Assessment of Agro-morphological Performances of 56 Accessions of Pennisetum glaucum with Grain and Fodder Potentials in Niger

Morphological characterization is the first step in studying the genetic diversity of cultivated plants. The present study examined agro-morphological performance of the pearl millet local accessions collected across the Niger country, aimed to: (a) characterize, (b) discriminate morphologically the pearl millet accessions groups and (c) identify the pearl millet genotypes with promising grain and fodder potential. Fifty-six pearl millet accessions collected in the eight Niger regions (Agadez, Diffa, Dosso, Niamey, Tahoua, Tillabéry and Zinder) were evaluated in an Alpha lattice design with 3 replicates in Djirataoua and Kollo localities. Twenty-five specific agro-morphological descriptors were used for this purpose. The data set was submitted to descriptive analyses and indicated wide significant accessions diversity. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed 5 phenotypic groups, and principal component analysis showed 3 components representing 60.45% of total variability. Canonical discriminant analysis indicated 20 major traits of the discriminated phenotypic groups. Group G 1 holds early accessions, with average performances in grain production and low performances in biomass production. Group G 2 holds early accessions, with good performances for grain production and fodder biomass. Group G 3 holds early–late accessions with good grain performances and low fodder performances. G 4 holds both early and late accessions with good fodder performance and good grain performance. Finally, G 5 includes both late accessions with better fodder performances and bad grain performances. These groups can be used as parents in the creation of improved varieties for better grain and fodder production performance. Otherwise, Djirataoua would be ideal for the tested accessions to express their agro-morphological potentials.