ADVANCED TRIAL OF INTERMEDIATE CYCLE MILLET VARIETIES IN THE SUDANIAN AGROECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF SENEGAL

Millet is a subsistence cereal farmed on the world, it occupies the 6th position after maize, rice, corn, barley and sorghum. Africa is the only region in the world where the millet production rises. Pennisetum millet is farmed in southern Sahara as well as the dry regions of Eastern and southern Africa. In Senegal, millet is the first culture in terms of sowed area before peanut and the second in terms of production behind rice (DAPSA, 2017). However, in Senegal, the agricultural sector is the most affected by the climate trends and variability because agriculture, main source of revenues for families and guarantor of food security for populations, is largely tributary of climate parameters and particularly rainfall. In the decades to come, the hypotheses of the change of rainfall regime could have global negative effect on millet, maize and sorghum production with the aggravation of food insecurity in several West African regions. In addition, if the adaptation measures are not taken into consideration, drops in cereal cultures outputs should intensify in Sub-Saharan Africa, by the year 2050. To face the problem, the use of new varieties more adapted to the new agro-climate conditions could offer farmers adaptation and resilience possibilities against climate change. Varieties with shorter, more resistant cycles to aquatic, biotic and abiotic stress could be a solution to boost agriculture in Sahel and reduce the exposition of farmers to the risks of extreme weather events. It is in this perspective that the International Institute of Research on Cultures in tropical semi-arid zones (ICRISAT) in collaboration with the Senegalese National agronomic research center (CNRA) of Bambey established several varieties of millet with intermediary cycle to serve as palliatives in Sudanese zones. The test was carried out in the experimental station of Nioro during 2019 rainy season. As vegetal material, it had 50 varieties, including 35 of landraces and 15 of improved varieties coming all from the ICRISAT/Niger millet programme. The experimental system was a Lattice Design alpha with three repetitions of five blocks each. Agronomic parameters linked to phenology, vegetative growth and output were measured. According to the results from statistical analyses, significant differences were observed for the semi-flowering-female flowering, the height of plants, the length of ears, the number of farmed ears, the weight of ears, and finally the seed outputs. In conclusion, with our results, it was noted that the landraces showed more performing than the improved varieties in terms of seed output. It is observed that the more productive varieties are successively ICMP 187017, ICMV 187006 and ICMP 187035. These varieties can be tested in multi-focal trials for adaptability and stability, as several among the rest could be helpful in the national variety creation programme.