Indentification of true genetic dwarfing sources in foxtail millet (Setaria italica Beauv.)

Summary True genetic dwarfs hither-to not reported have been located in foxtail millet. The dwarfs as a group distinguished themselves from the talls in having altered constellation of characters. The morphological differences were highly significant for plant height, internodal length, and tillering potential. The talls had elongated internodes compared to dwarfs while there was no difference for node number on the main stem suggesting that short internodal length was primarily responsible for dwarfism. The dwarfs also showed slightly higher leaf number per plant, leaf area and harvest index compared to talls. The dwarfs were insensitive to exogenous GA₃ application indicating that GA₃ synthesis is not impaired. This suggests that dwarfing gene sources presently identified are true genetic dwarfs and their behaviour is similar to dwarfs derived from Norin 10 in wheat and Dee-geo-woo-gen in rice. The superior morphological frame makes these dwarfs ideal as far as plant type is concerned and offers immense potentialities in breeding high yielding foxtail millets.