Millets: Promising crops for climate-smart agriculture

In the present scenario of climate change, temperature rise leads to reduction in the yield of millets whereas irregular rainfall adds to this reduction with a negative impact. QTL mapping for different drought tolerance genes in millets will be helpful for breeding climate resilient genotypes. Similarly QTLs for significant general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) for several yield related traits under stress will also proved to be beneficial for breeding for climate resilience. Stress resistance genes can be incorporated into the genetic background of desired genotypes with marker assisted back crossing and gene pyramiding technique as well as genetic engineering in order to develop climate-resilient crop varieties.