars. Furthermore, a Mantel test was conducted to examine the correlation between agronomic traits and the RAPD-based matrix. The results showed a negative correlation, but it was not statistically significant.The high PIC values and the successful amplification of multiple loci demonstrate the efficacy of RAPD markers in assessing genetic diversity in moth beans. The study revealed enormous genetic variation among cultivars and crosses can be attempted between cultivars of different groups to create better recombinants in moth bean breeding programmes.

Backgrounds: To increase the accessibility of molecular markers for germplasm evaluation, genetic analysis and new cultivar development in mung bean, cross genera transferability of microsatellites (SSR) was studied. Methods: Forty simple sequence repeat markers developed for adzuki bean were used to amplify genomic DNA extracted from 70 diverse elite cultivars of greengram. Result: All SSR markers (100%) generated repeatable and clear products, signifying a high genomic homology between two species of Vigna. Among the 40 amplified markers, only 11 (28%) were highly polymorphic in 70 diverse elite cultivars of greengram. The polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged between 0.64 to 0.88 with an average of 0.81, while number of alleles ranged with 6 to 12 with an average of 9.27 alleles per locus. The multiple locus amplification and high PIC values indicated the effectiveness of the transferable SSRs in mungbean. Cluster analysis based on UPGMA grouped the studied genotypes into eleven clusters. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficient ranged from 0.17 to 0.46 indicating the extent of transitional amount of genetic variability within the tested genotypes.