A NEW REVOLUTION IN FINGER MILLET BREEDING–WHITE GRAINED VARIETY KMR-340

Finger millet being one of the most nutritious and drought hardy crop demand for it is expected to increase in future. Although its consumption is in inevitable for people suffering from diabetic the dark colour of grains has been the major hindrance for its acceptability. In this preview an investigation was taken to develop a white grained finger millet variety for value addition especially for the bakery industry. This investigation was carried out using ear head contact method of crossing of selected entries viz., WRT-14 and GE-2924. The stabilised genotype developed from this cross was evaluated under different trials over locations across the Country and State of Karnataka. As result, a White grained finger millet variety viz., KMR-340 was developed from AICRP on Small Millets, Zonal Agricultural Research Station, V.C.Farm, Mandya based on its performance evaluation for higher grain yield, agronomic performance, resistance to pest and diseases and nutritional superiority over check varieties suitable for bakery industry