Diversity of Finger Millet for Crop Improvement in Uganda
Abstract
143 words
Finger millet (Eleusine corocana L), though highly nutritious
and indigenous to Uganda, has not been fully exploited due to
limited breeding efforts, and little information about the diversity
existing within the germplasm collection. This has constrained
breeding efforts and reduced the role played by finger millet as
a food security crop for resource-limited farmers. Developing
stable, adaptable, and high-yielding varieties of finger millet that
include farmer-preferred traits should significantly increase the
adoption and use of finger millet as a basic staple food, and
hence reduce malnutrition among the rural poor. Improvement
of varieties requires identifying parents with diverse genetic
backgrounds. Therefore, the diversity in the existing germplasm
needs to be assessed and to expand it as needed in order to
enhance future breeding efforts. In this study substantial
diversity was documented among both local landraces and
introductions, and patterns of similarity were described.
Subjects
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