Sorghum nitidum (Vahl.)Pers,occurrence, morphology and cytology

The distribution, collection, morphology and cytology ofSorghum nitidum (Vah1) Pers. belonging to the sectionParasorghum of genusSorghum are presented. The species collected in the western ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala has 10 normal (A) chromosomes (2n=10) and 3 supernumerary (B) chromosomes, which are reported for the first time in Indian collections

A pointed collection of zera-zera sorghums in the Gambella area of Ethiopia

'Zera-Zera' Sorghum belonging to the race'caudatum' and intermediate race 'caudatum-guinea' are used extensively in several Sorghum improvement Program These are highly prized for their yield, grain quality and resistances to diseases and drought. 2. A Pointed colletion was organised in the Gambella region of Ethiopia where Zera-Zera sorghum are extensively grown on the river 'Baro' after the receding of floods. 'Agnwak' tribe farmers are exclusively associated with the cultivation of Zera-Zeras in this area. 3. The geographic distribution of 'Zera-Zera' sorghum in the Ethio-Sudanese border suggests their predominance in this region. The ethnic relationship of the sorghum growing tribe 'Agnwak' their relatively close resemblance of movement supports this. 4.Sorghum belonging to the group Zera-Zera, are locally named as 'Ganga','Juwalum' and 'Utedit'. Plants are agronomically superior, with attractive heads and good grain quality. Plants are tan and practically free from diseases inspite of the high temperatures and humidity prevailing during seed setting. This suggests their possible utilization as source material in the breeding projects for yield, grain quality and resistances for grain moulds and leaf diseases. 5. Most of the samples collected are from crops grown after the receding of floods with the residual moisture under high atmosphere temeratures. It is reasonable to assume that some of the lines may be heat tolerant. 6. Since the season and cultivation of Zera-zeras somewhat correspond to the rabi (post rainy season) situation in India, some of the lines could directly enter into the 'rabi program' breeding project. 7. In general the present collection forms a good addition to the existing few Zera-Zera and provide a broad genetic base to work with in the breeding program. 8. As in the case with other Zera-zeras the only restriction for the easy flow into improvement programs may be their photoperiod sensitivity. To circumvent this, some of the Zera-zeras will soon be converted by inculding in the 'Introgression and Conversion Project'

Kharif Sorghum Germplasm Collection in Karnataka and Adjoining Areas

An assessment of the present world collection of sorghum maintained at ICRISAT reveals that the majority of the germplam constitute either experimental accessions which are generally photo insensitive or authentic indigenous races from tropical countries which are photosensitive. Most of the landraces assembled from tropical countries including India behave photoperiod sentitive when grown in a long day (rainy) seson at Patancheru (17 27'N latitude) indicating the lacking of early insensitive types especially from India. There are very few pockets in South India where early kharif types are cultivated among which Northern Karnataka and its adjoining areas are very important. These areas were not adequately collected in earlier missions and their valuble germplasm are facing severe threat from hybrid and improved sorghum varieties. More landraces from this region may provide valuable source material for sorghum improvement programs particularly for earliness probable resistance to drought (several areas are drought prone). They may also possess weathering resistance because of their maturity during rainy seaso

Morphology and distribution of Zerazera sorghums

Zerazera sorghums are distributed in Sudan and Ethiopia. Because of their agronomic eliteness zerazera sorghums are used extensively in several sorghum improvement programs in India and elsewhere. Extensive collections of zerazeras were made in Sudan and Ethiopia by ICRISAT in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Morphological affinity, geographic distribution and the ethnic association of the Sudan and Ethiopian zerazeras suggest that zerazera sorghums were introduced from Sudan into the Gambella area of Ethiopia. Inspite of slight differences, zerazera sorghums from Sudan and Ethiopia can be grouped as subrace Zerazera under race Caudatum

