Agronomic Performance and Trait Variation among Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) Accessions in the Northern Savanna Zone of Côte d'Ivoire
Tâh Valentin Félix N’guettia
*
Laboratory for Environment, Climate, Health, Engineering, and Sustainable Development (LECSI2D), Department of Plant Biology, Plant Physiology Unit (UPR), Faculty of Biological Sciences, Peleforo GON Coulibaly University, P.O. Box 1328, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire.
Laopé Ambroise Casimir Siéné
Laboratory for Environment, Climate, Health, Engineering, and Sustainable Development (LECSI2D), Department of Plant Biology, Plant Physiology Unit (UPR), Faculty of Biological Sciences, Peleforo GON Coulibaly University, P.O. Box 1328, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire.
Inoussa Drabo
International Maize and Wheat Research Center (CIMMYT), P.O. Box 3320, Escale Thies BP 3320, Senegal.
Mariame Condé
Laboratory for Environment, Climate, Health, Engineering, and Sustainable Development (LECSI2D), Department of Plant Biology, Plant Physiology Unit (UPR), Faculty of Biological Sciences, Peleforo GON Coulibaly University, P.O. Box 1328, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire.
Aya Kan Marie Louise Kouamé
Laboratory for Environment, Climate, Health, Engineering, and Sustainable Development (LECSI2D), Department of Plant Biology, Plant Physiology Unit (UPR), Faculty of Biological Sciences, Peleforo GON Coulibaly University, P.O. Box 1328, Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) is an important cereal crop that contributes substantially to food security in northern Côte d’Ivoire. However, its production remains constrained by increasing climate variability and the limited availability of high-performing cultivars adapted to local agroecological conditions.
Objective: This study evaluated the agronomic performance and agromorphological diversity of 117 pearl millet accessions grown at Korhogo, Ferkessédougou, and Tengréla during the 2023 and 2024 cropping seasons.
Methods: The plant materials comprised 25 introduced accessions, including 15 from Burkina Faso and 10 from Senegal, and 92 locally collected accessions from northern Côte d’Ivoire. The experiment was established using an alpha-lattice design with three replications at each study location. Data were collected on phenological, morphological, yield, and yield-component traits. The resulting data were analysed using descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, principal component analysis, ascending hierarchical classification, and discriminant factor analysis.
Results: Significant variation was observed among the evaluated accessions for the measured agronomic traits. The first three principal components accounted for 88.18% of the total agromorphological variation, demonstrating substantial diversity within the germplasm. Hierarchical classification separated the accessions into four distinct groups. Group 1 comprised early-maturing accessions with a mean growth cycle of 86.78 days, whereas Group 3 contained late-maturing accessions with a mean cycle of 146.36 days. Groups 2 and 4 consisted of intermediate-maturing accessions with mean growth cycles ranging from 113.55 to 115.04 days. Group 2, comprising accessions A160, A161, and A162, exhibited the strongest agronomic performance, recording a mean grain yield of 3.52 t ha⁻¹. In contrast, the remaining groups produced mean yields below 1.0 t ha⁻¹. Discriminant factor analysis supported the classification pattern, with an overall cross-validation accuracy of 89.66%, and identified the principal traits responsible for differentiation among groups.
Conclusion: The intermediate-maturing accessions A160, A161, and A162 represent promising genetic materials for further multi-environment evaluation, varietal development, and pearl millet improvement programmes in northern Côte d’Ivoire.
Keywords: Pearl millet, agromorphological diversity, agronomic performance, genetic resources, phenology, grain yield, multivariate analysis, climate variability, varietal selection