Exploring Agro-Morphological and Biochemical Diversity in Proso Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) Germplasm in Mid Hills of Uttarakhand, India

Millets, including proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), are drought-tolerant cereals crucial for food security, thriving on marginal soils with low inputs and erratic rainfall, making them essential for dryland agriculture. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the genetic variability and identify promising germplasm of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) for agro-morphological traits, disease resistance and biochemical characteristics under mid-hill conditions of Uttarakhand. A total of 22 germplasm lines, including one local check (PRC-1), were evaluated using a Randomized Block Design with three replications. Observations were recorded for important quantitative traits such as productive tillers, days to 50% flowering, panicle length, plant height, number of leaves per plant, days to maturity, grain yield and 1000-seed weight. Qualitative characters including leaf colour, leaf type and panicle type were also documented. The germplasm lines were also screened against major endemic diseases viz., leaf blast and leaf blight, under natural field conditions. The results revealed considerable variability among the 22 germplasm for most of the traits studied. Grain yield ranged from 128.77 to 342.30 kg ha⁻¹, with GP-14 recording the highest yield followed by GP-7, GP-16 and GP-8. Whereas, the maximum 1000-seed weight was recorded in GP-8 (6.85 g). Disease screening indicated that GP-14 and GP-16 were highly resistant to leaf blast, while GP-7, GP-8 and GP-16 showed high resistance to leaf blight. Biochemical analysis also revealed variation in seed quality, where GP-14 showed lower electrical conductivity indicating better seed vigour, URC-1-17 recorded higher dehydrogenase activity, and GP-7 and GP-13 showed higher crude fibre content, and URC-04 exhibited the highest ash content among all. Based on overall performance, GP-14, GP-16, GP-8, GP-7, URC-1-16 and URC-04 were identified as promising germplasm for future breeding programmes. These 06 identified lines may serve as valuable donor parents in breeding programmes aimed at developing high-yielding, early maturing and disease-resistant proso millet varieties suitable for rainfed mid hills conditions of Uttarakhand.