EFFECT OF ANTITRANSPIRANTS ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF MUTANT PEARL MILLET (Pennisetum glaucum) GENOTYPE

Abstract

Millet is cultivated and used as food for man and livestock in parts of of Africa and Asia. Drought is the principal abiotic stress reducing its productivity. Reduced transpiration can help in limiting excessive water loss to the atmosphere with the application of antitranspirants. Pot and field experiments were conducted at Nyankpala, Northern Ghana to evaluate the effect of Kaolin and Phenylmercuric acetate as antitranspirants on five genotypes and water regime at two levels in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications for both pot and field studies. Growth and yield parameters were collected for statistical analysis. Genstat (12 edition) was used for the analysis. The Results showed that antitranspirants and mutagenesis had significant effects on genotypes growth and yield, water regime did not show much effect. Generally, 300 Gy responded positively than the other genotypes and can be recommended for farmers.