Inheritance of key traits in finger millet and its breeding implications in developing sustainable varieties in semi-arid regions

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn) is a food and feed crop for semi-arid regions. The crop is suitable for dry and hot environments, and it yields well even with minimal inputs. Its nutritional composition ranks higher than maize. Limited research studies have been done to improve the crop’s productivity and even to breed sustainable finger millet varieties suitable in Sub-Saharan Africa. This review aims to comprehend the inheritance of key traits and their breeding implication in developing varieties for food, beverages, and feed for semi-arid regions. The review identified traits with high heritability, which were grouped into compulsory and value-added traits. Grain yield potential was identified as a compulsory trait for all sustainable finger millet varieties. Days to maturity, drought and heat tolerance, protein content and blast disease tolerance were compulsory traits for food varieties. Light-coloured grains, phosphorus use efficiency, essential minerals content, low phytates and Striga tolerance were value-added traits for food varieties. Grain size, brown coloured-grains, free amino nitrogen and diastatic power were compulsory traits for beverages/opaque beer varieties. Essential minerals content, plant height and low phytates content were value-added traits for beer varieties. Dry matter stover yield, digestible dry matter digestible yield, digestibility, and plant height were compulsory traits for feed varieties. Several basal tillers, stover nitrogen content, stover crude protein content and soluble sugars content are value-added traits for feed varieties. Heritability plus genetic-advance as a percentage of the mean influence the choice of traits in a breeding programme. However, indirect selection methods like correlated trait inheritance and molecular markers can assist in breeding traits with high heritability.