Inheritance of blast resistance in pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum L.)

Pearl millet blast, caused by Pyricularia grisea (Cooke) Sacc, has recently emerged as a serious disease in India. Two resistant (ICMB 06444 and DHLB 10B) and two susceptible maintainer lines (ICMB 95444 and ICMB 89111) were selected and three crosses were made viz., ICMB 95444 x ICMB 06444 (susceptible x resistant), DHLB 10 B x ICMB 89111 (resistant x susceptible) and DHLB 10 B x ICMB 06444 (resistant x resistant) and generations viz., P1, P2, F1, F2, B1 and B2 of each cross were used to study the inheritance of blast resistance in pearl millet. These were evaluated for disease reaction with artificial inoculation under field (Rahuri and Dhule) and greenhouse condition (Rahuri). The disease reaction of the F1s, and the segregation patterns of resistance in the F2s and backcross generations, showed that resistance to foliar blast in pearl millet is controlled by a single dominant gene.