Improved Sorghum Restorers for Diverse Uses

Abstract

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is an important dry land crop which is being used for food, feed, fodder and fuel in the semi-arid tropics of the world. Heterosis breeding is an important component in the yield improvement of sorghum. In an effort to improve the parental lines for yield and quality, a number of restorers were developed for diverse uses using different germplasm lines and genetic stocks at Directorate of Sorghum Research, Hyderabad. Sixty such restorers were evaluated for their grain, fodder and sweet sorghum traits over three years (2008-2010) and restorers promising for different traits over C 43 and the specific checks for sweet and forage sorghum were identified. DSRR84 was the most promising restorer for grain yield, fodder yield and sweet sorghum traits. DSRR79, DSRR456 and DSRR460 were promising for grain and fodder yields. The identified restorers can be used in the breeding programs aimed at development of sorghum hybrids for different target traits.