Finger millet is gaining importance as a food crop with the increasing emphasis on nutritional aspects and drought resilience. However, yield improvement has stagnated. Therefore, popular varieties have been examined for the purpose of whether direct selection for grain yield can be continued or an alternate trait-based approach using the germplasm is necessary. Direct selection for grain yield over the ruling variety, cv. GPU-28 (Germplasm Unit) has not been satisfactory. The path analysis has revealed a high direct effect of mean ear weight on grain yield followed by a moderate direct effect of photosynthetic rate and leaf area index. Furthermore, backward stepwise regression analysis revealed that among the independent traits, the mean ear weight made a significant contribution (60.8%) towards grain yield, followed by the photosynthetic rate (39.2%). The regression equation predicts the inclusion of mean ear weight by 1.0 g extra (as in GE-2672) to cv. GPU-28 will increase grain yield by 4.74%. The trait-specific genotypes are superior to the cv. GPU-28 were GPU-67 (photosynthetic rate) and GE-2672 (mean ear weight) and they could be used as donors for yield improvement. Future selection would aim for genotypes having 70–75 days for flowering with 4−5 productive tillers and mean ear weight of more than 8−9 g/ear. The possible approaches for enhancing grain yield are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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提高小米（Eleusine coracana）产量的方法

随着人们越来越重视营养方面和抗旱能力，手指小米作为粮食作物的重要性日益增加。然而，产量改善却停滞不前。因此，为了确定是否可以继续直接选择谷物产量或是否需要使用种质的基于性状的替代方法，已经对流行品种进行了检查。直接选择谷物产量而不是统治品种，cv。GPU-28（种质单元）并不令人满意。路径分析表明，平均穗重对谷物产量有较高的直接影响，其次是光合速率和叶面积指数的中等直接影响。此外，向后逐步回归分析表明，在独立性状中，平均穗重对谷物产量有显着贡献（60.8%），其次是光合速率（39.2%）。回归方程预测将平均耳重增加 1.0 g（如在 GE-2672 中）到 cv。GPU-28 将使粮食产量增加 4.74%。性状特异性基因型优于 cv。GPU-28 是 GPU-67（光合速率）和 GE-2672（平均穗重），它们可以用作提高产量的供体。未来选择的目标是具有 70-75 天开花的基因型，具有 4-5 个生产性分蘖和超过 8-9 克/穗的平均穗重。还讨论了提高粮食产量的可能方法。GPU-28 是 GPU-67（光合速率）和 GE-2672（平均穗重），它们可以用作提高产量的供体。未来选择的目标是具有 70-75 天开花的基因型，具有 4-5 个生产性分蘖和超过 8-9 克/穗的平均穗重。还讨论了提高粮食产量的可能方法。GPU-28 是 GPU-67（光合速率）和 GE-2672（平均穗重），它们可以用作提高产量的供体。未来选择的目标是具有 70-75 天开花的基因型，具有 4-5 个生产性分蘖和超过 8-9 克/穗的平均穗重。还讨论了提高粮食产量的可能方法。