Abstract

Farmer participation in on-farm research does not only accelerate information gathering but also results in adoption of new research products. Here, we report on-farm trials conducted across five districts of Matabeleland province in Zimbabwe to explicate grain yield stability and farmer perceptions on eight pre-release pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) lines. The results indicated that genotypic effects on grain yield were significant in both individual and across-site analysis of variance and that farmers prioritize earliness and grain yield as must-have traits in millet varieties. The five districts were grouped into two distinct environments, with four districts (i.e., Bulilima, Gwanda, Matopos and Tsholotsho) in one group (i.e., DGrp1) and Mangwe district forming the second group (DGrp2). Pearl millet pre-release lines PM1 (1.425 kg ha^-1), PM9 (1.043 kg ha^-1) and PM6 (761.8 kg ha^-1) showed high yield, stability and were the most preferred by farmers. In conclusion, on-farm trials may offer the quickest possible solution to boost low-pearl millet production resulting from the continuous use of unproductive landraces and old varieties by farmers.

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