Morphological diversity in sorghum germplasm from India

Of the 5000 sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Monench) germplasm accessions assembled at ICRISAT Asia Center (IAC), over 4000 accessions from 11 major sorghum growing states in India were evaluated for morphological and agronomical characters at IAC during rainy and postrainy seasons. Considerable diversity was observed for all the characters studied. Diversity was more among states than within states. Variation among the seasons was also considerable. Days to flowering ranged from 42 to 129 days during postrainy and 33 to 180 days during the rainy season indicating their day length sensitivity. Plant height ranged from 65 to 330 cm during postrainy and 75 to 655 cm during rainy season. Panicle length ranged from 5 cm to 52 cm and panicle width from 1 to 51 cm. Erect and compact panicles are more frequent although all possible panicle shapes and compactness were found. In general, sorghums from India produce medium to large, lustrous grains in which the subcoat (testa) is absent. All the 5 basic and 10 intermediate sorghum races were found in India though durra or half-durra predominate. Racial diversity is maximal in the state of Andhra Pradesh followed by Maharashatra state. In the world collection a majority of the sources of resistance to shoot fly, stem borer, and striga are from India. Based on diversity for morphological and agronomical characters, India could be considered as the secondary center of diversity. Sorghum germplasm from India is useful for good quality large grai

Preserving genetic resources

The mission of the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) is to effectively collect, document, preserve, evaluate, enhance, and distribute plant genetic resources for continued improvement in the quality and production of economic crops important to U.S. and world agriculture. Plant genetic resources in the NPGS are made freely available to all bona fide users fo r the benefit of humankind. The active collection is maintained and distributed by 19 national repositories, and the base collection is preserved at the National Seed Storage Laboratory (NSSL), U.S. Department o f Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado. The NPGS collections include 40,477 sorghum and 1,507pearl millet accessions. Of the 20,169 sorghum accessions in the base collection at NSSL, 80% are in conventional storage at about -18°C and 20% are in cryostorage in vapor phase above liquid nitrogen at about -16(fC; the pearl millet collection is in conventional storage. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICR1SAT) located at Patancheru, near Hyderabad, India, has assembled a collection o f35,643 sorghum and 21,195 pearl millet accessions, both ICRISAT mandate crops. All these accessions are maintained andpreserved in aluminum cans in the medium-term storage facility at about 4°C and 20% relative humidity. Freshly rejuvenated accessions with at least 90% viability and about 5% seed moisture content are being placed in moisture proof aluminum foil packets that are vacuum sealed and stored in long-term storage at -20°C. For these crops, 17% o f the sorghum collection and 23% o f the pearl millet collection have been transferred to long-term storage

The glossy trait in sorghum: Its characteristics and significance in crop improvement

Sorghum seedlings can be morphologically glossy or nonglossy: seedlings with dark green leaves (normal) are nonglossy, and seedlings with light yellow green and shining leaf surface are glossy. A systematic study of the world sorghum germplasm collection indicated a low frequency of accessions with the glossy trait (only 495 of 17 536 germplasm accessions screened). A large proportion (84%) of the glossy lines were of Indian origin but some were from elsewhere (Nigeria, Sudan, Cameroun, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Mexico). Most of the glossy lines are in the durra group but some are from the taxonomic groups guinea, caudatum, and bicolor. Glossy lines vary in morphological, anatomical, and agronomic attributes, many being extremely late or photoperiod-sensitive and very tall. Some lines are early maturing, intermediate to dwarf in height and agronomically good. Studies have indicated that glossy lines contribute to shootfly resistance and seedling drought resistance. Source material for the glossy trait is maintained by the Genetic Resources Unit at ICRISAT

North American Wild Relatives of Grain Crops

The wild-growing relatives of the grain crops are useful for long-term worldwide crop improvement research. There are neglected examples that should be accessioned as living seeds in gene banks. Some of the grain crops, amaranth, barnyard millet, proso millet, quinoa, and foxtail millet, have understudied unique and potentially useful crop wild relatives in North America. Other grain crops, barley, buckwheat, and oats, have fewer relatives in North America that are mostly weeds from other continents with more diverse crop wild relatives. The expanding abilities of genomic science are a reason to accession the wild species since there are improved ways to study evolution within genera and make use of wide gene pools. Rare wild species, especially quinoa relatives in North American, should be acquired by gene banks in cooperation with biologists that already study and conserve at-risk plant populations. Many of the grain crop wild relatives are weeds that have evolved herbicide resistance that could be used in breeding new herbicide-resistant cultivars, so well-documented examples should be accessioned and also vouchered in gene banks